Jack Smith (film director)
Jack Smith was an American filmmaker, actor, and pioneer of underground cinema. He is generally acclaimed as a founding father of American performance art, and has been critically recognized as a master photographer.
Jack Smith (film director)
Flaming Creatures is a 1963 American experimental film directed by Jack Smith. The film follows an ensemble of drag performers through several disconnected vignettes, including a lipstick commercial, an orgy, and an earthquake. It was shot on a rooftop on the Lower East Side on a very low budget of only $300, with a soundtrack from Smith's roommate Tony Conrad. It premiered April 29, 1963 at the Bleecker Street Cinema in Greenwich Village.
Theatrical release poster
Flaming Creatures marked the first film role for Mario Montez (pictured in 2012).
Jonas Mekas (pictured in 1971) was among those arrested and prosecuted for screening the film.
A screening of Flaming Creatures was held during the Chief Justice nomination of Abe Fortas (pictured in 1968).