You are here:

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels

Name: Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
Director: Suzette Winter, Gene Feldman
Released: 1996
Duration: 60 min

Representation Score

4.9/10

Fair

1996

Director

Suzette Winter, Gene Feldman

Runtime

60 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

This biographical documentary effectively portrays a woman achieving professional success and autonomy while challenging traditional gender roles and domestic constraints. However, the film lacks diversity in its representation of race and ethnicity, as well as explicit LGBTQ+ characters or storylines. Ultimately, the film serves as a specific historical retrospective rather than a broad exploration of diverse experiences.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The documentary focuses on a figure traditionally associated with straight relationships without explicitly featuring LGBTQ+ characters or storylines. While the subject is known for supporting progressive views, the film does not include specific LGBTQ+ character arcs.

How does Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels portray gender?

Good

The film centers on a woman achieving significant professional success in a male-dominated industry. It highlights her ability to command the screen alongside legendary leading men.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels?

Limited

The narrative prioritizes a historically homogeneous cinematic tradition. It focuses on the personal journey of a white performer within the classic Hollywood era.

How does Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels represent religion and culture?

Good

The film portrays the subject's transition from a strict middle-class upbringing to a path of self-discovery and personal freedom. It emphasizes the importance of individual liberation over adherence to rigid social norms.

Does Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no mention of characters or subjects dealing with physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong portrayal of a woman's professional success and autonomy.
Effective challenge to traditional gender roles and domestic constraints.
Highlights a woman's ability to command presence alongside major male stars.

Limited or Absent

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity within the narrative focus.
Absence of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or storylines.
Limited exploration of diverse experiences beyond the central subject.

Official Synopsis

Shirley MacLaine was the product of a strict middle-class background from which she and her brother, the future actor Warren Beatty, escaped into the fantasy world of show-biz. Her ballet training and her long-legged pixie charm led to rapid success on Broadway in musical comedy. Inevitably, Hollywood called and by 1955 Shirley was cast in Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry." It wasn't too long before the fine dramatic roles also came to her opposite the most popular leading men of the time, like Fred MacMurray, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum.

How are these scores produced? →