Lonesome Cowboys
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Lonesome Cowboys is a raunchy pseudo-Western film about horny cowboys, directed by Andy Warhol. A spoof on Hollywood Westerns, Lonesome Cowboys featured Warhol "superstars" Viva, Taylor Mead, Eric Emerson and Joe Dallesandro. According to a review on the Internet Movie Database, "Viva's langorous seduction of the most innocent-looking among the cowboys is actually a satirical comment on sexual artifice."
The film was shot in Arizona in the summer of 1968 under unpromising conditions when two of the proposed stars, Ondine and Ultra Violet (Isabelle Collin Dufresne), never showed up for the shooting. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a probe of the film to ascertain whether an actual rape had occurred onscreen. (In the film, the character played by Viva is attacked by horny cowpokes; during the shooting she yelled at Warhol to end the assault. Since Warhol always relied on improvisational acting, he insisted Viva continue. However, Viva told Warhol she quit and stormed off the set). The F.B.I. was actually interested in determining whether Warhol could be successfully prosecuted for transporting pornography (the exposed negative) across state lines; the investigation led nowhere.