Russ Meyer (director) FRENCH PEEP SHOW (1952) Program

Oakland: P.A. DeCenzie, 1952. Vintage original 11 x 8 1/2″ (28 x 22 cm.) film program, pictorial wrappers, 36 pp. Minor creasing, near fine.

At the very beginning of his career in film, Russ Meyer served both as cameraman and director for this 40-minute short documenting a burlesque show headlining Tempest Storm at the El Rey Theatre in Oakland (IMDb lists a previous 1947 short called Afro Mood Burlesque, but states that Meyer’s work on that is unconfirmed). Although IMDb gives a 1948 date for this film, this program is clearly dated 1952, which we suspect is the accurate date.

And what an elaborate book was produced for this obscure short subject, prefuse with photos of the various burlesque stars, with even a page devoted to Meyer. And this is definitely a rarity. WorldCat records only one known copy (SUNY at Binghamton), and there are no examples of it available online.