Cruising the Movies

This month on the podcast, Liz and KJ return to the well that is Rosa von Praunheim's vast filmography to take a look at a film that (sadly) has been becoming more and more relevent with each passing day this year: his 1996 documentary TRANSEXUAL MENACE. A companion piece of sorts to his earlier ARMY OF LOVERS OR REVOLT OF THE PERVERTS (1979), the film is a sprawling portrait of America's trans arts and activist movement that features everything from icons like Leslie Feinberg and Virginia Prince to events like the Southern Comfort conference in Atlanta and the Fantasia Fair in Provincetown. We'll be presenting a rare screening of the documentary at IFC Center in New York on Thursday, March 13th at 7pm!

Hello, welcome—and in the spirit of our neighbors to our north, bonjour bienvenue. In this month's episode, we discuss a film that almost defies belief: a highly popular and critically acclaimed queer film from the 1970s about a drag queen's ambitions for stardom and his tumultuous friendship with a mentally ill gal-pal—all produced through a deliberate and infamous loophole in the Canadian tax code. The story, and the film, is truly outrageous. Liz and KJ spend this episode discussing Richard Benner's true gem of a film OUTRAGEOUS!, including how it actually made its star Craig Russell an international drag superstar. They dive into the era of Canadian tax shelter films, and discuss why the kinda-genre doesn't entirely deserve its bad rap. Your hosts also consider the film's provocative advertising campaign, what made this film take off as the beloved and acclaimed film in its time versus other 70s gay films, and what issues may have kept this from being seen as a key moment in drag and queer film history. You can catch OUTRAGEOUS! at the IFC Center in Manhattan on Thursday, February 27 at 7PM. If you're in the New York City metro area, we'd love to see you there!

This month on the podcast, Liz and Keegan take a look at queer filmmaker Gregg Araki's first film. You might know it, it's about two HIV+ gay men on the run after killing a cop, who—oh, wait, no it's not THE LIVING END, it's Araki's actual first film, 1987's THREE BEWILDERED PEOPLE IN THE NIGHT. Shot for $5,000 with a crew of one and a wind-up Bolex, this no-budget wonder follows a gay performance artist, his video artist best friend, and her sexually confused photographer boyfriend, who fall into a disorienting bisexual love triangle over the course of a series of long dark nights in the coffee shops and bedrooms of Los(t) Angeles. Rarely screened theatrically and only ever released on VHS in Japan, THREE BEWILDERED PEOPLE IN THE NIGHT is a forgotten landmark of 80s queer cinema and a fascinating origin for one of the most beloved queer filmmakers of the past several decades. We'll be showing it TONIGHT at IFC Center in Manhattan at 7pm — it's the film's very first screening in New York in about a decade, so hope to see you there.

What better way to wrap up the year than with a beautiful work of gay adult cinema from a still-underappreciated director? This month, Liz and KJ cover Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.'s DADDY DEAREST—an adult film about the making of an adult film that's just as dreamlike and wistful as is relentlessly horny. DADDY DEAREST isn't Bressan's most famous work—nowhere near as famous as his San Francisco adult films PASSING STRANGERS and FORBIDDEN LETTERS, the foundational documentary GAY USA, the controversial ABUSE, nor his crossover masterpiece BUDDIES—but it truly showcases Bressan's daring storytelling, clever cinematography, thoughtful editing, and spot-on casting. In this episode, we go through what we love about both Bressan and this film in particular: his love of film history; his talent for blending multiple realities, and his brilliance for representing unbridled desire and pleasure on film. We are screening DADDY DEAREST at the IFC Center on Monday, December 9, at 7pm, in a brand-new 2K restoration by Altered Innocence and the Bressan Project. If you love what you see and also live in New York City, make sure to also check out Adam Baran's Narrow Rooms series at Anthology Film Archives, where he will be screening another underrated Bressan feature, JUICE, on Saturday, December 14th.

This month on Cruising the Movies, Liz and KJ take a look at what is undoubtedly one of the most controversial lesbian films ever made: cinematographer-turned-director Gordon Willis's 1980 film, Windows. Talia Shire stars as Emily, a mousy stutterer who endures a bizarre assault at the hands of a stranger after returning home from work one night. While she initially finds comfort and protection in poet Andrea (Elizabeth Ashley), she later comes to find out there's more to her friend than meets the eye. Over the course of the episode, we compare the final film to its radically different originaly screenplay and talk about how it fits in with the other three controversial queer New York films from 1980: Can't Stop the Music (dir. Nancy Walker), Cruising (dir. William Friedkin), and Dressed to Kill (dir. Brian De Palma). And if you're in the New York area, we'll be presenting a very rare 35mm screening of the film at IFC on Monday, November 24th at 7pm!

This month on CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ take a look at two very different—but similar!—riffs on Alfred Hitchcock's analyzed-to-death PSYCHO: William Castle's 1961 film HOMICIDAL and Mark Oates and Tom Rubnitz's 1985 video short, PSYKHO III: THE MUSICAL. In HOMICIDAL, the kind-hearted Miriam Webster is framed for the cold-blooded murder of a justice of the peace just as her absent brother Warren returns home from a long trip to Denmark after the death of their father. As tensions begin to flare over who will inherit the sizable fortune, Warren's mysterious new wife will stop at nothing to make sure it doesn't go to his sister. With its insanely twisted take on gender and winkingly campy tone (not to mention the "Fright Break"—one of filmmaker William Castle's signature gimmicks), HOMICIDAL plays like something of a drag parody of Hitchcock's original film. Meanwhile, PSYKHO III: THE MUSICAL actually is a drag parody: a videotaped version of Mark Oates' musical adaptation of the Hitchcock film originally staged at the legendary Pyramid Club.

On this episode of CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ discuss what they consider one of the best documentaries of all time, regardless of topic: Rosa Von Praunheim's ARMY OF LOVERS OR REVOLT OF THE PERVERTS. Made by the prodigious German filmmaker in the aftermath of his groundbreaking and controversial IT IS NOT THE HOMOSEXUAL WHO IS PERVERSE BUT THE SOCIETY IN WHICH HE LIVES—and at the same time as several other of his New York-based features—ARMY OF LOVERS documents the peaks and valleys of gay liberation in the US during the 1970s. Along the way, Praunheim meets both the historical catalysts of gay liberation as well as a cavalcade of characters, including Rev. Troy Perry, sex god Fred Halsted, and more than one person on the fringes of acceptability. Tune in as we talk about Rosa's longstanding fascination and celebration of the United States, warts and all, his distinctive storytelling style, and this documentary still feels provocative and salient five decades later.

On this episode of CRUISING THE MOVIES, our hosts dive into another queer film classic: Edward D. Wood, Jr..'s GLEN OR GLENDA. Calling anything Ed Wood made a genuine "classic" is a relatively new phenomenon in many film circles. Ed Wood used to be the laughingstock of lazy (and bigoted) critics—his name being shorthand for poorly done and confusing work. Now, amid what would've been the filmmaker's 100th birthday, many more people are seeing his films as fascinating looks at gender, desire, and dreamlike feelings that can't even be put into words. At once earnest and surreal, we make the case that GLEN OR GLENDA should be seen as a foundational trans film—and how Wood's personal life shaped some of the storylines you see onscreen. We then continue this conversation with Willow Catelyn McClay, co-author of CORPSES, FOOLS, AND MONSTERS: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF TRANSNESS IN CINEMA. Liz, KJ, and Willow all discuss how you don't get to David Lynch without Ed Wood, why domesticity is a recurring tension in trans film images, and where trans cinema may (hopefully) go next. You can watch a rare 35mm print (!) of GLEN OR GLENDA with us at the IFC Center on Tuesday, August 20 at 7PM. We are pairing it with the short VALERIE, which is a gem of a short about a Black trans woman in 1970s Ohio. CORPSES, FOOLS, AND MONSTERS is available wherever you do reputable book business.

On this episode of Cruising the Movies, Liz and KJ discuss two classic dyke porn shorts: Fatale Video's SAFE IS DESIRE and SUBURBAN DYKES. Born from the same minds who created On Our Backs magazine, Fatale was the first adult film studio dedicated to making movies by and for lesbians, showcasing lesbian sex and sexuality in a way rarely seen in movies before: diverse, kinky, funny, and above all hot. Our hosts explain how Fatale brought the spirit of On Our Backs into film, why they successfully merged heavy kink and safe sex in SAFE IS DESIRE, and how they took on the myth of lesbian bed death in SUBURBAN DYKES. And if that isn't enough, Liz then interviews the producer of both videos, Nan Kinney! You can catch both films—and Nan!—at our monthly screening series at the IFC Center, on Monday July 22nd at 7 pm.

On this episode, Liz and KJ are excited to discuss one of their all-time favorites: Frank Ripploh's 1980 debut, TAXI ZUM KLO. Still more thrilling and funny than most of the films that have taken inspiration from it over the past four decades, TAXI ZUM KLO continues to spark conversations about community, identity, and commitment that still feel relevant. We talk about the film's thin (and sometimes invisible) line between truth and fiction, the bigger tensions in West German gay liberation, the recurring theme of gay teachers in queer Western films in the 70s and 80s, and the very real reason why this film actually may hit you differently depending on when and where you see it. Speaking of: if you're in the New York City area, make sure to catch our screening of TAXI ZUM KLO at the IFC Center on Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00PM. We're screening an all-new restoration—and it's the first time the film has played in the city in five years! See you there!

This month on CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ take you into the twilight world of men turned into women with BLACK CHRISTMAS filmmaker Bob Clark's feature debut, SHE-MAN: A STORY OF FIXATION. Made in Florida with a cast largely drawn from the stage of New York's legendary 82 Club, SHE-MAN tells the story of Lt. Albert Rose, a macho soldier who finds himself forced to take estrogen as part of a blackmail scheme led by the mysterious Dominita. The shocking part? He likes it. THEN, KJ speaks with Caden Mark Gardner, co-author of the upcoming book "Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema." SHE-MAN will return to New York for the first time in decades for a rare 35mm screening with its original co-feature, the trans documentary short QUEENS AT HEART, at IFC Center on Monday, May 13th at 7pm.

In this inaugural episode of CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ take a look at the controversial (and oft-censored) debut feature from one of queer cinema's great provocateurs: Bruce LaBruce. A loose remake of Robert Altman's THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK, LaBruce's NO SKIN OFF MY ASS tells the story of the strange love affair between a swishy gay hairdresser and a skinhead. Then, Liz and KJ speak with filmmaker Henry Hanson, whose recent short BROS BEFORE was heavily inspired by LaBruce's early work. Both NO SKIN OFF MY ASS and BROS BEFORE play at IFC Center in New York on Monday, April 29th at 7pm.

We know it's been a while since you last heard from us, so we wanted to let you know about our new project. It's a spiritual successor to ASK ANY BUDDY called Cruising the Movies: a monthly podcast and film screening series at IFC Center in New York City exploring the fringes of queer cinema history. As with ASK ANY BUDDY, each episode will provide a deeper dive into the history, production, and impact of these films and feature interviews, archival sources, and conversations with filmmakers, critics, and historians. Our first episode and screening will feature Bruce LaBruce's NO SKIN OFF MY ASS and Henry Hanson's BROS BEFORE. The episode will be on this same feed next week, with the screening occuring Monday, April 29th at 7pm. Tickets now on sale at ifccenter.com.

We're back! This week, we return from our extended summer break with a look at something that's been in the works for nearly three years: the ASK ANY BUDDY and the Golden Age of All-Male Adult Cinema series happening at New York's Anthology Film Archives beginning this Thursday, October 20th and running through the 25th. This series marks the first theatrical screenings of ASK ANY BUDDY since early 2021 and also includes seven other films from the era, including five extremely rare 16mm screenings and the world premiere of a new 2K restoration of Peter Berlin's THAT BOY. Over the course of this episode, we'll talk about each of those seven films, the challenges of programming sex films, and the historical value of seeing these films on film.

This week on the podcast, we're celebrating the release of Altered Innocence's new Blu-ray release of Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.'s seminal PASSING STRANGERS and FORBIDDEN LETTERS by taking a look at his 1984 film, DADDY DEAREST. The third and final film in Bressan's self-described 'personal/porno trilogy,' DADDY DEAREST tells the story of Edward Thompson, a gay porn director with artistic aspirations who finds his personal life and private fantasies bleeding into the production of his latest film. One of Bressan's most ambitious explorations of fantasy, memory, and reality, DADDY DEAREST is a hidden gem waiting to be rediscovered and a fitting conclusion to a gay film trilogy unlike any other. There's a lot to talk about with this one and over the course of the episode we'll use several early screenplay drafts to trace the development of the film and its core themes, explore the way it (perhaps misleadingly) exploits the then-nascent Daddy phenomenon, and place it in context with the rest of Bressan's filmography.

This week on the podcast, we wrap up our month in Paris with the film that trailers described as being "the gayest… Frenchest… French gay porn film which will fill your heart's desire," Jean Estienne's 1978 romantic drama, ET... DIEU CRÉA LES HOMMES ("AND... GOD CREATED MEN). The first feature-length effort by a poster artist and filmmaker whose previous film was banned for "degrading the human spirit," ET... DIEU CRÉA LES HOMMES is an unheralded lost masterpiece of French gay cinema. Over the course of this episode, we'll dig a little deeper into the French gay film scene of the late 1970s, explore the erotic possibilities of a landline phone, and celebrate an early Fistmas in April.

Bienvenue! This month on the podcast we're going international by taking a look at two films shot and set in gay Paree. Up first is Peter de Rome's 1974 romantic comedy, ADAM & YVES. If you know the film, it's probably for at least one of two reasons: that it was Peter de Rome's first feature-length narrative film or that it technically includes Greta Garbo's final screen appearance — yes, really. What the film actually captures is something between a pas de deux and a folie à deux — is it a grand romance or it shared delusion? —played as a guessing game of seemingly endless film and cultural references. As an Ask Any Buddy first, we'll be hearing from filmmaker Peter de Rome himself through interviews recorded during the production of the 2014 documentary, PETER DE ROME: GRANDFATHER OF GAY PORN. We also discuss the troubles he and Jack Deveau encountered making the film in France, its groundbreaking all-Black orgy, and how this film is remarkably, the first international gay hardcore feature.

The lines between reality, art, and fantasy all blur together this week on the podcast as we take a look at one-and-done director Enrico Montenegro's FORBIDDEN PORTRAITS. Sebastian is a Montreal-based artist whose expertise is drawing male erotica. When he randomly receives an envelope of nudes from an adoring fan in New York, Sebastian immediately becomes obsessed with this enigmatic figure who, of course, forgot to leave a return address. His subsequent erotic fantasies and reveries lead him to the nocturnal erotic labyrinths of the Village in search of his muse, John Bolton (played by Bosch Wagner). Will he find his man? A playful, horny, and mature adult film influenced by the work of Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., FORBIDDEN PORTRAITS has unfortunately languished in obscurity for decades, unavailable on home video since the 1980s, with no 16mm prints confirmed to exist. We're happy to discuss the film's plot in detail and bring to light some information on the mysterious director Enrico Montenegro, who was associated with fellow filmmaker Joe Gage. In this episode we'll discuss the true star of this film: the sketched portraits (and hands) of Robert W. Richards, the famous NYC commercial artist whose art and writing was a fixture in several gay publications at the time, including Honcho and Stallion. We also profile one of the genre's few real-life couples – Roy Garrett and Bob Shane – who indulge in what can only be described as the purest form of boyfriend sex. We also touch upon the anal acrobatics of star Bosch Wagner and also ponder why the film's main credited performers are otherwise unknowns.

This week on the podcast, we explore one of the strangest and most outrageous gay films of the 1970s: Red Drayton's HOLLYWOOD COWBOY. With a cast and crew assembled from filmmaker Pat Rocco's fan club SPREE, HOLLYWOOD COWBOY feels like both an undiscovered midnight movie and a hardcore variation on the troupe's original gay-themed stage plays. Joey Daniels stars as the eponymous Cowboy, the proverbial new kid in town who quickly finds himself thrust into Los Angeles's seamy pornographic underbelly shortly after stepping off the bus from Texas. A chance bar brawl leads him to the benevolent Pops, a former filmmaker whose career ended in dark scandal. As the two form a platonic bond, Cowboy sets off on a quixotic mission to avenge his disgraced elderly friend and help him make one last movie. Will he succeed? In this episode we'll uncover the likely identity of the mysterious one-and-done filmmaker Red Drayton — and find out how this film was truly a family affair. We also touch on the longevity of Pat Rocco's fan club, revisit the idiosyncratic court-reporter-turned-filmmaker David Allen and his equally-bonkers THE LIGHT FROM THE SECOND STORY WINDOW, and also note the influence of John Schlesinger's MIDNIGHT COWBOY on the genre.

When Tom DeSimone's CATCHING UP begins, two lovers are in crisis. The older man, Frank, tells his younger partner Dennis that their relationship has grown stagnant after a mere three months of living together. Frank's solution? Spice things up by opening their relationship! At first outraged by this suggestion, the doe-eyed, yet well-hung Dennis (Keith Anthoni, here in his screen debut) rises up to the challenge by throwing himself into a journey of sexual maturation and, well, CATCHING UP. From cruisey movie theater balconies to kinky personals, the romantic comedy-drama of CATCHING UP manages to resonate with relationship issues and tropes still common today. Critically lauded at the time of its release, CATCHING UP was a watershed film for filmmaker Tom DeSimone. Its success allowed him to finally make the jump beyond pornography — and the stigma that went with it — into more legitimate mainstream films. In this episode, we focus on this, as well as DeSimone's relationship with Hand in Hand's Jack Deveau, and the unlikely college education of one of the film's beefcake stars. We also mull over why the film has been somewhat forgotten over the years, especially compared to some of DeSimone's other work.

Somewhere between RASHOMON and a telenovela, Jack Deveau's FIRE ISLAND FEVER does what many of us wish we could at this time of year: launch from mid-winter chills to summertime splendor. Featuring a supporting cast of New York gay entertainment grand dames, FIRE ISLAND FEVER takes us to the scandals of Cherry Grove, as well as the men who came to the seaside village to find themselves. Our story not only follows the travails of tumultuous couple and beach house renters Ron and Rick, but also the temporary lovers they take up out of spite along the way—as well as a third roommate who may or may not have had an acid-induced romantic experience with a portrait he imagined into being. While maybe not one of Hand In Hand's best-known features, FIRE ISLAND FEVER offers a comedic and engrossing glimpse at a true gay getaway. (And, at the very least, it's worth comparing the bustling, zeitgeist-y, cliquish portrayal of Fire Island that Deveau provides in this film to the outdoorsy, nearly pastoral depiction Wakefield Poole offered just a few years prior!) In this episode, we discuss this film's place within Hand In Hand's trilogy tribute to Fire Island, consider the obscure film knowledge and campy wordplay peppered in throughout, and wonder whether the movie's truly mind-boggling amount of plot also covered up for some performance fatigue. We also appreciate AAB staple and genuine thespian Garry Hunt, theorize about the film's confusing marketing campaign, and remember another classic director's Fire Island series.

Wakefield Poole's Boys in the Sand wasn't the first gay porn film, nor was it star Casey Donovan's screen debut. It wasn't even the first gay film to be be shot on Fire Island. But its runaway success and crossover appeal marked a turning point in the nation's growing gay consciousness and collective pornographic fantasy — not to mention establishing Wakefield Poole as one of the leading figures of the new movement. That said, BOYS IN THE SAND holds up as a lush, heady, and yes, fully versatile romp through the salt-breeze, sand-bar idyll of Fire Island, that gay oasis just a couple of hours away from Manhattan. Over the course of this week's episode, we'll take a look at the unlikely career trajectories and chance circumstances that led Wakefield Poole and Casey Donovan into the adult film world — and each other. We'll also dispel some myths about the film's production and explore the groundbreaking marketing and distribution campaign that fueled a genuine groundswell of intrigue and fascination. By the end of the show, you'll understand while we still seem to be reckoning with the impact of BOYS IN THE SAND five decades after its original release.

Guess who's back? The podcast returns for a special holiday Fistmas treat, with one of the roughest films we've covered: Roger Earl's BORN TO RAISE HELL. Filmed with an unflinching documentary feel, Earl's film comes with a disclaimer that it is 'based on a psychological study of a sadomasochistic relationship between adult men.' Quite an understatement for a film that features golden showers, ruddy beaten asses, alligator clamps, and — yes — brutal fisting. We'll go in-depth on the Brazilian leather icon and star sadist, Val Martin; discuss the cyclical influence of Fred Halsted and Earl; and learn why the film is banned from screening in L.A. to this very day. And speaking of L.A., we also take a deep dive into one of the most notorious chapters in the city's queer history: a 1976 charity "slave auction" that resulted in the arrest of 40 leathermen, including many of the principal cast and crew of BORN TO RAISE HELL, Fred Halsted, and the staff of Drummer magazine. We cover the raid from its initial discovery via a postal inspection informant to detailed reports of the auction to its the accused's lengthy legal battle. This is a corker of an episode — sit back, grab a recycled beer, rest your legs on a willing sub, and listen!

Happy Halloween, everyone! We wanted to cap off Spooky Season with a true classic—and so we're covering one of the most beloved films in the adult male genre. FALCONHEAD II throws us back into Michael Zen's haunting realm of narcissistic self love, but with a few key twists. We're no longer in a trippy 70's atmosphere but, instead, a foreboding 80's new wave space, complete with lush dark synths. We follow Derek as he's thrown into a journey literally to hell and back, one replete with tempting cherry twinks, bearded brides, dick twins, and tattooed love boys. In this episode, we dive into what led Zen to make this sequel nearly a decade after the original, as well as the ways FALCONHEAD II builds off of the Orpheus myth to explore gay narcissism in new ways. After discussing distinctive tattoos and the tabloid notoriety of the titular actor, we consider whether we personally prefer the first or second chapter of the Falconhead myth. Regardless of which one we like more, both movies are truly artistic—and truly hot—classics that you should scout out. And while you're still in the Halloween spirit, make sure to check out the rest of our Spooky Season selections from this year and last year! (It turns out ghost dick and haunted hole was more popular a sub-genre that we thought.) You'll get to hear our coverage of not only the first FALCONHEAD, but also several other gems, such as the psychedelic doppelgänger tale THE DESTROYING ANGEL, the bizarrely darling GAYRACULA—and our *free* bonus on SEX DEMON. Happy listening—and watch out for fangs.

Spooky Season is in full force with this week's episode: Linus Terri's horny phantom melodrama WE'LL MEET AGAIN! Don't worry if you're more of a Care Bear than a horror hound, since this movie has more in common with an episode of GHOST WHISPERER than Terri's previous work, the recently-discussed SEX DEMON. (Which, make sure you check out that episode if you want a fuller story on the precocious Terri's winding and wondrous career.) Over the course of the episode, we discuss how subtle details in adult films can reflect major shifts in the study of gay history, impeccably framed dance sequences, and the usefulness of downer endings. (Don't worry, there's also ghost dick.) We also have a special treat for you: excerpts from our interview with WE'LL MEET AGAIN star Marc Paris! Marc graciously told us how he got involved with the film, connecting a lot of dots for us about the New York dancer scene in the process. He also told us about his life in theatre after the movies—and how you sometimes you can't really shake off the past. If you are in the L.A. area, make sure to get your tickets for Terri's unearthed classic, SEX DEMON. It is being screened for the first time in four decades at Dynasty Typewriter, thanks to our friends at Dirty Looks. Even better: Evan is going to be at this screening! Grab a seat and prepare for a truly exhilarating time.

Happy Spooky Season, everyone! In the spirit of being more treat than trick, we're releasing this bonus episode to everyone! And boy, do we have a treat for you: we're discussing the previously-lost possession film SEX DEMON. Truly more interesting than THE EXORCIST—it knows when to actually be funny and scary—and building off the suppressed demonic classic ABBY, SEX DEMON has not been seen for forty years. That is, until now: our host Evan came across this holy grail in the middle of sourcing and preserving dozens of other gay adult classics. Without spoiling this treasure, we discuss the film's precocious director, his many lives in entertainment, and the film's interesting take on sexual possession and May-September romance. Now, as people return to the theaters, we're finding places to screen SEX DEMON. If you live in New York City or L.A., great news: we have screenings in your cities at the end of the month! Tune in to see where you can find this gay horror thriller. PLUS: We have excerpts from our interview with Vinegar Syndrome co-founder Joe Rubin. Joe talked with us about the challenges of preserving adult films, the differences in vintage hetero and all-male film, and the need to truly support the archival work you enjoy. None of this would be possible—finding rare films, preserving and digitizing prints, heavy research and consistent production—without your support. If you like our work and want to keep seeing it—as well as get amazing perks like these bonus episodes—please join our Patreon, and please spread the word. (And thanks to all of you who already do.) You make this possible.

Have we got a surprise for you this week, listeners! On this episode, we discuss Hand in Hand's ode to itself GOOD HOT STUFF. Part cheeky documentary, part meta-history, and part outright salvage job, GOOD HOT STUFF takes us through the young studio's early artistic successes and previews its raunchy upcoming creations. Along the way, we meet an adorable narrator with an incredibly thick mid-Atlantic drawl, see some of the men who made magic behind the scenes through editing and scoring—and see an excerpt from an unfinished Scheherazade ripoff with a patently wacky backstory. But that's not all: we also have a conversation with author and filmmaker William E. Jones about GOOD HOT STUFF! The movie played a pivotal role in his previous novel 'I'm Open to Anything'—and we discuss where his and his protagonist's relation to the film differ. We also have a chance to discuss with Jones regionalism in porn, his enduring fascination with Fred Halsted, and his latest novel 'I Should Have Known Better' (now available through We Heard You Like Books Press or many other retailers). Tune in and learn what makes this film much more than a clip package or a cheap ripoff of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!—but, instead, a hot and artistic production in its own right.

What happens when a short story becomes a classic movie, which then becomes a radio play, and then a Broadway musical, and then a campy drag parody featuring the beefy one-time owner of the Gold's Gym empire? You get Ray Harrison and the GGRC's 1972 film ALL ABOUT ALICE. This week, we're celebrating the American Genre Film Archive's upcoming blu-ray collection of films by the GGRC—a Los Angeles gay social club that began making a series of increasingly elaborate drag parodies for fun on weekends in the early 1960s. These are truly hidden gems of queer cinema, especially the very rarely-screened ALL ABOUT ALICE, which was both the group's most ambitious effort and its final film. Over the course of this episode, we talk about the difficulty in camping a camp classic, how quickly audience demand for hardcore solidified, and the joy of making art just to give your friends a few laughs. (Plus: the cross-generational bodybuilder appeal of Dakota.) 'WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and the Films of the Gay Girls Riding Club' is due out later this month from the American Genre Film Archive and is currently available for pre-order at vinegarsyndrome.com.

This week on the podcast, we're exposing 'the eternal triangle of bi-sexuality' and all the trials and tribulations that come with trying to have it… BOTH WAYS, directed by Jerry Douglas and released in 1975. Future disco queen Andrea True and Douglas regular Gerald Grant star in this sensitive drama (or is it a comedy?) as a married couple whose loving relationship is torn apart by the husband's inability to choose between his wife and the blond bodybuilder he's been seeing on the side. Who will he wind up with, and who will be hurt? Over the course of this episode, we'll discuss Jerry Douglas's earlier successes in the theatre world and the film's many connections to his breakthrough play, TUBSTRIP; bisexuality in adult film; and whether or not the film might've worked better as a play.

This week on the podcast, we're taking a look a title that many consider to be among the greatest all-male films ever made: Tom DeSimone's SKIN DEEP. Released in the period after DeSimone's mainstream slasher classic HELL NIGHT, SKIN DEEP tells the story of Eric, a porno writer who falls for Mark, a hustler he sees on the regular — but is he in love with the character or the man himself? A haunting chamber piece that plays more like a one-handed two-hander than it does a standard adult film, SKIN DEEP is a classic deserving of a wider audience. Over the course of this episode, we'll explore the history of a shooting location that almost serves as a character in and of itself, dig into a whole new crop of superstar performers, and find out how the success of this film led directly to DeSimone's retirement from the genre.

We're back! This week we're kicking off our second season by taking in the sights and studs of sunny California with William Higgins's THE BOYS OF VENICE. Taking the form of a sexual travelogue, THE BOYS OF VENICE was truly a breakthrough film that helped usher in a new look and style that would come to dominate the all-male screen for years to come — and introduce a new stable of superstar performers including Kip Noll, Eric Ryan, Derrick Stanton, and Scott Taylor. Over the course of the episode, we'll dive into William Higgins' Texan background, discuss the roller disco craze that played heavily into the film's advertising, and cringe over what has to be one of the most perilous sex scenes of the era — performed entirely on roller skates… you know, as you do.

This week on the podcast, we're getting patriotic — or are we? — with a look at Rob Simple's 1972 film, AMERICAN CREAM. A satirical deconstruction of masculinity told in three unrelated loops, AMERICAN CREAM is among the stranger films to emerge from the early years of the genre. Over the course of this episode, we'll talk about the film's roots in experimental theatre, its (not so) mysterious creator, and how it actually managed to kill the power at Carnegie Hall. Also: we celebrate our one-year anniversary, reflecting on what we've learned in the 25+ films covered so far.

Tanned, sinewy, aloof — a few adjectives that only begin to describe Peter Berlin, the enigmatic star of Ignatio Rutkowski's 1973 film NIGHTS IN BLACK LEATHER. Described as "combining the camp machismo of the leather set and [Berlin's] own sense of comedy" by Foxylady magazine, NIGHTS IN BLACK LEATHER takes us on a sexual travelogue of San Francisco with our Teutonic lead star as guide. Dressed to the nines in his trademark taut leather look, Berlin's romp through honky-tonk S/M bars, the wooded areas of San Francisco, and a party populated with drag queens helped establish the first-timer as a bonafide star. In this week's episode, we discuss the the self-created personality and mythos surrounding Peter Berlin. We also touch on the influence of San Francisco's S/M scene and Berlin's own initial apathy towards his debut film.

Happy Pride! We're kicking off June with a double-header: Arch Brown's LOVE THY NEIGHBOR (1974) and Zachary Youngblood's CELEBRATION (1978/1982). Although neither of these films may be a classic of the genre, both include vital footage of early Pride parades in New York City and San Francisco, pieces of queer life in 70s that you simply can't find anywhere else. We consider what makes Pride such a great setting for gay porn, discuss the importance of sound editing in both sex and non-sex scenes — and consider literally two of the most head-scratchingly bizarre sex scenes we've ever encountered on film (and that's saying a lot). Towards the end of the episode, our attention turns toward a really enraging recent development: eBay's decision to end its "Adults Only" section. We talk about how eBay is hiding behind credit card company profits in the name of "protecting consumers," how this is effectively another act of queer erasure — and what you can do and watch in this revival of the Tipper Gore era.

"It began at an airport…" This week on the show — and themed around the Memorial Day holiday — we present Jason Sato and Nick Eliot's 1973 drama, BROTHERS. The film explores the relationship between homosexual Vince, and his younger — and straight — brother Rick, who has just returned home on leave from Vietnam. Plagued by "ugly thoughts on his mind", Vince finds himself struggling to deal with a love that dare not speak its name. Over the course of this episode, we'll dive into the UCLA Film School's contributions to the adult film world, the acclaimed and pioneering video work of its creators, and some insight on the depiction of the Vietnam War in gay films.

"Have you ever wondered about truckers… or about how men get it on… with each other?" asks the trailer for KANSAS CITY TRUCKING CO., Joe Gage's 1976 story of a straight trucker whose consciousness is raised on his first cross-country haul to Los Angeles. A truly landmark film, KANSAS CITY TRUCKING CO. had a seismic impact on gay male visual and sexual culture, establishing a new vision of blue collar masculinity virtually overnight — along with a pair of new icons to go with it. Over the course of this episode, we'll dig into the film's genesis and genre roots, the exciting audio process known as SurrounduSound; and the promotional blitz that introduced the world to the Gage Men.

In June 1968, Los Angeles' Park Theatre held the world's first gay film festival. Mixed in the usual works by figures like Kenneth Anger, Jack Smith, and Andy Milligan was a new name: Pat Rocco. Though he'd only started making films that year, Rocco would quickly become the vanguard of a new, openly-gay film movement and a crucial figure in the history of gay liberation. This week on the show, we're taking a look at Rocco's fourth theatrical film program, PAT ROCCO DARES. Consisting of a number of cinematic 'dares' and firsts — including, most famously, a nude ballet shot on the Hollywood Freeway — DARES found Rocco testing and pushing the limits of what could be seen on the screen and done in public.

This week on the show we're taking it to the stage with "the all-male hit of 1981," Steve Scott's PERFORMANCE. Featuring a bevy of West Coast superstars and up-and-comers, PERFORMANCE follows the planning and production of an all-male burlesk extravaganza, culminating with Nick Rodgers' unforgettable (and absurd) KISS strip routine. Over the course of the episode, we'll dig into America's strange obsession with male strippers, the backstories of each of the performers, and the unexpected things you find on VHS tapes.

This week on the podcast, we're taking a look at the sole big-budget feature from the filmmaker Christopher Rage once described as being "the man who practically invented gay porn," Arch Brown. THE NIGHT BEFORE tells the story of Hank, a slacker with no real ambition in life other than to meet all the interesting people in New York City. And that he does — or does he? — when he runs into Paul one day in Central Park. Over the course of the episode, we'll dive into Arch Brown's background, this film's role in the development of Hand in Hand Films, and whether or not it's actually possible for a dildo to go into a butt, come out of a mouth, then go into another mouth, and then come out the other butt.

This week on the podcast, we're finally taking a look at the film that set the gay world on fire: Fred Halsted's L.A. PLAYS ITSELF. Described by its creator as a sort of 'confessional yin-and-yang,' the film's highly controversial emphasis on sadomasochism and ambivalent tone drew as much condemnation as it did applause, making Halsted a legitimate gay icon virtually overnight. Over the course of our discussion we'll dive into Halsted's backstory, the role that astrology had in the film's production, and its incendiary New York premiere.

This week on the podcast we're wrapping up a month of grand romance with Gorton Hall's 1974 epic, ZOOMERANG! The first film to be shot in the exciting screen process known as Ultravision, ZOOMERANG! tells the story of Gary and Jack, a middle-class gay couple living in domestic bliss. All that changes when Jack's old 'basically straight' tennis partner throws a wrench in the relationship by visiting on his way through town. Will the couple still be together by the time he leaves? Steeped in sumptuously photographed fantasies and flashbacks by producer/cinematgrapher Barry Knight, ZOOMERANG! is one of the glossiest male films of its era. And yet, all is not what it seems on the surface of this lighthearted film. Over the course of the second half of the episode, we'll dive into the raids and obscenity cases it spawned, and how they led to the downfall of Jaguar Productions, the largest gay film studio on the West Coast.

This week on the podcast — and just in time for Valentine's Day — we're taking a look at Francis Ellie's 1976 "romantic triangle of triumph and tragedy," KISS TODAY GOODBYE. George Payne stars as Charlie, a construction worker who finds himself having a torrid affair with Bill, an executive at his firm. Will Charlie and Bill find happiness together, or will outside forces tear them apart? Over the course of the episode we'll dive into the three (yes, three) people who were Francis Ellie, the film's roots in 60s sexploitation, and the paradox of filming hardcore as softcore.

This week on the podcast, we're taking a look at the film that gave notorious "Master of Sleaze" Christopher Rage his nickname: his sole 16mm feature, SLEAZE. Hyped in advertising as being "ain't no LOVE STORY," SLEAZE documents the initiations and going-ons of an underground, 42nd Street sex club. With a cast of unknowns and heavy hitters like Casey Donovan, Daniel Holt, and Scorpio; and a visual and musical aesthetic that more closely resembles no wave than it does glossy, early 80s porn, SLEAZE is a unique — and controversial — early effort by the most infamous filmmaker of the decade. Over the course of the episode, we'll dive into Christopher Rage's backstory, his unusual approach to music, and we'll also hear from him and stars Casey Donovan and Daniel Holt.

We begin a new year of the podcast with Arthur J. Bressan Jr.'s 1985 film, JUICE. Bressan's final adult film (and penultimate feature), JUICE is a sweet movie about 48 cruisey, humpy hours in New York City marked with a deadline. Michael Christopher plays Jim, a photographer who's about to lose his job at New York's hottest gay magazine if he can't find new faces by the end of the weekend. Will his photos make the grade? And what about the angelic runner he keeps eying in Central Park? In this episode we discuss the perils of working in the print industry, Bressan's relocation to the East Coast, and the never-ending struggle between respectable art and pornography. We also break down what is quite possibly one of the most absurd editing montages in the history of the genre.

Merry Fistmas! On our last episode of 2020, we'll be exploring a film about shafts and the working class, Jack Deveau's 'blue collar blue movie,' ROUGH TRADES. A deliberate attempt by Hand in Hand Films to scale back production costs, ROUGH TRADES is a simple story about one music producer and a whole lot of handymen. Over the course of our discussion, we'll dig into Hand in Hand's disastrous attempt at expanding into France, the film's farcical tone, and the eternal question of just how much of a grocery order can possibly go up one telephone repairman's ass.

It's a Fistmas miracle! As a special stocking stuffer for you, we have an interview with Adam Baran, filmmaker and founder of the long-running New York sex party, NYC Inferno. Over the course of our discussion, we'll be talking about Adam's first encounters with NEW YORK CITY INFERNO (Episode 12), the ways he's been able to evoke the film's era while avoiding nostalgia, and maintaining community in the age of COVID.

This week we're kicking off Fistmas season with our very first French film: Marvin Merkins' NEW YORK CITY INFERNO. Straddling the line between narrative and travelogue, the film tells the story of Jérôme, a Frenchman who descends into New York's hedonistic leather scene to find his missing lover, Paul. Shot at several legendary New York gay spaces — including the notorious Mineshaft — NEW YORK CITY INFERNO is a true classic of the genre and perhaps the greatest film to come out of France's gay sex film boom. Over the course of this episode, we'll dig into the beginnings of the French gay film industry, the film's completely authorized Village People soundtrack, and the backstories of many of the real people and places featured in it.

This week on the podcast, we're rebounding from our last episode with a true classic of the genre, Tom DeSimone's 1979 film, THE IDOL. Heavily promoted upon its release as being "the motion picture you've waited a long time to see," THE IDOL tells the story of Gary Evans, a college track star with a secret he took to the grave. But what was that secret — and who knew the real Gary? Listen as we discuss the fine line between romance and schmaltz; Tom DeSimone's long history both inside and out of the genre; and the mystique of its one-and-done star, Kevin Redding.

This week on the show, we're taking a look at two... out there... films built around iconic — and long gone — San Francisco cruising spots: The Slot Hotel in Mother Goose's ROOM 328 and the Spartan Cinema in Fritz Gemein's HONORABLE JONES COMES OUT. Over the course of our discussion, we'll go into the history behind each of these locations, the mysterious identity of Mother Goose, and the real scandal that inspired HONORABLE JONES. If you want more, be sure to subscribe to our Patreon for a special bonus episode where we look at a third film: Fritz Gemeiner's LEATHER 'N THINGS, shot at the famous leather shop that gave us both Mr. S Leather and the hanky code.

We wrap up our month of horror-themed titles with perhaps the spookiest of them all: Peter de Rome's nightmarishly psychedelic 1976 film, THE DESTROYING ANGEL. Tim Kent stars as Caswell Campbell, a seminary student torn between the cloth and the flesh and plagued by visions of his more endowed doppelgänger. As he loses himself in hallucinogenic drugs and increasingly debauched gay sex while on sabbatical, will his crisis of faith bring about his end? Equal parts Edgar Allan Poe, magic mushrooms, and Pink Floyd, THE DESTROYING ANGEL is a sex film like no other -- and over the course of our discussion, we'll dive into each of its primary influences and inspirations.