Beautiful Darling (2011)

Synopsis

A tribute to the short but influential life of an extraordinary person—the actress Candy Darling, born James Slattery in a Long Island suburb in 1944. Drawn to the feminine from childhood, by the mid-Sixties James had become Candy, a gorgeous, blonde actress and well-known downtown New York figure. Candy’s career took her through the raucous and revolutionary Off-off-Broadway theater scene and into Andy Warhol’s legendary Factory. There she became close to Warhol and starred in two Factory movies that still shock and amuse today: Flesh and Women in Revolt. Candy used her Warhol fame to land further film roles, and her admirer Tennessee Williams cast her in his play Small Craft Warnings. She dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star, but tragically died of lymphoma in the early Seventies, at only twenty-nine. Candy’s beauty, humor, and early death, the guts it took to live as a woman, the glamorous parties and the famous friends—most of all the strength of will she demonstrated in her remarkable act of self-creation—moved those who knew her in her lifetime and continue to gather fans today. It’s a story of wild, creative times and of audacious people, but one that has a theme inspiring for anyone, anywhere: whatever the obstacles, be true to yourself. The film uses both current and vintage interviews, excerpts from Candy’s own diaries and letters, as well as vintage footage of Candy and friends.

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