Elmer(2024)

Elmer is a documentary film that uncovers the bizarre true story of a mummified outlaw. In the early 1900s, bank robber Elmer McCurdy was shot and killed during a botched heist. His unclaimed body was preserved and eventually sold to a traveling carnival, where it became a sideshow attraction billed as a mannequin in a fun house. For decades, the mummified remains toured America's amusement parks, passing through countless hands and gaining notoriety as one of the strangest exhibits in carnival history. The film traces how McCurdy's corpse became an unwitting celebrity, exploring the dark intersection of frontier crime, carnival culture, and American obsession with the macabre. It's a fascinating and darkly humorous look at how a failed outlaw achieved posthumous fame in the most unexpected way.