The Tattooed Lady of Riverview

Directed by Tom Palazzolo

"The once teeming Riverview Park was shut down in 1967 (with Tom Palazzolo on hand to document the bitter end). The Tattooed Lady of Riverview is a portrait of its final occupant, Jean Furella, the titular tattooed lady of Riverview's sideshow. Furella first tells how she used to work at the sideshow as a bearded lady but fell in love with a man who asked her to shave. Then gives her carnival barker's spiel one more time for the camera. Quick cuts between frenetic shots of Riverview Park, in use and full of life, and later images of its demolition-in-progress lend to the carnival atmosphere of this early Palazzolo film." —Tom Fritsche (Fandor)