The Boys in the Band

I know that I went to see The Boys in the Band, in early 1971 with Charlie Ruffner, who wanted me to see this movie.  This was a 1970 American drama film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by Mart Crowley, based on Crowley’s 1968 Off-Broadway play of the same name.  It was among the early major American motion pictures to revolve around gay characters, often cited as a milestone in the history of gay cinema.  The ensemble cast, all of whom also played these roles in the play’s initial stage run in New York City, included Kenneth Nelson, Peter White, Leonard Frey, Cliff Gorman, Frederick Combs, Laurence Luckinbill, Keith Prentice, Robert La Tourneaux, and Reuben Greene.  This movie was set in an Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan in 1968.  Michael, a Roman Catholic, recovering alcoholic and sporadically-employed writer, is preparing to host a birthday party for one of his friends, Harold.  Alan, Michael’s (presumably straight) former college roommate, called with an urgent need to see Michael.  Michael reluctantly agreed and invited him to come over.  One by one, the guests arrived.  Alan called again to inform Michael that he would not be coming after all, and the party continued in a festive manner.  However, Alan arrived unexpectedly, throwing the gathering into turmoil.  As tensions mounted, chaos ensued.  In the middle of the scuffle, Michael impulsively began drinking again.  As the guests became more and more intoxicated, hidden resentments began to surface.  Michael began a telephone game with the objective for each guest to call the one person he truly believed that he has loved.  With each call, past scars and present anxieties were revealed.  As the party ended and the guests departed, Michael collapsed. When he pulled himself together, it appeared his life would remain very much the same.  The songs featured in this film were very good, “Anything Goes,” performed by Harpers Bizarre during the opening credits, “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “Funky Broadway” by Wilson Pickett, “Love Is Like A Heat Wave” by Martha and the Vandellas, and an instrumental version of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love”.  Contemporary critical reaction was, for the most part, cautiously favorable.  The film was perceived in different ways throughout the gay community.  There were those who agreed with most critics and believed The Boys in the Band was making great strides, while others thought it portrayed a group of gay men wallowing in self-pity.  I agreed with this last evaluation.  I thought the movie was about a silly party, but I liked the music.  I guess that I never appreciated the gay life style and the problems or difficulties that come with it.  Have you ever known a gay person?