Joanne Woodward is the one reason this movie gratuitously called 'The Stripper' is worth a look. She comes across as genuine and sincere in a movie that for the most part is full of clichés, a fair of them quite dated.To me, it seemed the screenplay was based on much of the heartbreak that was Marilyn Monroe, with Woodward's character never having a real family as a child, much like Norma Jean Baker.She's hardly a 'stripper', as Joanne's character is basically a platinum blonde magician's assistant who is led into the striptease world by the very capable actor Robert Webber as her cruel and sadistic 'pimp'. This transformation occurs very late in the movie, so by this time the audience is well aware that the title of the film was false titillation.And Joanne is pretty much covered with many balloons when her strip act is revealed. Tack on a rather phony happy Hollywood ending, and there you have 'The Stripper'. I did enjoy seeing the very talented and original Louis Nye in a comic part. And the inclusion of Gypsy Rose Lee was a bit of inspired casting. As I say, Woodward somehow manages to rise above the rather unimaginative script. Like Beymer's character professes to Woodwad's character in the end: you do 'care' about this woman. Too bad the script didn't.

In a conversation several years ago, I asked Ms Woodward about this film. It receives short shrift by those who would discuss her career. The story has several interlocking plot lines: a woman caught in the struggle to survive, the men who use and abuse the situation toward their own ends and the teenager who falls for her. A teenager becoming enamored with an older woman was nothing new. The teenager having an affair with the older woman was a story somewhat ahead of it's time in 1963. The Women's Liberation Movement did not start until the late 1960s and the word 'cougar' referred to mountain lions. Ms. Woodward talked about the confused or disjointed impression this film gives and stated that the original director, whose name I cannot remember, died half way through filming. Mr. Schaffner, who finished the project, had a different point of view. Regardless, Ms Woodwards' acting is, in my opinion, remarkable. She provided each director with the desired performance expressing his vision. Unfortunately, the final cut is reflective of each and gives the film a sense of choppy disconnect.

As a young kid in Junior High School (Middle School) I was fascinated when the movie crew came to our small town of Chino, California to film "The Stripper". I hate to ruin the perception of some that it was actually filmed on location somewhere in the mid-west. But since we were only about 35 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and Chino was a small farming and dairy town of about 10,000 population, we looked like many mid-western towns. But back then some of the crew told me that the film had a working title of "Celebration". Every day after school I would ride my bike to whatever part of town they they happened to be filming in. I think it took about a week or two to film all of the outside shots. They were filming at my school, Chino Junior High School, with some classroom shots and a shot outside on the steps of the old building. That was really exciting to me as a 13 year old student. Other days they were filming in other various spots in our small town. One day I spent all afternoon watching them film the shots of the old car pulling into Esparzas' gas station in the old downtown of Chino. I think Louis Nye, Gypsy Rose Lee, Joanne Woodward and Michael J. Pollard were in that scene. Another day watching Joanne Woodward walking up and down the front walk of an older wood frame house in her nightgown. She was very nice. As she saw me watching she smiled and said "Hi". Have to admit though, when the movie came out, I was a bit disappointed. Having all of those scenes stored in my mind in vivid color, the way that I remembered it and saw it acted out, the resulting black and white version seemed somewhat dull and dreary.

What a good movie!!! Made to perfection. That Joanne Woodward never fails to amaze me! She is quite simply the greatest actress ever to set foot on stage or grace the screen. and I mean that. She is mind-blowing in every movie she does, this one is no exception. Her portayed of Lila Green is nothing short of genius. The rest of the cast is great too...though, like someone before me said, none of them are likable characters except Lila. Well, except for little Sandra. She's likeable.I recommend this movie to anyone! If for nothing else, see this movie for a stunning performance by Joanne Woodward.