Review

Beginning with a scholarly introduction by a serious, bearded man, this compilation offers a sampling of the many silent, black-and-white "smokers" that were made long before the porno explosion of the mid 70s and the subsequent advent of home video. Collectively, the shorts are long on posing, tight underwear, and muscles, and short on any real full-frontal nudity or hardcore sex (some very discreet nearly off-camera cocksucking can be glimpsed), but as a historical document of gay sexuality, they are quite fascinating.

The first vignette features an over-accommodating man who invites in all who arrive at his doorstep. The film has innocence, humor and lots of shower scenes as well as a friendly free-for-all wrestling scene. The second short ("Beach Bar Nightmare") is set in late a 1950s/early '60s gay bar where sailors, cowboys and clones all have a hard time keeping their clothes on.

"Cell Mates" is the third film, and is best at the sexual teasing angle: a young guy is thrown into jail and is "befriended" by a "daddy." Lots of flexing and touching here. In "Ben-Hurry," Roman gladiators find better things to do with their lances than simply killing Christians. The film concludes with "Fanny's Hill," an amusing, hippie-inspired homage to nudity, free love and pie-throwing.

All of these short films are in black and white, except for the sepia-tinted last one, and the print quality leaves quite a bit to be desired. Surface scratches pop up nearly throughout. Title cards flash on-screen in place of dialogue; music is minimal. But it is erotic, fun and a nice time capsule.
-Mr. Powerbar