Salomé is a 1922-23 American silent drama film directed by Charles Bryant and Alla Nazimova, who also stars. It is an adaptation of the 1891 Oscar Wilde play of the same name. The play itself is a loose retelling of the biblical story of King Herod and his execution of John the Baptist at the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salomé, whom he lusts after.
The Dickson Experimental Sound Film is a film made by William Dickson in late 1894 or early 1895. It is the first known film with live-recorded sound and appears to be the first motion picture made for the Kinetophone, the proto-sound-film system developed by Dickson and Thomas Edison. The film was produced at the "Black Maria", Edison's New Jersey film studio. There is no evidence that it was ever exhibited in its original format.
A Florida Enchantment (1914) is a silent film directed by Sidney Drew and released by the Vitagraph studio. The feature-length comedy/fantasy was shot in and around St. Augustine, Florida, where its story is set. It is notable for its cross-dressing lead characters, much later discussed as bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender.
The GLAAD Vito Russo Award is a special GLAAD Media Award presented annually by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It is named in honor of Vito Russo, a founding member of GLAAD, and presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBT community.123
The Celluloid Closet is a 1996 American documentary film directed and co-written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and executive produced by Howard Rosenman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, and on lecture and film clip presentations he gave from 1972 to 1982. Russo had researched the history of how motion pictures, especially Hollywood films, had portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters.
Windows is a 1980 American psychological thriller film directed by Gordon Willis and starring Talia Shire, Joseph Cortese, and Elizabeth Ashley. It was the only film directed by Willis, who is better known as a cinematographer for such films as The Godfather series and several films by Woody Allen.
Boze Hadleigh is an author. Until the 1990s, he published some of his works under the pseudonym George Hadley-Garcia. Several of his books cover popular culture, show business, and LGBT culture. His 22 books have been translated into 14 languages.
Making Love is a 1982 American drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. The film tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that develops between him, his wife and another man.
Vito Russo was an American LGBT activist, film historian, and author. He is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet, described in The New York Times as "an essential reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry. In 1985, he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media watchdog organization that strives to end anti-LGBT rhetoric, and advocates for LGBT inclusion in popular media.
Partners is a 1982 American gay-themed buddy comedy film directed by James Burrows and starring Ryan O'Neal and John Hurt as a mismatched pair of cops.
The Gay Deceivers is a 1969 American comedy film written by Jerome Wish and directed by Bruce Kessler. The film focuses on Danny Devlin and Elliot Crane, two straight men who attempt to evade the draft by pretending to be gay men.
Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including Commitment to Life, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story, The Fabulous Allan Carr, Tab Hunter Confidential, I Am Divine, Vito, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.
Buddies is a 1985 American drama film. It is the first film to deal with the AIDS pandemic, preceding the television film An Early Frost. Directed by Arthur J. Bressan Jr., who died of complications from AIDS two years after the film was released, the film follows a New York City gay man in a monogamous relationship becoming a "buddy" or a volunteer friend to another gay man dying of AIDS and the friendship that develops. The film stars Geoff Edholm, David Schachter, Billy Lux, and David Rose.
Jeffrey Friedman is an American filmmaker. In 2021, he and Rob Epstein won a Grammy Award for their work on the documentary film Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Irene is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and partially shot in Technicolor. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Irene written by James Montgomery with music and lyrics by Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy.
Since the transition into the modern-day gay rights movement, homosexuality has appeared more frequently in American film and cinema.
Vito is a 2011 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The film documents the life of Vito Russo, gay activist, film scholar, and author of The Celluloid Closet.
