Lady Louise

Stylized, black and white biography of Frances Farmer by author Lynne Tillman and Sheila McLauglin.

Made in response to the death of his friends Bob Fleischner and Jack Smith, who died within one week of each other in 1989, this feature includes footage from Jacobs’s Star Spangled to Death showing Smith perambulating through downtown Manhattan, as well as views of Fleischner from Jacobs’s 1961 short The Whirled.

Jack Smith poses in elaborate costumes, plays with everyday objects, and performs for the camera while his disjointed voiceover unfolds through songs, personal reflections, and provocative stories. Assembled by Ken Jacobs from unfinished footage shot by Bob Fleischner, this experimental film blends performance, fantasy, and dark humor into an unconventional portrait of its subject.

Two men dressed as children jump up and down, ad nauseum

"An encounter at Coney Island both sweet and sad, between Jerry (Sims) and Barbara (Kahn), and the filmmakers, himself!" - B. F.