Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
A caress of the lips. A deep longing. Sharing a single breath?
On the silver screen such a kiss can be captured forever, frozen in time.
Or so these films would have us believe.
So, let's kiss and tell and spill the beans on these everlasting smacks, smooches, and snogs.
Yes, things can get pretty heated.
Chapstick exists for a reason, you know!
Grab a seat on the aisle.
Popcorn at the ready.
Pucker up and roll film!
- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque
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Kiss Me Again
(1925)
Gaston Fleury's wife, Loulou, takes a perfunctory interest in music but a deeper one in a musician named Maurice. Although Gaston has no intention of releasing his wife into the hands of Maurice, he feigns willingness to give Loulou a divorce. Loulou then becomes bored with Maurice, and clever maneuvering on the part of Gaston brings her to want desperately a reconciliation with him. He happily fulfills her wish.
Based on the French play Divorçons! (1880), by Victorien Sardou and Émile de Najac, and the adapted version of the play Cyprienne, this American silent romantic comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It stars Marie Prevost, Monte Blue, John Roche, Clara Bow and Willard Louis.
This film is presumed lost. In the late 1940s and 1950s, Warner Bros. destroyed many of its negatives due to nitrate film decomposition. Studio records indicate that the negative of filmography pre-1931 was marked "Junked 12/27/48".
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Kiss Me Again
(1931)
A Legionnaire in love with an aspiring opera singer is expected to marry the general's daughter, who in turn is in love with another soldier.
Based on the popular 1905 Broadway operetta Mlle. Modiste, by Victor Herbert and Henry Martyn Blossom, this American pre-Code musical operetta was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Bernice Claire, Edward Everett Horton, Walter Pidgeon, June Collyer and Frank McHugh.
Filmed entirely in two-tone Technicolor, it was originally released in the United States as Toast of the Legion in late 1930, but was quickly withdrawn when Warner Bros. realized that the public had grown weary of musicals. The Warner Bros. believed that this attitude would only last for a few months, but, when the public proved obstinate, they reluctantly re-released the film early in 1931 after making a few cuts.
When the film was re-released in 1931, most of Walter Pidgeon's songs were cut from the film. Only a small abbreviated version of one of his songs is heard on the existing print.
While a black and white version of the edited film has been preserved, it is not known if a copy of the original film, release in other countries under the title Toast of the Legion, exists.
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Kiss Me Quick!
(1964)
Sterilox, asexual ambassador from a distant planet, comes down to earth in search of feminine breeding stock. A mad scientist uses the opportunity to show off his dancing sex robots as a means of entertaining the interplanetary visitors.
This American comedy horror film directed by Peter Perry and stars Frank A. Coe, Max Gardens, and Althea Currier.
The film was originally titled Dr. Breedlove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love (or, more simply, Dr. Breedlove) to exploit the title of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. It was then retitled to exploit Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid.
First American film for cinematographer László Kovács. He came to the US in 1962, but didn't speak much English. Nobody would hire him and he couldn't get into the Union. Producer Harry Novak met him through a friend and hired him for this film. Kovács made a few more films for Novak and then went on to become a huge success, working on several prominent films in his career - Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, Paper Moon, What's Up Doc?, Shampoo, etc. Kovács never forgot Novak and was always grateful for his helping get his start.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube. (I dare you.)
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Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
(1968)
Jean Novak, neglected by her brutal and alcoholic mechanic husband Stan, pursues affairs with other men. One of them is Stan's best friend Eddie, whom she falls in love with. When Eddie wants to break it off with Jean, she resorts to underhanded tactics to continue seeing Eddie by introducing Stan's unmarried younger sister Ellen to Eddie and trying to break them up. But when Stan finds out that Jean is neglecting their three-year-old son for drunken binges and sex parties, he goes over the deep end and sets out to stop Jean, for good.
This American drama was directed by Andy Milligan and stars Natalie Rogers, Don Williams, Peter Ratray, and Joy Martin.
Natalie Rogers was paid five hundred dollars to play the lead female character, and wore a blonde wig for the role.
Natalie Rogers and Peter Ratray
Director Andy Milligan was held upside-down by his feet over a balcony in order to get the 'falling' shot for the film's finale.
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Torture Me, Kiss Me
(1970)
Count Henri de Prave revisits the French bistro where he played a small part in the downfall of the Nazis years earlier. He recounts the story of how the evil Nazi Commandant Max von Hildebrandt, a friend of the Count, came to France with his sadistic ways and his ultimate downfall.
This American war drama was directed by David R. Friedberg and stars Frank MacIntosh, Blaine Quincy, Christine Cybelle, and Nick Linkov.
Today we take a final look at the Roadhouse Classics imprint published by Guild Press.
Guild Press operated out of Washington D.C. and Roadhouse Classics was just one of several imprints the company published. Roadhouse Classics published between 1971 and 1972 (the publishing company shut its doors in 1972). A complete listing of Roadhouse Classics books does not exist. Based on the numbering system, I am guessing they published at least 33 titles.
Roadhouse Classics books were paper-wrapped pamphlet-sized booklets held together with staples in the middle. Many of them were fully or partially illustrated with photos. Typically the cover contained some reference to Guild Press and the PNC logo. The PNC logo represented the Potomac News Company, Guild Press' distribution company. They operated out of a P.O. Box at Franklin Station in Washington D.C.
The numbering system? Pretty straightforward, beginning at RC-101 and continuing thusly.
The covers typically have a strong flesh-colored or light yellow border acting as a frame for a graphic male photo, most likely lifted from one of Guild Press's many magazine offerings.
The authors names attributed to these books are authors who provided works for all of Guild Press' many imprints. These books originally sold for $2.25. Today, they are somewhat rare, but can be found for $25-$100.
Here are the next ten titles (that I could find). This concludes our look at Guild Press, it's history and imprints.
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Wild Boys of the Commune
Author: Byron James
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-112
This one is about when a "treasury agent infiltrates a boys’ commune".
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Touch Me, Touch Me
Author: Chris Aldrich
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-114
(Cover not found.)
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Buzzy
Author: Jack Evans
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-116
This one is "about a sailor" and is illustrated.
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Gay Patrolman
Author: Guy Dandridge
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-119
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A Day of Glory
Author: Jack Evans
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-120
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Boy's Camp
Author: Guy Dandridge
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-121
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Ready Willing and Able
Author: Guy Dandridge
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-122
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Swap Out
Author: J.J. Proferes
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-123
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Stud on the Rocks
Author: Roger Short
Roadhouse Classics
1971
RC-124
Includes the classic Three in a Hayloft.
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Gay Company - 69th Battalion
Author: J.J. Proferes
Roadhouse Classics
1972
RC-133
The "hushed up story of a gay company during the Civil War".
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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And that's all for now.
Next up: More tantalizing titles from another vintage gay pulp imprint.
Down The Rabbit Hole merely places a spotlight on something slightly unusual that's caught my interest. With the help of Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sites, I gather information and learn something new about something classic.
Today, we take a look at the musical legacy and sexual politics of the highly influential, Romeo Void.
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From Wikipedia:
Romeo Void was an American new wave and post-punk band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. During the course of their history, they went through four drummers, starting with Jay Derrah and ending with Aaron Smith. The band released three albums and one EP, and are best known for the songs Never Say Never and A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing); the latter became a top 40 pop single, peaking at #35 in the US.
The band was started at the San Francisco Art Institute by Iyall and Zincavage. They released a single on the recently formed 415 Records before recording their debut album, which has been deemed a "masterpiece of American post-punk". The success of their second release, a four-song EP titled Never Say Never resulted in a distribution deal with Columbia Records. Iyall has garnered acclaim as a skilled lyricist who explores themes like sexuality and alienation from a female perspective with "searing imagery". The band continued to release music and tour until they broke up in 1985. The members have reunited briefly over the years.
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White Sweater - Romeo Void
Never Say Never - Romeo Void
Chinatown - Romeo Void
A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing) - Romeo Void
A caress of the lips. A deep longing. Sharing a single breath?
On the silver screen such a kiss can be captured forever, frozen in time.
Or so these films would have us believe.
So, let's kiss and tell and spill the beans on these everlasting smacks, smooches, and snogs.
Yes, things can get pretty heated.
Chapstick exists for a reason, you know!
Grab a seat on the aisle.
Popcorn at the ready.
Pucker up and roll film!
- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque
--- ---
El Beso de Judas
AKA: The Kiss of Judas, Il Bacio di Giuda
(1954)
The story of Judas Iscariot with the infamous kiss of him betraying Jesus to the Romans in exchange for a few coins.
This Spanish religious drama was directed by Rafael Gil and stars Rafael Rivelles, Francisco Rabal and Gérard Tichy.
Gérard Tichy, who plays Pontius Pilate, would play Joseph, husband of Mary, six years later in the Hollywood epic King of Kings, where his speaking voice was dubbed by another actor.
In all, the built 82 sets for this picture. In addition, exterior shots were done on location in the Holy Land
The magazines and media of the time rapturously described the spectacular nature of El beso de Judas, rarely seen before in Spanish cinema. The journalist Barreira ended one of his reports by pointing out: "Never was such a gigantic film presented in Spain, a display of presentation as was required in this one, dealing with the exalted theme of the crucifixion of Christ."
You can view this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
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The Kiss of the Vampire
(1963)
AKA: Kiss of Evil
Gerald and Marianne Harcourt are on their honeymoon, traveling by car. When the car breaks down they have to spend a few days in a small, remote village. It doesn't take long before they are invited to Dr. Ravna's castle. They accept, unaware that Dr. Ravna is the leader of a vampire cult, and that he has become obsessed by Marianne's beauty.
The director Don Sharp admitted, years later, that he wasn't keen on horror films. However, he decided to make Kiss of the Vampire slightly different to the usual Hammer movies.
The rubber bats used in the movie were bought from a local branch of Woolworths.
When Universal released a version of the film for television, they deleted nearly all of the climatic ending. Turns out it was borrowed material; the climax of the film was originally written for the climax of The Brides of Dracula (1960).
You can view this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
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Kiss Me Monster
(1969)
A psychedelic spy spoof featuring the bold and beautiful detective duo The Red Lips. This film finds the girls moonlighting on a striptease world tour - but no sooner do they hit the stage than the girls are up to their pasties in stiffs, Satanists and Sapphic sadists, all after a secret formula for human clones. Even if The Red Lips can get to the formula first, will they still be able to survive the dangers lurking around every corner?
This adventure mystery was directed, written and co-stars Jesús Franco, along with Janine Reynaud, Rosanna Yanni, Chris Howland, Michel Lemoine, Manuel Velasco, Ana Casares, Adrian Hoven and Barta Barri.
A sequel to Two Under Cover Angels, AKA: Sadist Erotica. It premiered in Austria on May 31, 1969, and debuted in the US in November of 1972.
You can view this film in it's entirety for free on YouTube.
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Kiss Of The Spider Woman
(1985)
Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates in a South American prison. Luis, a trans individual, is found guilty of immoral behavior and Valentin is a political prisoner. To escape reality Luis invents romantic movies, while Valentin tries to keep his mind on the situation he's in. During the time they spend together, the two men come to understand and respect one another.
Based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Manuel Puig, this drama was directed by Héctor Babenco and stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, and Denise Dumont.
Burt Lancaster was originally offered the lead role of Luis Molina. When health issues and unwelcome speculation about his personal life led Lancaster to withdraw, he was replaced by William Hurt. Director Hector Babenco originally felt that William Hurt was too well-built and handsome for the part, but at the first readthrough the actor brought Babenco to tears, quelling the director's fears. Richard Gere was originally set to play Valentin before being replaced by Raul Julia. Although Gere was seen as a stronger box office draw, Julia's casting allayed some of the fears that the film, adapted from a Argentine novel, was becoming too Anglicized.
Reportedly, William Hurt and Raul Julia worked for nothing but the payment for their air tickets and hotel bills in Brazil, where the film was shot.
During rehearsals, the two actors had trouble finding the chemistry they needed for their scenes together. To better understand what each needed from the other's role, William Hurt suggested they try an experiment where they would switch roles, with Hurt as Valentin and Raul Julia as Molina. The role-switching rehearsal went so well that Hurt initially suggested to director Hector Babenco that they should switch parts for the film as well. Obviously, the switch did not occur, but Hurt states that it was a very useful experiment in helping them more fully understand their own characters.
William Hurt and Raul Julia would work all hours, even coming in on Sundays. Later in the process, they went to the studio where the jail set was being constructed. According to Hurt, the crew stayed out of sight and just watched the actors rehearse for four hours, visibly touched that they put so much effort and passion into their work. "I don't know two men who got into each other's souls as thoroughly as these two guys," producer David Weisman said.
William Hurt initially struggled with developing characterization and mannerisms for Luis, until he became inspired to portray the character not necessarily as a homosexual, but more like "a woman trapped in a man's body." Hector Babenco agonized all through rehearsals over how William Hurt would ever find the gay character in himself. To help Hurt tackle the part, and because author Manuel Puig was not available, Babenco put him with Patricio Bisso, who was set to play the small role of Molina's friend Greta and design the film's costumes. Bisso is gay, had been in jail himself, and was close to his mother, like Molina in many ways. Hurt toured Sao Paulo with him, often visiting gay cinemas, looking for clues to the character. Bisso got fed up translating the films for him and started making up the stories instead. Bisso later said Hurt used him as a "sacrificial lamb" for his process, playing cat and mouse games with him to get a sense of how Molina would react in similar circumstances. During one such session, Hurt took Bisso to a nice restaurant, but Bisso couldn't eat because Hurt's prodding and game-playing had made him cry.
By his own admission, William Hurt was already gaining a reputation for being difficult. He often pushed too hard and was not always diplomatic, but said, "Raul never saw any of the pushing I did as being offensive." Tensions started early on in the process between William Hurt and Hector Babenco. David Weisman later remarked that Hurt had a wonderful mastery of language and spoke in "great metaphorical ellipses that are hard to follow even if English is your native language." For Babenco it was impossible. He became frustrated by Hurt talking "for hours" and learned to just nod and pretend to agree in order to keep the conversations relatively short.
There were constant revisions from screenwriter Leonard Schrader and director Manuel Puig throughout every day. William Hurt began to complain that he felt like he was working on a television soap opera, and tensions on set began to rise. The relationship between William Hurt and Hector Babenco steadily deteriorated to the point where they didn't even speak to each other any more. Assistant director Amilcar Monteiro Claro became the go-between, since he spoke both English and Brazilian Portuguese. Claro said the tension was terrible but actually good for the film because it helped Hurt with his performance.
In an interview with National Public Radio, William Hurt stated that during a day off from production, he and a female companion were abducted at gunpoint by multiple gunmen in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was reportedly told to face a wall, at which point her was certain the gunman was going to execute both of them. Hurt refused and after a brief shouting exchange, all of the kidnappers left the scene. The incident was not reported to the production company at the time as he (Hurt) was certain that filming would be shut down, putting completion of the film in jeopardy.
Sonia Braga did not speak English at the time of production, and had to recite her lines phonetically. Choreographer Mara Borba was originally set to play the Spider Woman. (Shots exist of her in costume.) At the last minute, Sonia Braga suggested that she play the part since it would cause confusion for the audience to see her as Valentin's girlfriend and Leni Lamaison but not the third female. She called Borba first with the idea before taking it to Babenco. Borba said she was sad at first to lose the part but realized Braga was right and that playing the part was much less important than her true role in the film, which was her collaboration with William Hurt.
Initial screenings did not go well. Raul Julia was furious after watching the first cut: "What happened to the movie? What happened to all our great work?!" After seven months of post-production, the film was sent to the New York Film Festival. The selection committee rejected it without even watching the whole movie. William Hurt wasn't too concerned about this until he saw the first cut himself and realized why they dismissed it so abruptly. The fantasy film sequences were too long and overwhelmed the story of the relationship between the two men. He wanted to buy the print and burn it so it would never be released.
William Hurt and Raul Julia spent five weeks in post-production dubbing the film. This gave screenwriter Leonard Schrader the chance to rewrite most of the off-screen dialogue for the actors to record, giving the film a totally different feel and bringing the original intentions back into focus. After 14 months of post-production, the film was finished.
The first independent film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. William Hurt's Best Actor Oscar was the first Academy Award won by an actor for playing an openly gay character. Hurt is also seen in drag in this movie, the Oscar win being a rare occasion in which an Oscar for acting has been won with an actor in drag.
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Vampire's Kiss
(1988)
A publishing executive is visited and bitten by a woman and starts exhibiting erratic behavior. He pushes his secretary to extremes as he tries to come to terms with his delusions. The woman continues to visit and as his madness deepens, it begins to look as if some of the events he's experiencing may be hallucinations.
This American black comedy horror film was directed by Robert Bierman and stars Nicolas Cage, María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, and Elizabeth Ashley.
Minion said that while on vacation in Barbados with his then-girlfriend, Barbara Zitwer, he wrote the screenplay as a response to his "toxic relationship" with her. Zitwer, who would come on as a producer for the film, found the final product to be "horrifying". Minion's depiction of Zitwer as a "vampire and destroying him" foreshadowed the ending of their relationship during production.
Joseph Minion was initially to direct the film, however he found it too dark and disturbing and turned it over to Robert Bierman, who up to that point had only done short films and commercials. At that point, Cage dropped out at the urging of his agent. Cage changed his mind.
Dennis Quaid, John Travolta, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Judd Nelson were under consideration for the Peter Loew role eventually played by Nicolas Cage.
Cage and Beals reportedly did not get along on set, with their friction stemming from the part of Rachel going to Beals rather than Cage's then-girlfriend, Patricia Arquette.
According to associate producer and casting director Marcia Shulman, in order to get turned on, Cage asked to have hot yogurt poured over his toes while he was doing a love scene with Jennifer Beals.
Nicolas Cage ate a real cockroach for this film - it reportedly took three takes. He once said about the experience, "Every muscle in my body didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway." The 'cockroach scene' was entirely Nicolas Cage's idea, a decision he greatly regretted later on. Cage also received a number of calls from animal rights activists about the scene and defended his actions by asking them if they could honestly declare that they'd never used a can of 'Raid' in their homes.
The scene where all the furniture and glass is broken had to be done in a single take because it was all real furniture and glass and they didn't have the budget to replace it.
Much to the chagrin of director Robert Bierman and Nicolas Cage, there were some scenes removed from the film and multiple cuts of the film suggested. Cage states that those lost scenes represented some of his best work and that he longs for those scenes to be restored someday.
In a 2018 GQ interview, Nicolas Cage stated that this is the favorite movie he had made.
This was a non-union production, and as such, had to deal with union demonstrations throughout filming, including union members taunting the production using megaphones.
Variety wrote, "Cage's over-the-top performance generates little sympathy for the character, so it's tough to be interested in him as his personality disorder worsens." Caryn James of The New York Times wrote, "The film is dominated and destroyed by Mr. Cage's chaotic, self-indulgent performance." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a sleek, outrageous dark comedy that's all the funnier for constantly teetering on the brink of sheer tastelessness and silliness." Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called the film "stone-dead bad, incoherently bad", but said that Cage's overacting must be seen to be believed. Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer called it an "imaginative, if warped, black comedy" that "succeeds as a wicked allegory of What Men Want". Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers wrote that the film needs "a stake through the heart".
