Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers

Directed by Robert J. Kaplan and starring Andy Warhol Factory superstar and Lou Reed muse Holly Woodlawn, this musical satire about a small-town girl (Woodlawn) trying to make it in the Big Apple was nearly a lost film. Woodlawn had already worked on cult films such as Trash and Women in Revolt, and through her time at the Warhol Factory she would go on to become one of the most important trans icons of her era. Here, she brings an unforgettable charisma to the role of Eve, an aspiring actress who meets a wild cast of characters (including another member of Warhol’s Factory Tally Brown and the film debut of David Margulies) while navigating the streets of New York.  

When DuArt Film & Video, the lab that was storing the film’s 35mm negative, began to close its storage in 2013, this piece of 1970s underground cinema was at risk of never being screened again. The film was retrieved by the Academy Film Archive, preserving a rare and key part of Woodlawn’s legacy (she died in Los Angeles in 2015).

Director: Robert J. Kaplan. Cast: Holly Woodlawn, Tally Brown, Suzanne Skillen, David Margulies. 1972. 82 min. USA. Color/B&W. English. 35mm. New print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.