Resident Alien

Resident Alien

83 mins | Documentary | Sept. 14, 1990

At age 73, writer and melancholy master of the bon mot, Quentin Crisp (1908-1999), became an Englishman in New York. Nossiter's camera follows Crisp about the streets of Manhattan, where Crisp seems very much at home, wearing eye shadow, appearing on a makeshift stage, making and repeating wry observations, talking to John Hurt (who played Crisp in the autobiographical TV movie, "The Naked Civil Servant"), and dining with friends. Others who know Crisp comment on him, on his life as an openly gay man with an effeminate manner, and on his place in the history of gays' social struggle. The portrait that emerges is of one wit and of suffering.

Resident Alien

83 mins | Documentary | Sept. 14, 1990

Resident Alien
At age 73, writer and melancholy master of the bon mot, Quentin Crisp (1908-1999), became an Englishman in New York. Nossiter's camera follows Crisp about the streets of Manhattan, where Crisp seems very much at home, wearing eye shadow, appearing on a makeshift stage, making and repeating wry observations, talking to John Hurt (who played Crisp in the autobiographical TV movie, "The Naked Civil Servant"), and dining with friends. Others who know Crisp comment on him, on his life as an openly gay man with an effeminate manner, and on his place in the history of gays' social struggle. The portrait that emerges is of one wit and of suffering.
IMDb rating 6.7
Producers Crisp City Productions
Original title Resident Alien
Directors Jonathan Nossiter
Writers Jonathan Nossiter

Cast

Quentin Crisp

as Self

Peter Walker

as The Bum

Gilbert Stafford

as Man on Street

Gus Rogerson

as Street Performer

Michaela Murphy

as Street Performer

John Sex

as Self

Felicity Mason

as Dinner Hostess / Writer

Fran Lebowitz

as Writer

Guy Kettelhack

as Writer

John Hurt

as Actor

Richard Seiburth

as Professor

Hunter Madson

as Writer

Sting

as Singer

Michael Musto

as Gossip Columnist

Sally Jessy Raphael

as Talk Show Host (archive footage)

Shi Ringer

as Gay Activist

Tom Steele

as Publisher

Al Goldstein

as Pornographer

Paul Morrissey

as Self

Lenny Dean

as Cabaret Performer

Robert Patrick

as Playwright

Penny Arcade

as Performance Artist

Patrick Angus

as Painter

Paul Bridgewater

as Gallery Owner

Orshi Drozdick

as Sculptor

Emile de Antonio

as Filmmaker

David McDermott

as Painter

Peter McGough

as Painter

Trey Spiegel

as Painters' Friend

Franco the Great

as Painter

Holly Woodlawn

as Performer / Actor

Vincent Hanlon

as Self