Bob Mizer photographed handsome young men for "physical culture" magazines that appealed to gay men when little other literature for them existed. The documentary-drama tells us about his life and incidents leading to how he became to be the photographer he was. It shows Mizer in his photography studio with his models, whom he found as they literally stepped off the bus from across the country--young men who were new to Los Angeles. The documentary part provides interviews with people from the larger California health and fitness culture, including some high profile models from the time. The interviews offer an interesting counterpoint to the narrative that seems stronger than the dramatic part of the film. The different segments are linked by a mixed chorus of singers using a style popular in fifties commercials.
This film cleverly mixes archive footage with new footage shot for the film. There is a lot of male nudity in the film, and yet it doesn't have a erotic or pornographic feel to it. The interviews opened my eyes to a part of history that I have only read about. Having said that, the interviews can use some tighter editing. Some of them did drag a bit at time. But the actors in the drama part conveyed both the excitement of this emerging masculine/Gay "scene" and the tragedy of the legal persecution suffered by the people who promoted it. The film wins on its old footage and the telling the story of an age gone by, but is let down by trying to have too many ideas at once.This film does have historical importance, but I am not sure how many of the newer generation would actually enjoy something like this. (4/10)
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