NEW YORK--April 14, 1998—
The Lone Star documentary Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me continues its Special Advance Tour of Texas with screenings in Dallas and Houston next week. The film, directed by Houston native Tessa Blake, made its Texas premiere at last month's South by Southwest Film Festival, where it was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike. The Austin Chronicle hailed Five Wives as "fascinating, intensely personal...witty and incisive...a rare invitation to see how the other half lives," while Seattle Weekly describes the film's climax as "one of the most powerful father/daughter moments ever seen in a documentary."
Filmmaker Blake, 28, used the receipts of a million-dollar trust established by her father to document his life as a Houston oil man, Hollywood playboy, hotshot lawyer and serial monogamist. The 87-year-old Thomas Walter Blake, known as "Blakey" to brides and brood alike, candidly waxes philosophical about everything from infidelity to the separation of the races, even while knowing that his daughter is living with a black boyfriend. The Austin American-Statesman described Ms. Blake as "vibrant and searching" in the piece, and credits her with offering "an insider's (view) with an outsider's sense of irony."
Five Wives will screen in Dallas as part of the USA Film Festival on Sunday, April 19 at 7:00pm, at the General AMC Glen Lakes Theater (9450 North Central Expressway). The film will screen at Houston's venerable WorldFest Saturday, April 25 at 1:30pm, at the General Cinemas at Meyerland Plaza (Loop 610 West at Beechnut). Tickets for both are available by calling Ticketmaster (Dallas: 214/373-8000; Houston: 713/629-3700).