Divine Madness **** (1980, Bette Midler, Jocelyn Brown, Ula Hedwig, Diva Gray) – Classic Movie Review 9,683

Michael Ritchie’s 1980 concert film Divine Madness is a terrific record of the divine Miss Bette Midler’s one-woman show, filmed over three days at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Director Michael Ritchie’s 1980 American music documentary concert film Divine Madness is a terrific record of the divine Miss Bette Midler’s one-woman show, filmed over three days at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, California, on 13–15 February 1980.

Bette Midler is a total knockout whether telling bawdy jokes, singing ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’, ‘Big Noise from Winnetka’, ‘Shiver Me Timbers’ (Tom Waits) or her big sentimental torch-song numbers (‘The Rose’, ‘I Shall Be Released’, ‘Stay with Me’ [‘Stay with Me Baby’]), imitating Sophie Tucker, or being the mermaid Delores DeLago (The Toast of Chicago).

Bette Midler in Amsterdam promoting Divine Madness.

Divine Madness may be a one-woman show, but it also features Midler’s backup trio, The Harlettes – Jocelyn Brown, Ula Hedwig, and Diva Gray.

‘Since this is the time capsule of my show,’ she says. ‘I may as well do everything I know.’ And to those who don’t like it? ‘Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke!’

[Crude humour alert] The mermaid Delores DeLago: ‘Don’t you think I get pretty nuts with them bitches [The Harlettes] saying behind my back, “The question before us is where’s her clitoris?” Well, not much to tell… born on the island of Tawanga in the South Pacific, ended up in Chicago via the Panama Canal and the St Lawrence Seaway.’

Top director Ritchie and top cameraman William A Fraker ensure that it is a real feature film, not just a filmed concert.

It is as it says on the tin: ‘Good clean dirty fun.’ Lots of hysterical madness. Just divine!

Midler was Golden Globe nominated as Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.

Producer/ director Michael Ritchie and cinematographer William A Fraker filmed three of Midler’s concerts and Ritchie then cut them together to look like one. The 94-minute film was made by The Ladd Company and released by Warner Bros on 26 September 1980 and features Midler’s stand-up comedy routines, as well as 16 songs, notably including “Big Noise from Winnetka”, “Paradise”, “Shiver Me Timbers”, “Rainbow Sleeve”, “Fire Down Below”, “Stay With Me”, “My Mother’s Eyes”, “Chapel of Love” / “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, “Do You Want to Dance”, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” / “I Shall Be Released”, “E Street Shuffle” / “Summer (The First Time)” / “Leader of the Pack”, and “The Rose”.

“Shiver Me Timbers” and “Rainbow Sleeve” were cut from the home video.

The soul song ‘Stay with Me’ (often credited as ‘Stay with Me Baby’) is written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss and was first recorded in 1966 by Lorraine Ellison. ‘Stay with Me’ is sung by Bette Midler in her 1979 film The Rose. Other versions include those by The Walker Brothers, Charity Brown, David Essex and Ruby Turner, all of which reached the UK Singles Chart.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9683

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