Digital Transgender Archive

Clothes and the Woman! (1923)

The fabulous Hetty King impersonates various contemporary male types - toff, cowboy, eastender, among others. "Here's a lady whom everybody knows - when on the stage - Guess - " M/S of a drawing room setting. Dapper looking man reads a newspaper and smokes a cigarette. Woman comes into the room and kisses her husband. She opens a piece of sheet music and begins to sing. Husband sings along - quite a funny little scenario - they both are over made-up and the husband looks rather effeminate which is amusing in view of what is to come. "Puzzled? Let's ask her hubby to leave, while we screen her in a dual role - the Eastern and the East-end - " Through a camera trick we see two images of the same woman. One is dressed in working man's clothing, the other a rather posh colonial style suit and pith helmet. The former lights a pipe, the latter a cigarette."Quite right, it's Miss Hetty King, the famous male impersonator. - West-end and Westerner are just as easy to her - (Watch her roll a cigarette in one hand, Adam!)" M/S of two images of Hetty. On the left she is dressed as an aristocratic gentleman in a suit and top hat. She lights a cigar. On the right she is dressed as a cowboy. She twirls a gun. C/U of the top hatted gent. He smokes his cigar and smiles. The cowboy begins rolling a cigarette with one hand. The toff looks outraged. "Just clothes - and Miss Hetty King." Hetty dressed as toff takes a bow. Through a camera trick she suddenly transforms into a feminine version in a white chiffon dress with a feather fan. She smiles at the camera. Item number unknown - was probably an Eve's Film Review item.