Did you know it took Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, and a controversial movie called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas to topple Steven Spielberg’s E.T. six-week chart-topping run at the American box office?
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened in 1,400 theaters on July 23, 1982. It earned $11,874,268 in its first weekend—enough to rank it as the biggest opening weekend for a musical film in history at the time.
If The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas were a person, it would be 43 years old today.
Parton’s cousin, Ed Parton, was pastor of Parkway Baptist Church in Parton’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee. And while much of the world embraced the film, he bashed it from the pulpit. He told his congregation that her participation in the film embarrassed him because they are cousins.
Videos by American Songwriter
Dolly Parton Says Prostitutes “Have Feelings”
Parton wasn’t fond of similar criticism. She told Ladies’ Home Journal in 1982 that she wanted the Moral Majority to pay attention to the women working at Chicken Ranch, the brothel featured in the movie. She said audiences would realize: “They have feelings… you’re gonna cry your eyes out.”
“Prostitutes, I will tell you, are some of the sweetest, most caring people I’ve known because they’ve been through everything,” Parton said. “Usually they’re people with broken dreams who never had a chance in life or were sexually abused or ignored as children.”
Set in a smalltown Texas, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is based on The Chicken Ranch. The establishment was a real, illegal brothel in Texas that operated from 1905 through 1973 in Fayette County. The Chicken Ranch was dramatized in the 1978 Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The play won two Tony Awards and was later adapted into a 1982 film of the same name, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.
Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds are In Love
Parton portrayed Miss Mona, a golden-hearted madame—a character so strong that it became an iconic role for women in musical theater. Reynolds played Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, Miss Mona’s love interest.
Gruff but kind, Dodd said things like, “They want me to close her down, run her out of town. How can I ask her to leave when all I want her to do is stay?”
Sheriff Dodd and Miss Mona have maintained a 12-year romantic relationship under the radar. Despite the questionable legality of her business, the community recognizes Mona’s goodness in her charity work and willing heart. The couple’s comfortable arrangement is threatened when bombastic TV personality Melvin P. Thorpe launches a moral crusade to expose the brothel and turns the local landmark into a statewide scandal.
The Chicken Ranch Closes—But Burt Gets the Girl
Thorpe forces Dodd to ask Mona to shut down The Chicken Ranch temporarily. However, when Thorpe catches political figures and college football players using the business’s services, pressure mounts even more. Mona and Dodd sling insults in a nasty fight. Dodd goes all the way to the Texas Governor to save the brothel. However, it doesn’t work, and he nearly loses Mona as well.
As Mona prepares to leave the Chicken Ranch, Dodd proposes. She says no because she thinks her past will hurt his political aspirations. She eventually agrees, ensuring a happy ending that people still talk about four decades later.
While The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas received mixed reviews, awards shows didn’t hesitate to spotlight the popular musical. Charles Durning was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Texas governor. The film was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy and Parton for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.
Variety‘s critic wrote: “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is just about everything it’s meant to be … rollicking, good‑natured, a bit spicy and with just enough heart to avoid seeming totally synthetic.”
(Photo by Ken Vaughan/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.