THE BOYS IN THE BAND on TCM tonight 11/19, 7 pm CST

I recorded it and finally got around to watching it last night. Can't believe I've never seen the original.

Definitely a product of its time, but I can't say I loved it, but it's definitely a movie that sticks with you. It painted a pretty bleak picture of gay life in the late 60s and early 70s. The lead character Michael seemed to go from mild mannered homo to cunt of the universe in record time, which I didn't really buy, and his performance was too over the top for me. I thought the rest of the cast was pretty good, although straight actor Cliff Gorman went full-on stereotype with his character Emory. I thought the guy who played Michael's sometimes fuck buddy Donald was really cute. It's sad to know that five of the cast members all ended up dying of AIDS.

One thing I couldn't figure out. Was the straight friend Alan really closeted or was that just a bitchy story Michael was making up?

[quote]The lead character Michael seemed to go from mild mannered homo to cunt of the universe in record time

TURNING! TURNING!

Like a Datalounge funhouse mirror.

You really don't need to type in all caps dear...cunt.

Thanks but I'll be washing a pair of socks.

I loved the crazy song arrangements. When Burt Bacharach gets going, you don't dare turn him off.

R4 That was a line from the movie.

I was just reading the story of Robert La Tourneaux, who played the hustler. God, how tragic. He actually ended up being a hustler when he couldn't get steady work after the Boys in the Band, then died of AIDS in 1986.

I also read that Cliff Gorman (who played Emory) and his wife took care of La Tourneaux when he was sick.

I loved this movie but I can’t stand to watch it now

"Brokeback Mountain" makes its TCM debut tonight.

[quote] That was a line from the movie.

The word “turning” may be used in the movie, but never is it shouted twice in a row.

R8 He also claimed that Christopher Walken was one of his clients and that Walken and Robert Wagner were fucking on the boat the night Natalie Wood drowned.

My mom believes that theory ☝🏼

[quote] and that Walken and Robert Wagner were fucking on the boat the night Natalie Wood drowned.

Very gay fantasy ☝🏼

Sure they were having anal intercourse on a tiny boat with Natalie on deck....

I watched it on TCM early this morning. Still hilarious, still heartbreaking especially thinking about the cast members who have passed away.

Either I never saw "Boys in the Band" or did so long ago that I forgot the storyline, but I caught it on TBS in the wee hours of this morning.

What a bleak portrayal of gay friendships in pre-AIDS Manhattan; "Queer as Folk" it ain't!

"Torch Song Trilogy," immediately following BITB in the movie lineup, was much more entertaining, and remains a fan favorite.

It was a milestone in gay cinema. What was there before? The Gay Deceivers? The Children's Hour? One of those films that miraculously got produced, against all odds. And an accurate snapshot of the times.

It's a time capsule of pre-Stonewall gay life.

I'm reading a biography of Dominick Dunne. He was good friends with the playwright and the character of Alan was based on him.

About the actor playing the hustler, post filming:

Unable to secure work as an actor, La Tourneaux began nude modeling in gay men's magazines and in 1978 performed nude in a one-man cabaret act at the Ramrod, a New York City theater showing gay pornography films. He eventually became a prostitute.

I prefer the recent remake with a star studded cast of out gay actors. It’s the same depressing story, though.

R20. He ended up at Rikers which is even more tragic. When he was dying Cliff Gorman and his wife cared for him.