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Poor Little Rich Girl (1965) is an underground film by Andy Warhol starring Edie Sedgwick. Poor Little Rich Girl was conceived as the first film in part of a series featuring Sedgwick called The Poor Little Rich Girl Saga. The saga was to include other Warhol films: Restaurant, Face and Afternoon. The title references the 1936 movie of the same name, starring Shirley Temple, whom Warhol idolized as a child. The title also serves as a description, of sorts, to the star, heiress Edie Sedgwick.
Synopsis
The concept of Poor Little Rich Girl is a day in the life of socialite Edie Sedgwick. Warhol and Gerard Malanga first began shooting in March of 1965 in Edie's posh New York City apartment. After initial filming and processing, the reels were found to be out of focus due to a faulty camera lens. Warhol then reshot footage, adding it to the original, out of focus first reel footage. The first reel depicts an out-of-focus Sedgwick waking up, ordering coffee and orange juice, smoking cigarettes, exercising, taking pills and putting on makeup in silence. The only noise is that of an Everly Brothers record playing continuously in the background. The second reel, which is in focus, shows Sedgwick lying on her bed and talking to her friend, Chuck Wein, who remains off camera. Wein can be heard responding to Edie, asking various questions and commenting on different subjects but, never appears on camera. The rest of the film continues with Edie talking on the telephone, smoking more cigarettes, trying on clothes and describing how she spent her entire inheritance in six months. Poor Little Rich Girl premiered at the Film-Makers' Cinematheque on a double bill with another Warhol film, Vinyl, in June 1965.
