01/20/2024
This was in the 80s when I was growing up. Do we think we have evolved since then or are we still just as prudy?
Knowing that she'd be starring opposite Burt Reynolds in "The Best Little Wh******se in Texas" (1982), it was Dolly Parton's idea to have Miss Mona and the Sheriff romantically involved, though she faced harsh criticism from both the screenwriter and critics for this drastic deviation from the real-life story which inspired the film. In the original Broadway production, Sheriff Ed Earl and Miss Mona had a one-night stand 15 years earlier, but in the film, they maintain an ongoing affair.
Reynolds later said Parton "had two directors fired before we started - they were gone. Because I'd made so many movies and she hadn't, everyone thought it was me. Whether she was right or wrong in those decisions, it was amazing to me that she could do it."
Parton wrote several new songs which were filmed but ultimately not used, including "A Gamble Either Way" and "Where Stallions Run." The latter was restored for the ABC network television broadcast of the film, as the film was too short for its time slot after the censors finished their broadcast edits and additional material was needed.
For three consecutive years, Dolly Parton was determined to make a hit out of the melody for"Where Stallions Run." As stated, the song neither made it into the theatrical cut of the movie nor appeared on the soundtrack album. Following a little lyrical tweaking, Parton released her own version on her 1983 album "Burlap & Satin" under the title "A Cowboy's Ways." When that failed to chart, she overhauled the lyrics and released it again as "God Won't Get You" in "Rhinestone" (1984).
The film presented some difficulties for Universal, particularly with advertising. In 1982, the word "wh******se" was considered obscene in parts of the United States, resulting in the film being renamed "The Best Little Cathouse in Texas" in some print ads, while television ads were either banned outright in some areas, or the offending word was censored; on WXYZ-TV in Detroit, the announcer on the station's "Now Showing" segment merely clicked his tongue to eliminate the offending word: "The Best Little [click, click] in Texas!" During interviews, Parton sometimes referred to the film as "The Best Little Chicken House in Texas" (IMDb/Wikipedia)
Happy Birthday, Dolly Parton!
