Lust in the Dust

Divine leads a group of shady characters as they hunt for buried gold in the wild wild west.

Set in the old west, Divine stars as dance-hall girl Rosie Velez, who is rescued from a gang of bandits by the mysterious gunslinger Abel Wood (Tab Hunter). The unlikely duo ride into the lawless town of Chile Verde and learn of a local legend about buried treasure. Soon Rosie, Abel and lusty saloon owner Marguerita Ventura (Lainie Kazan) are racing to find the treasure before it falls into the hands of the outlaw Hard Case Williams and his deadly gang.

Curator's note
Originally offered to John Waters, the filmmaker, who generally only works from his own scripts, turned it down. The film found a more than suitable replacement in director Paul Bartel, who was coming off a surprise hit with Eating Raoul (1982).

Riffing on King Vidor's florid Duel in the Sun (1946), Divine takes inspiration from the sultry Jennifer Jones role in the Vidor film and even gets to perform a musical number, the very camp These Lips Were Made for Kissing. Teaming up again with Polyester (1981) co-star Tab Hunter, the two generate plenty of sparks and are matched by the equally game Lainie Kazan, who holds her own in this raunchy, over-ripe romp.