bkoganbing The phrase 'Lust In The Dust' was first coined to describe David O. Selznick's epic western Duel In The Sun. It took almost forty years for it to be the actual title of a comic western starring the fabulous zoftig 300 pound female impersonator Divine as one full figured showgirl come to an out of the way New Mexican village to find a treasure.The treasure is the loot from a holdup of more than 30 years ago and there's a riddle to the treasure that has to be solved. There's also a map that was done in halves and the halves hidden in a place where the sun doesn't normally shine.Lust In The Dust is a satire on those spaghetti westerns and serving the pasta is former 50s matinée idol Tab Hunter and Geoffrey Lewis on hiatus from Clint Eastwood films. Hunter is your Eastwood like stranger with a fast gun and Lewis is a rather urbane outlaw leader.Divine goes to work in Lainie Kazan's bawdy house and the two really don't hit it off. But they have to work together in a manner of speaking.Sad to say is the best scene in the film is the state Lewis's gang is in after 'ravishing' Divine out there on the desert. Who says women are the weaker sex?Set in a bawdy house part of the time Lust In The Dust is one bawdy R rated western. What would Hoppy, Gene, and Roy think?

brchthethird LUST IN THE DUST aspires to be a Western spoof, but the fact is that it's just not that funny. Divine plays Rosie Velez, a former dancehall girl who embarks on a journey to Chili Verde. Along the way she meets Abel Wood (Tab Hunter), a mostly silent gunman who is clearly meant to be a parody of Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character. The first half-hour of the movie is OK and had some good one-liners, but once the plot kicked in the movie got really boring and hokey. The drive for the plot is a stash of gold hidden somewhere near Chili Verde, and people have been looking for it a long time. Also included in the mix is an outlaw gang and a "cantina" owned by Marguerita Ventura. All of these people are after it, and all they have to go on is a limerick that's been passed down for 30 some-odd years. Despite the obvious flaws, there were some positive elements be had. Among them are Divine, who does play a more subdued character than usual, but still gives an interesting performance. There was also a small role early on with Henry Silva playing a Mexican, although the humor derived from him was mostly due to the ridiculous accent he puts on. There was also a couple of songs, each sung by one of the leading ladies. Other than that, the movie was a mess plot-wise, and the ending was entirely too convoluted and drawn out. It's a shame that Divine didn't live longer because it was at this point that she really came into her own as a (semi-)serious actor. The material she was given to work with wasn't too great, but it's worth at least one viewing for her fans. For everyone else, it probably isn't worth your time.

jimbonsf Paul Bartel's excellent direction gives this awesome camp send-up of cowboy shoot-em-ups his usual dark comedic twist. With fantastic actors, this movie is replete with Divine's famous monologues, awesome sarcasm (delivered flawlessly, but without meanness like so much common sarcasm), and over the top physical comedy. Divine was Harris Glen Milstead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_(actor), a gay man who dressed up as hyper-campy women to deliver his particularly outrageous drag/camp performances. The interplay between Divine and Lainie Kazan is not to be missed, as Divine gets to say everything each of us wants to say to Marguerite's character - and then some!What makes Lust in the Dust so successful is everything: the writing is par excellence, Bartel's direction is awesome, the group of performers work very well together to deliver scene after scene of laugh-out-loud comedy, the major actors - Divine, Tab Hunter, Lainie Kazan - are superbly entertaining, and the supporting actors are dynamite.As far as campy movies go, Lust in the Dust is one of my top 10 favorite films of all time, as it always entertains and is a solid cult classic.

MartinHafer This is NOT the sort of film for everyone. Apparently gay men love it (according to Lainie Kazan) and people who love Divine (like me) will get a kick out of seeing this character play a somewhat normal role--at least compared to all the freaks he/she played for John Waters!! But for the rest of the folks out there, it's very possible you won't like the film...and it's quite possible you'll enjoy it on its own very simple merits. The way to determine this is to ask yourself "am I normal?"--if so, don't watch the film! But for all the quirky folks out there (and I know there are a lotta you), it's worth seeing.The film stars a whole lot of familiar faces, though the only big star (at least once upon a time) in the film is Tab Hunter. In addition, Divine, Lainie Kazan, Caesar Romero, Henry Silva, Woody Strode and Geoffrey Lewis (whose face you are bound to recognize) are there for excellent support. The film was directed by Paul Bartel--a man who is probably most associated with the ultra-strange "Eating Raoul"."Lust in the Dust" is a gentle parody of westerns. Nothing in it is super remarkable except for its strong sexual overtones as well as having Divine play a part that is really pretty normal. There are a reasonable amount of decent laughs, some that fall flat and a few surprises--but it never is dull.My attitude is that lovers of weird films should see this at least once. And, if it doesn't scare you too much, try another one of Divine's films, such as "Hairspray" (the original) or perhaps "Polyester". Save "Pink Flamingos", "Female Trouble", "Mondo Trasho" and the other early John Waters films for AFTER--as they can be too shocking and too weird for the uninitiated!! I warned you!