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
--- ---
Kiss and Make Up
1921
Newlywed hubby insists upon hotel life, so to a hotel they go, and after his wife becomes the belle of the establishment, they migrate to a California bungalow. Then, when wifey is planning a surprise party for him, the husband comes home unexpectedly. The musician, caterer, and florist are made to hide behind curtains and beneath sofas. They are discovered, of course, and accused of being the wife's lovers. There are further complications when a messenger boy brings an amorous letter to the wife by mistake. Complications ensue.
Helen Darling
This American silent film was directed by Scott Sidney and stars Earl Rodney, Helen Darling and Thornton Edwards.
--- ---
Kiss and Make-up
(1934)
Dr. Maurice Lamar is a noted plastic-surgeon who makes his rich clients beautiful, and also seduces them. He makes Eve Caron, the wife of Marcel Caron, so satisfied with his skilled hands that she leaves Marcel and marries Maurice. They go on a Mediterranean honeymoon, where he soon finds the affects of his own beauty regulations are more than he can handle. He bids adieu to his new bride, wings it back to Paris with the intention of giving up his practice and becoming a scientific researcher...after winning back the love of his simple, unadorned secretary, Anne.
Based on the play Kozmetika by István Békeffy, this American comedy was directed by Harlan Thompson with Eugene Negulesco and stars Cary Grant, Genevieve Tobin, Edward Everett Horton and Helen Mack.
Helen Mack replaced Carole Lombard, who refused to do the role.
Features a very rare example of Cary Grant singing a fully-orchestrated musical number, Love Divided By Two, with a later reprise.
Future Ann Sheridan appears in an uncredited role as a beautician. She would eventually star aside Cary Grant in 1949's I Was A Male Order Bride.
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign that selected a group of actresses who the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers felt were on the brink of stardom. The women were featured as 'Baby Stars' in this film and were the last group, because the WAMPAS did away with program the following year, after which WAMPAS itself disbanded. Former 'Baby Stars' include Jean Arthur and Ginger Rogers.
The New York Times critic Andre Sennwald called the film "a first-class lingerie bazaar and a third-class entertainment" and wrote: "It represents a triumphant attempt to achieve pictorial allure without disturbing its pious editorial point of view on the impersonal worship of feminine beauty. It crowds the screen so thickly with silk, satin and nymphs that it is with some difficulty that such agreeable players as Edward Everett Horton, Cary Grant and Genevieve Tobin succeed in projecting themselves at all. Kiss and Make-Up succeeds to a remarkable degree in being dull."
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
--- ---
Kiss and Wake Up
(1942)
Johnny Downs has a fight with his fiancée Adele Mara on the eve of their wedding and they decide to call it off. He realizes his mistake and wishes to make up but she is adamant. To make her jealous, he disguises his friend Frank Sully as a girl, but this backfires on him.
This American comedy was directed by Jules White and stars Johnny Downs, Frank Sully, and Adele Mara.
Johnny Downs
Johnny Downs was an American actor, singer and dancer. He began his career as a child actor, most notably as Johnny in the Our Gang short comedy film series from 1923 to 1926, appearing in 24 episodes. In the mid 1930's he found his niche, appearing in a string of 'college' films. Then, in the early 1940's, he starred in a series of short subjects, mostly musicals, for Columbia Pictures. He remained active in films, television and theatre through the early 1960s. In all, he appeared in nearly 100 movies.
--- ---
Kiss and Tell
(1945)
15-year-old Corliss Archer and 17-year-old Mildred Pringle are best friends and get into some mischief together which causes their parents to fight over who is a bad influence on whom. Their fight also concerns Mildred and Lenny Archer, Corliss' brother, who eloped one weekend when Lenny's home on leave from the Army. Fearing that the Pringles would want the marriage annulled, the couple decides not to tell anyone except Corliss. Then Mildred gets pregnant and Corliss is seen leaving the doctor's office when she accompanies Mildred there. Mrs. Pringle heads to the Archers' with the wrong idea and tells them that Corliss is pregnant, and they assume that Corliss' boyfriend is the father. To buy them some time, Corliss tells her parents that she and Dexter are married, all the while trying to contact Mildred at every opportunity. Suddenly, Corliss' uncle, a navy chaplain, shows up and offers to give them a real home wedding right then and there!
Based on the stage play of the same name by F. Hugh Herbert , this American comedy was directed by Richard Wallace and stars 17-year-old Shirley Temple, Jerome Courtland, Walter Abel, Katherine Alexander, Virginia Welles and Robert Benchley.
Shirley Temple would play Corliss Archer again in A Kiss for Corliss (1949), her final film.
The $400,000 paid to George Abbott (writer of the original short stories) and Herbert for the play's film rights was a then-record in Hollywood.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film an "effervescent" adaptation of the stage play and declared Temple "superb in the leading role." Film Daily wrote: "A fast-paced comedy amusing from first to last has been fashioned from F. Hugh Herbert's stage success... [Shirley Temple] delivers her best work since her farewell to childhood." John McCarten of The New Yorker reported that the film hadn't changed much from the "protracted but reasonably diverting" stage version, and singled out Jerome Courtland as "one of the most capable adolescent actors to come along in years."
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
--- ---
Kisses Right and Left
(1972)
AKA: Kys til højre og venstre
After drifting from relationship to relationship; Jack has an on-going relationship with a married woman ten years his senior named Betty, while Hugo, after several failed relationships, has fallen in love with a younger, married model/actress named Ruth. Neither of the girls are actually available, as they have other primary relationships, but Jack and Hugo are betting they can win their hearts, at any cost.
Based on the novel of the same name by Jens Gielstrup, this Danish romantic comedy drama was directed by Ole Roos and stars Peter Bonke, Jens Østerholm, Birgitte (Price) Bruun, and Vigga Bro.
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
--- ---
Handcuffs or Kisses
(1921)
Orphan Lois Walton is treated unkindly by her aunt, who has her placed in a reformatory. She and the other inmates are badly abused but are afraid to complain, and she remains silent after a riot is subdued. Arousing the sympathy of Peter Madison, a lawyer who conducts an investigation, she is quickly paroled. Placed in a doctor's home, she is frightened by his sexual advances and runs away. Refusing Madison's offer of refuge in his apartment, she becomes social secretary to Miss Dell, operator of a gambling house, who tries to force her into a marriage with wealthy young Leo Carstairs. However, she is saved by Madison, who claims her as his own wife.
This silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and stars Elaine Hammerstein, Julia Swayne Gordon, and Dorothy Chappell.
This was future Hollywood star Ronald Colman's first film in America.
This film is presumed lost.
Elaine Hammerstein
Elaine Hammerstein was the daughter of Jean Allison Hammerstein and opera producer Arthur Hammerstein. She was the granddaughter of Oscar Hammerstein I and the cousin of Oscar Hammerstein II. She later became the stepdaughter of fellow actress Dorothy Dalton when her father married Dalton in 1924. (Elaine Hammerstein was one year younger than Dalton.) She appeared in 44 movies from 1915 until 1926. Among her film credits are The Girl From Nowhere (1921), The Drums of Jeopardy (1923), Reckless Youth (1922), Broadway Gold (1923), and The Midnight Express (1924), opposite William Haines. With the latter film, the studio tried to promote Hammerstein and Haines as a couple, even though Haines was an actively gay man. She married and retired from film in June of 1926. In August of 1948, while returning from a trip to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, Hammerstein, her husband, and three friends were traveling at high speed up a curving hillside road when they struck an oncoming car. The six occupants of the Mexican vehicle all survived with minor injuries, but Hammerstein and her companions were all killed when their vehicle tumbled down the side of the hill.
--- ---
Stolen Kisses
(1929)
A crotchety old coot wants his son and daughter-in-law to have kids so he can have grandchildren, but so far they haven't done so. In a somewhat ham-handed attempt to bring them closer together so they'll be in the mood to give him the grandchildren he so desperately wants, he winds up bringing them to the point where they're considering divorcing. The old codger decides to change his tactics in order to achieve his goal.
This American sound/part-talkie pre-code comedy was directed by Ray Enright and stars May McAvoy, Claude Gillingwater, Hallam Cooley, Edna Murphy and Reed Howes.
In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
This film is presumed lost.
Mary McAvoy
May McAvoy was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. After appearing in more than three dozen films, she co-starred with Ramón Novarro and Francis X. Bushman in director Fred Niblo's 1925 production of Ben-Hur released by MGM. She also portrayed Lady Windermere in Ernst Lubitsch's Lady Windermere's Fan (1925). In addition to playing the role of Mary Dale in The Jazz Singer (1927), McAvoy coached Al Jolson as he made his film debut. For years, a rumor circulated that McAvoy retired from the screen at the transition to sound films because of a lisp or speech impediment. In truth, she married the treasurer of United Artists in 1929, a banker who asked her not to work, so she retired from film.
--- ---
The Kissing Bandit
(1948)
Ricardo, the milquetoast son of a Mexican bandit, would rather lead a quiet life in Boston. However, his family has other ideas and want him to follow in his father's footsteps and become The Kissing Bandit.
This American comedy musical Western was directed by László Benedek and stars Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, and J. Carrol Naish. It also features cameos by Ricardo Montalbán, Ann Miller and Cyd Charisse.
Frank Sinatra did not want to make this movie, feeling that he was not right for the part. But the studio, anxious to build him up as a leading man, forced him to be in it. He stated later that he never watched the film, since he was embarrassed by the whole thing. Kathryn Grayson likewise disliked the film, saying that it was her least favorite of all her films. In later years, Don Rickles would often zing Sinatra about it; e.g., "Frank, I saw 'The Kissing Bandit.' It's over." On an episode of the radio show, Light Up Time, Sinatra referred to himself as "star of The Kissing Bandit, the script of which somebody should have put a match to."
Dance Of Fury, danced by Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse and choreographed by Robert Alton, is considered by some to be one of the greatest dance sequences ever.
It was reviewed unfavorably in Picturegoer: "The progress of romance is uninspired and very dull. The one worthwhile performance comes from J. Carrol Naish as The Kissing Bandit's henchman."
The film was a financial disaster, earning $969,000 in the US and Canada and $412,000 overseas, resulting in a loss to MGM of $2,643,000. This made it one of the least successful musicals in MGM history.
--- ---
Kiss Kiss - Bang Bang
(1966)
Kirk Warren, a former spy, is to be executed because he tried to steal a million dollars. But he is saved by Colonel Smithson because Sir Wilcox has prepared a mission for him. Warren has to steal a secret formula in Switzerland and try to expose the real identity of Mr. X. Kirk leaves London and Alina, his girl, together with three clumsy friends to accomplish his not so secret mission. But Kirk's great love is always a million dollars and not a secret formula.
This Italian Eurospy comedy was directed by Duccio Tessari and stars Giuliano Gemma, Nieves Navarro, George Martin, and Daniele Vargas.
The film was shot in Rome and London. The film was made at behest of Giuliano Gemma wanting to take on a genre different from the usual spaghetti westerns he made throughout the decade, while the Eurospy sub-genre was popular at the time. Most of the cast and crew, including director Duccio Tessari, were frequent collaborators on such westerns, especially the Ringo films.
Film critic Pauline Kael named her second book after this film. She called the title "perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies".
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
--- ---
Stolen Kisses
(1968)
Antoine is being discharged from military service. The father of his sweetheart Christine secures Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.
This French romantic comedy-drama was directed by François Truffaut and stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Delphine Seyrig, and Claude Jade.
This film continues the story of writer-directed François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, whom Truffaut had previously depicted in The 400 Blows (1959) and the short film Antoine and Colette (1962). It is followed by the last two films in the series, Bed & Board (1970) and Love on the Run (1979)
The New York Times critic Vincent Canby wrote: "With what can only be described as cinematic grace, Truffaut's point of view slips in and out of Antoine so that something that on the surface looks like a conventional movie eventually becomes as fully and carefully populated as a Balzac novel. There is not a silly or superfluous incident, character, or camera angle in the movie. Truffaut is the star of the film, always in control, whether the movie is ranging into the area of slapstick, lyrical romance or touching lightly on De Gaulle's France (a student demonstration on the TV screen). His love of old movies is reflected in plot devices (overheard conversations), incidental action (two children walking out of the shoe store wearing Laurel and Hardy masks), and in the score, which takes Charles Trenet's 1943 song Que reste-t-il de nos amours (known in an English-language version as I Wish You Love) and turns it into a joyous motif."
This was the first New Wave film (then, ten years old) to receive a prestigious award; the yearly critics award, the Prix Louis Delluc. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
