I bought The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club on DVD, and watched it a couple of nights ago. Couldn’t resist, for reasons stated many times here. The DVD comes with the broadcast version, and also an ‘extended version’ that contains profanity and some nudity. The film was written and produced by Nick T. Spark, who also wrote A History Of Murphy’s Law (aka The Fastest Man On Earth: Why Everything You Know About Murphy’s Law is Wrong.) Pancho Barnes is voiced by Kathy Bates.
Now, I’ve known the Pancho Barnes story from living in the area, being acquainted with a couple members of her family, reading a couple biographies (The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes, Pancho: The Biography of Florence Lowe Barnes, and The Lady Who Tamed Pegasus: The Story of Pancho Barnes), and even watching the disappointing Valerie Bertinelli movie. Most of what is shown in this DVD is stuff I already knew. But there are many photos I’ve never seen before. ‘Pancho’ was a character, and roomie and I laughed out loud at parts of it. Compared to the books I’ve read, it glossed over a couple of details; but it’s a worthy addition to anyone’s video shelf who enjoys aviation history, the history of Edwards Air Force Base, and women pilots from the early days of aviation.