Sundance Selects will open the new documentary BOUND BY FLESH, about conjoined twin superstars Daisy and Violet Hilton theatrically in Los Angeles on June 27 and on VOD. The award-winning film was directed by Leslie Zemeckis (BEHIND THE BURLY Q).
American sideshows were in fairs, circuses and carnivals. There were acts such as glass blowers, musicians, and also the freaks. Most freaks just stood there while the audience wandered past. The Hilton sisters however were trained to put on a winning performance. They sang, they danced and played a variety of musical instruments. Once they quit the carnival world and started playing vaudeville houses they made tens of thousands of dollars, setting box office records. They were soon considered “the royalty of vaudeville,” but the exploited twins would see little of their fortunes after the money was pocketed by unscrupulous managers.
BOUND BY FLESH explores the American sideshow, its origins and its heyday when the Hilton sisters were on display for huge streams of crowds pouring into tents to get a glimpse of these gorgeous multi-talented sisters.
The film includes interviews with Ward Hall, known as the “King of the Sideshow.” He is the last of the sideshow promoters in the style of a P.T. Barnum.
