Lipstick and Dynamite
| Lipstick and Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Ruth Leitman |
| Produced by | Ruth Leitman |
| Starring |
Ella Waldek Gladys Gillem Ida Mae Martinez Mae Young The Fabulous Moolah Penny Banner |
| Music by | The Corn Sisters |
| Cinematography | Ruth Leitman Nancy Segler |
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Release date
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Running time
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75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Lipstick and Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling (often referred to as Lipstick and Dynamite) is a 2004 documentary film about the early days of women's professional wrestling in North America. It was directed by Ruth Leitman, who interviewed The Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Gladys "Kill 'Em" Gillem, Ida Mae Martinez, Ella Waldek and Penny Banner for the film. The film premiered in 2004 in Toronto and was screened at various film festivals across the United States. The film also had a limited release in theaters in 2005. Reviews for the film were mixed.
The documentary tells its story by focusing on the careers of six women—The Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Gladys "Kill 'Em" Gillem, Ida Mae Martinez, Ella Waldek and Penny Banner. It begins by describing the beginning of wrestling in the 1930s. By the 1940s, American men had to leave the country to fight in World War II, leaving females to take over the sport. At first, women's wrestling was seen as a side-show, and it was banned in several states. The film mostly focuses on these years—the 1940s—along with the 1950s and 1960s, better known as the "heyday of women's wrestling", when the sport became more accepted and popular. The six women are interviewed and tell their stories of why they entered wrestling. They also share tales of being exploited financially, unruly fans, and being physically abused. The film splices in archival footage of their matches, television clips, and footage from a 1951 movie entitled Racket Girls in between interviews. The film also covers their post-wrestling occupations: lion-tamer, detective, nurse, and yodeler. The film ends with footage from the Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion, where they meet to swap stories.
Although Leitman was not a fan of professional wrestling, she was the first to develop the idea of a documentary about the beginnings of female wrestling. The objective of the film was to give back to the female professional wrestlers of the 1940s–1960s. The stars hoped the film would help "set the record straight" about the early days of women's wrestling, when it was taboo for girls to join the business.
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