12 Days: Some of My Best Friends Are...

'Where do you go, when there's no place to go...'

This past June, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, TCM dedicated a night to LGBTQ films including; The Ritz (1976) Torch Song Trilogy (1988) and Some of My Best Friends Are...(1971). I had already seen The Ritz and Torch Song, but I was very interested in checking out Some of My Best Friends Are... especially after seeing some of the names of those in the cast.

Darling & the male cast of Some of My Best Friends Are...

'It's Christmas Eve at the Blue Jay, a Greenwich Village gay bar, a place where patrons believe they can feel free to be themselves as opposed to the straight charade many portray in their outside lives.'

The patrons at the Blue Jay are like one big family, a dysfunctional family, but a family of one's choosing. Making up that family included some familiar faces, especially if you were a television watcher in the 70's and 80's. They included comedian and author (Fried Green Tomatoes) Fannie Flagg, Rue McClanahan, (before th premiere of Maude) Gil Gerard, (Buck Rogers) and Gary Sandy. (WKRP)

Rue McClanahan

MClanahan plays Lita Joyce, who outwardly is just a fag hag, but who is truly just a ball buster in she only wanting to prove to herself she has what it takes to attract the opposite sex. She brought Scott, (Gil Gerard) a pilot, into the bar one evening with Scott in turn immediately falling in love with regular Terry, a graphic artist, the two for who Lita seems to have it out in wanting to destroy their happiness

Gary Sandy

Gary Sandy plays Jim, is a gay-for-pay hustler with Marvin as his latest sugar daddy. Marvin tries to pass Jim off as his nephew, who's he's planning on taking on a trip to Europe. Everyone in the bar however, knows better.  Check out a little more of Gary Sandy on PAGE 2 HERE:

The film also had a bit of a six degree's of Andy Warhol with Warhol Superstar and transsexual icon Candy Darling and gorgeous German model Uva Harden in the cast. Harden was one of the many people behind the start of Studio 54 and helped to get financing and get the club off the ground.

Uva Harden

Harden plays Michel is a French ski instructor, recovering from a skiing accident, and in love with older married man, Barratt Arden.  Michel spends the film trying to convince Barratt to leave his wife and be with him. Barratt refuses and leaves the bar, but returns at the end to be reunited with Michel, who is drunk and passed out.

I included the film in my 12 Day series as although it's not overly festive, the story takes place entirely over a few hours on Christmas Eve.  I watched the film twice, once, not paying too close attention, when it aired last June, and again, watching more closely, to prepare for this piece.  I was struck by the sadness during the second viewing, and the struggles of living authentically, even in the 1970's.   The film plays a bit like a British soap, throwing out a large group of characters, then moving from story to story in small scenes over the course of film.

The film had one nude scene, a quick, but surprising frontal at the very beginning of the film.  Even before the credits role Leo (Jeff David) gets out of bed naked before heading to The Blue Jay.  I hadn't heard of the actor before, and checking out his IMDB scene, it appears he was a regular on several television shows in the seventies and early eighties.  I attempted to find a decent copy of the film to do caps, but the only place I could find one was on Youtube.  The entire film is uploaded there and the quality isn't bad, given I couldn't find a DVD anywhere to buy.  I did notice the film is also available on Amazon Prime.

Jeff David