An Early Clue to the New Direction

Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, Thomas Beard recalls the moment he became fascinated with the history of queer cinema. “Stumbling upon the documentary version of The Celluloid Closet on TV as a not-yet-out teenager was definitely a revelation for me,” says the lead programmer for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, referring to the 1995 film based on Vito Russo’s book about Hollywood’s historical portrayal of LGBT characters. “When I was younger, I desperately wanted to locate, to belong to, a history of queer aesthetics and politics that felt invisible to me, so I embarked upon a research project that, essentially, remains ongoing, all these years later.”

A chunk of that project can be found at An Early Clue to the New Direction, a survey of queer cinema before Stonewall, running April 22 to May 1 at Film Society of Lincoln Center. From classic Hollywood cuts and Sapphic vampire flicks to grainy home movies and formal experiments, Beard has compiled 23 features and 25 shorts that reflect alternative narratives to the accepted history of pre-Stonewall oppression. “In a number of cases, we see queers in a context where they aren’t simply lurking in the shadows, but rather are part of a rich and lively demimonde,” says Beard. “I relish the flashes of innuendo one finds in a film like Hitchcock’s Rope, but it’s equally exciting for me to showcase, say, Mona’s Candle Light, a recently rediscovered home movie made at a lesbian bar in San Francisco in the early ’50s.”

The following page features just a sliver of the program’s offerings—the most comprehensive of its kind—that might be of interest to Next readers, though as Beard notes, there’s something in the survey for everyone. “Since the series brings together many different styles of moviemaking, my hope is that the program will appeal to a wide range of audiences,” he says. “Each screening is essential in its own way.” Together, they piece together a portrait of a pre-Stonewall era that’s complex and varied. “The narrative of early queer cinema is so much more than furtive glances, and this series, I hope, will illustrate that fact—lavishly.”

Documentary: Glen or Glenda, 1953

Move over Caitlyn. Originally titled I Changed My Sex!, Ed Wood’s 65-minute doc was intended to capitalize on the media frenzy surrounding Christine Jorgensen, the ex-GI turned tabloid sensation after having sex reassignment surgery. Wood seeks consultation from doctors and scientists to paint a sympathetic (for it’s time) portrayal of gender nonconformity, by turns reading like a PSA for cross-dressing. The film settles into the story of Glen, who’s conflicted about whether or not to tell his fiancé that he’s sometimes Glenda. A lengthy dream sequence—BDSM, a marriage scene with a devil—abruptly sends his story down a bizarre rabbit hole that’s caused critics to scratch their heads in disbelief—and earning the movie its cult status.

Playing April 24, 9 pm

Rare and Independent: An Early Clue to the New Direction, 1966 and My Hustler, 1965

Experimental filmmaker Andrew Meyer’s An Early Clue to the New Direction, from which this program takes its name, features cult actress Joy Bang, poet Rene Ricard, and his boyfriend, the gay-rights activist Prescott Townsend. The black and white film spontaneously captures the trio wandering aimlessly through the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston improvising sparks of monologue, like Prescott’s snowflake theory about human sexuality. Andy Warhol took similarly experimental risks with My Hustler, about an older man jockeying for the attention of a young hustler on Fire Island. The banter, by turns lewd and catty, led a New York Times reviewer to quip: “Of course, My Hustler is a come-on for the curiosity seekers and voyeurs. But I would say that The Endless Conversations would be a better title for this fetid beach-boy film.”

Playing April 30, 3:15 pm

Hollywood Production: Reflections in a Golden Eye, 1967

In this John Huston produced gothic set on a southern Army base, Major Weldon Penderton (Marlon Brando) pines for the attention of a mysterious soldier (Robert Forster) with a not so secret penchant for naked horseback riding. Though married to a tempestuous Elizabeth Taylor, Penderton develops a repressed, unspoken obsession with the young boy. Meanwhile, Anacleto, the neighbors’ Filipino houseboy, sashays flamboyantly through the drama; the effete foil for Penderton’s rigid masculinity. Despite the film’s star power, it lacked commercial success, leaving Roger Ebert to wonder, in his four star review of the film: “Was the movie so wretchedly bad that Warner Bros. decided to keep it a secret? Or could it be, perhaps, that it was too good? Perhaps it could.”

Playing April 30, 9:30 pm

Beard’s Pick: Portrait of Jason, 1967

While programmer Thomas Beard views each movie in his survey as pieces to a bigger picture, he’s particularly excited about Shirley Clarke’s film about Jason Holliday, a gay hustler and aspiring cabaret performer. The extended interview was shot during a single night in her penthouse apartment in the Chelsea Hotel, capturing the jazzy raconteur saying things like “I Hustle. I’m a stone whore and I’m not ashamed of it,” while clutching a cocktail. “It’s one of the great movies about hustling and being hustled,” says Beard. “Ingmar Bergman dubbed it ‘The most fascinating film I’ve ever seen.’” Over time, it isn’t clear who’s being hustled and who’s doing the hustling, as Holliday’s stories unravel themselves into a chaotic and enthralling character study. Or as Vito Russo put it: “Two hours with Jason Holliday is like a month in another country.”

Playing May 1, 3:30 pm

For the full schedule visit: www.filmlinc.org.