Cruising the Movies

Our month of horror-themed titles continues with quite possibly the only film to connect Agnès Varda, Brigid Berlin, genderfuck drag superstars the Cycle Sluts, the Accu-Jac, and Alice Coltrane: Michael Zen's FALCONHEAD. Often described as a forerunner of Clive Barker's HELLRAISER, FALCONHEAD is an occult-tinged nightmare profiling the depths of gay narcissism and self-love. This is a film born out of a very specific time in Los Angeles' queer arts scene — practically everyone involved has a backstory worthy of exploration, which we'll discuss at length in this episode.

It's officially October, which means things are going to get spooky on Ask Any Buddy. Over the course of this month, we'll be taking a look at three horror-themed films, starting with Roger Earl's glitzy 1983 feature, GAYRACULA. Falcon sensation Tim Kramer stars as Gaylord Young, a young vampire with a suspicious tanline out for revenge against the villainous (and promiscuous) Marquis de Suede. Will Gaylord find true love and be freed of his curse? Over the course of our discussion, we'll dive into the film's roots in Los Angeles' S/M scene, its mysterious screenwriters, and the vampire as a queer villain.

This week on the podcast we move back into the 70s to take a look at the film that made Al Parker one of the biggest gay sex symbols of his era: Steve Scott's 1979 romantic drama, INCHES. Al Parker stars as Doug, a college student who suddenly finds his world upended and his belief in monogamy challenged when his older lover Lee (played by Parker's real-life partner) abruptly leaves him for another man. INCHES is the first of nearly a dozen Steve Scott films that we'll be talking about over the course of this podcast. Over the course of our discussion, we'll dive into both his and Al Parker's backstories, the film's genesis, and its uncanny similarities to other late 70s sexual empowerment films like AN UNMARRIED WOMAN and LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR.

On the fifth episode of the ASK ANY BUDDY podcast, we're focusing on the movie that's "exactly what you think it is"... Joe Gage's sleazy, 1981 classic HANDsome. Inspired by raunchy phone sex fantasies and Gage's own move to the East Coast, HANDsome is a cross-country trek that's also unintentionally the first safer sex film. Over the course of this episode we will draw from an on-set journal describing the film's production and plenty of other fun anecdotes from Gage and the film's stars.

This week on the podcast, we'll be taking a look at Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.'s 1979 romantic drama, Forbidden Letters. The film has recently been restored by the Bressan Project and Vinegar Syndrome, and is due to be released to VOD on PinkLabel.TV on August 22nd. Forbidden Letters tells the story of Larry and Richard, two lovers torn apart by the harsh realities and homophobia of the prison system. The film, which was invited to play the 1980 edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, easily ranks among the greatest gay films of the 70s. Over the course of our discussion, we'll talk about the film's extended four year production, the real incident that inspired it, and how it fits into Bressan's overall filmography.

On this week's show, we'll be looking at one of cinema's more outrageous vanity projects: David L. Allen's semi-autobiographical 1973 epic, THE LIGHT FROM THE SECOND STORY WINDOW. Originally running a full three hours long, the film — adapted from Allen's own novel — tells the story of Lee Jones, a young man who arrives in Hollywood seeking stardom, only to be forced into prostitution, sex films, and drug addiction on his way to the top. There's almost too much to talk about this one, but during our discussion, we'll look into the curious life of David Allen, the mainstream gay social club that got involved in the sex film world, and the film's targeting by the Los Angeles Police Department.

For our second episode, we'll be taking a look at Jack Deveau's 1974 film "about fifty very compulsive men," DRIVE. This early feature from Deveau almost defies description, blending camp, raunch, the avant-garde, and a surprisingly biting commentary on gay promiscuity to create a spy film like no other. Over the course of our discussion, we'll talk about the film's origins, its many ties to New York's gay scene, its knotty gender politics, and the history of fisting on film.

On this inaugural episode of the Ask Any Buddy podcast, we take a look at Wakefield Poole's 1977 film, TAKE ONE. Described by the filmmaker as a 'docufantasy,' TAKE ONE is both a love note to San Francisco's Nob Hill Cinema and an exploration of the fantasies of eight gay men. Over the course of our discussion, we'll talk about our interests in the genre and gay history in general, the film's genesis and connections to seminal queer documentaries like WORD IS OUT: STORIES OF SOME OF OUR LIVES and ARMY OF LOVERS OR REVOLT OF THE PERVERTS, and both the real and reel lives of the men featured in the film.