Cruising the Movies

Latest Episodes:

Episode 2: Bob Clark's SHE-MAN: A STORY OF FIXATION (1967) and QUEENS AT HEART May 10, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode 1: Bruce LaBruce's NO SKIN OFF MY ASS (1991) Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode 44: A New Chapter... Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode 43: 'ASK ANY BUDDY and the Golden Age of All-Male Adult Cinema' Preview Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

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.

Episode 42: Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.'s DADDY DEAREST (1984) May 13, 2022

Show notes

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.

Episode 41: Jean Estienne's "AND... GOD CREATED MEN" (1978) Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

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.

Episode 40: Peter de Rome's ADAM & YVES (1974) Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

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.

Episode 39: Enrico Montenegro's FORBIDDEN PORTRAITS (1982) Mar 25, 2022

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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.

Episode 38: Red Drayton's HOLLYWOOD COWBOY (1974) Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

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.

Episode 37: Tom DeSimone's CATCHING UP (1975) Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

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.

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