UCLA’s Film & Television Archive has shared a collection of student films from the 1960’s. One of these, Ralph Sargent’s Catullus Silent, is a fascinating look at gay life from 1965. A gay man throws a wild party in his apartment. The screenplay alternates between party chatter and flashbacks to the guests’ personal lives. A melancholy party guest, John, searches for love and self-acceptance. An anxious neighbor, Bob, begins in a relationship but sabotages it. The story feels like a prototype for works like The Boys in the Band.

The film is only 25 minutes and can be found here. Give it a watch. Then come back for my spoiler filled recap.

Ten Cents a Dance

Scene One: Party
HOST: (A snarky gay man.) Have a drink! Have a dance! Have some pop songs we probably didn’t buy the rights to!
LECHER: (A loud and messy guest.) Hey chicks! Wanna bang?
WOMEN: Pass.
PARTY GUESTS: Drag Balls! Rough trade! Green chiffon!
HOST: Have a flashback!

Scene Two: A Car
(John, a melancholy man, gets a ride from his straight friend.)
JOHN: I’m lonely.
STRAIGHT FRIEND: What about the parties?
JOHN: I hate those parties.
STRAIGHT FRIEND: What about the bars?
JOHN: I’ll be celibate forever.
***
PARTY GUESTS: Shangri La. Therapy. What’s your shoe size?

Scene Three: Bob’s apartment
(Bob, a neurotic man, paces while his partner watches him from bed.)
BOB: You hate me.
PARTNER: I don’t.
BOB: You’re leaving me.
PARTNER: I’m not.
BOB: I’m sabotaging our relationship with my self-loathing brought on by past trauma.
PARTNER: That one’s true.
***
PARTY GUESTS: Beer? Dancing! Renovations!

Scene Four: John’s apartment
EX-BOYFRIEND: My parents found your love letter. They’re sending me to conversion therapy.
JOHN: Say they misunderstood.
EX-BOYFRIEND: “I don’t tell lies.”
JOHN: “You live them.”
EX-BOYFRIEND: They’ll cut off my allowance.
JOHN: So, get a job.
EX-BOYFRIEND: As if.
(Ex-Boyfriend gives John a goodbye hug.)
***
PARTY GUESTS: Spanking. Trauma. Who smashed the cake?

Scene Five: Bob’s apartment
BOB: I’m leaving you.
PARTNER: That tracks.
***
LECHER: Threesome?
HOST: Pass.

Scene Six: John’s apartment
JOHN: Did you hate me when you learned I was gay?
STRAIGHT FRIEND: No. Stop hating yourself. “There’s no reason to go through life eternally insecure.”
JOHN: You’re a true ally.

Scene Seven: The Party’s End
LECHER: No chick will bang me! Ya’ll suck! Later losers.
(Lecher puts on his wedding ring and storms out.)
HOST: Who invited her?
GUESTS: We should leave too. Good night.
HOST: Will no one stay with this lonely host?
(The guests are gone. Host slowly blows out the candles.)
JOHN: I’ll stay. “The stars look down on pleasures.”
HOST: “With equities never finished.”
JOHN: “With equities never faced.”
HOST: Come to bed?
JOHN: … Sure.

THE END

As many kisses as the stars

“The words ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ are never spoken, and there’s not even a kiss. But it’s still a frank exploration of gay relationships and dating. Especially for its time.”
Critic Fabian Hebestreit

The film was overwhelming on a first watch. The actors look similar and names are rarely spoken. I struggled to keep track of the characters amidst the fragmented conversations. On rewatches I picked up subtle jokes like the lecher’s wedding ring. Or a straight couple leaving the bathroom only for a gay couple to immediately take their place.

Sargent highlights different types of male intimacy. Men sharing a bed, an embrace or a frank conversation. One guest reminds another not to touch their dance partner. Same-sex dancing was illegal in the mid-20th century. Police used this as an excuse to raid gay bars. The women at the party would provide plausible deniability if someone complained.

A special thanks to critic Fabian Hebstreit for putting this work on my radar. His YouTube channel is devoted to the history of gay short films. It can be found here. You can read more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.