Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

source: Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

This might have been good if they had focused exclusively on what transpired in Hollywood from the early days through the modern era. We get some of that but we have to endure watching Scotty feeding his cat, looking for toilets, and admiring the clutter in his house. A one word message to the folks who produced this flabby excuse for a documentary film...."editing".

What a nostalgic and historical view of the post world war 2 era of Hollywood in the mid 1940's through the next few decades provided by ninety (90) year old "the arranger" Scotty Bower. He remains quite the personable and charming character even as a nonagenarian house hoarder with charisma running through his old veins. Am I a believer in Scotty Bowers claims? Absolutely. He hob nobbed with many Hollywood gay stars of the 1940's - 1970's, and kept their trysts on the QT until some decades later after all had passed in to the heaven's gates. Most of us had heard the many rumors about some of the biggest stars such as Rock Hudson, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Randolph Scott, and Cary Grant preferring same sex partners but Scotty explaining his intimate interactions with these A lister Hollywood stars came across as if he was talking to his closest friends and not as if he was BS'ing us all. What I really found quite interesting about Scotty's secret history of the Hollywood stars, royalty and Hollywood executives was how forthcoming some of these stars became as they grew older and how good it must have felt to finally be able to come out of the proverbial closet, even if it was Scotty who had to convince us his stories were all true. Scotty is definitely a house hoarder and his was a pimp and prostitute lifestyle that he emphatically declares he chose to live and quite enjoyed every minute of living. This is a documentary that I will most likely watch again as Scotty's unabashed proclamations are now considered historical God rest his weary soul. RIP Scotty. As a heterosexual male I give this documentary an 8 out of 10 IMDB rating.

Poignant at times. A thought provoking expose of the unhinged, unhindered and decadent world of gay Hollywood from the 40s and beyond. It seems to fall short in presenting the sadness that infuses the lives of people who are driven not only to succeed in Hollywood but to engage in raw, compulsive sex. There is a pathology here which Bowers, a pimp, tries to convey as being "endless fun" which is sad and empty and lead to depression and suicide in many. The documentary falls short of addressing this issue.

The salacious promises of Hollywood scandal in the previews for this film piqued my interest. Even though most of the secrets of these stars are now well known, a first hand account of what went on and with whom was too good to ignore. Scotty Bower was handsome and is still charming, extremely uninhibited, but crude at times and uses archaic slang 'baby'. He is completely believable, and even though all the stars that used his services as a lover or pimp have since passed, there are enough photos, film clips, and fellow gigolos to confirm enough of the stories to accept what can not be proven. Even in these days of selfie nudes and sexual preferences being broadcast daily through social media, these stories from Hollywood's past are shocking - especially some of the group sex stories, as well as the odd pairings (Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, or Lana Turner and Ava Gardner). However, when Scotty Bower recounts them without a hint of shame, and even fondness, you can't help but to be pulled in by his charisma. From the previews I thought that Scotty's wartime service, seeing his friends die during horrific battles in the Pacific, may have been the cause for Scotty to abandon conventional morality and pursue the rest of his life to having a good time. However, I was disappointed to find that he had no epiphany for the pursuit of pleasure, Scotty was molested at an early age by a neighbour, and went into pleasuring for cash as a business when he was just eleven years old. His first clients were the Roman Catholic clergy of Chicago -- a trending topic in today's headlines. He didn't share his business plan or personal carefree sexual attitudes with his family. He still lies to his sister and doesn't tell his current wife everything he did before he met her. He also laments how he wasn't a good husband to his first wife or late daughter, because he was too busy pleasuring Hollywood. There is a deep sadness in his realization that his fun got in the way of intimacy. Perhaps this is why he remained silent for so long. The documentary may make promises of sexy stories, but it is, in fact, a rather sad tale of a man distracted by pleasure from having a real life. Scotty is a hoarder, saving toilets from the curbside and packing them away in garages around the city. He accumulates things, like he once accumulated clients and lovers. Ultimately, he is a selfish man who convinces himself every day that he makes others happy, and perhaps he did provide a sexual outlet for many stars, but he forgot to make himself happy in the process.

Since I enjoyed the juicy, can't-put-it down book, I was disappointed in the film. Instead of focusing more on Bowers' rollicking sexual adventures in the '40s and '50s, the filmmaker spends much of the time focusing on the now 95 year old Bowers, and his wife, puttering around his multiple hoarder-cluttered homes. The real story is about Bowers' star-studded sexual past, not his relatively downbeat present. The film should have been racy, fun and juicy, but it ends up being primarily glum.

Scotty Bauers' book about his business as a Hollywood procurer in his book, Full Service, is a prelude to this not-quite-salacious documentary about his life servicing the sexual needs of mid-century Hollywood elite, especially the gay ones. Although Scotty's personal life is disorganized and cluttered, his procuring activity as Hollywood's "pimp to the stars" was universally acclaimed by those who used his services. Getting dates, or providing " an introduction service" as Scotty calls it, for the likes of Walter Pidgeon and George Cukor was all in a day's work for the Hollywood Blvd. Richfield Gas Station attendant he was while he arranged liaisons there and around town. This brief explanation of the documentary might make it seem juicy, but I assure you it is not quite that. Despite the cast of characters in need of same sex dates like Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, most of Scotty's revelations are not new and hardly in depth. Randolph Scott, Tyrone Power, Cole Porter, and Charles Laughton are among the others who used Scotty's services, including his own. His three-way adventure with sex goddesses Lana Turner and Ava Gardner is one of the more alluring bits of gossip, but again only a fleeting mention. Those limited details are what make this a superficial if not charming doc. Most of the doc centers on Scotty, now 94, an impish gossip whose obvious aging seems the opposite of the well-kept elderly like Cary Grant, who appears several times as a young gay star guarding his orientation better than Rock Hudson. As Scotty shows us the dumpy houses where he stores his personal junk, this inveterate collector is just not that interesting; you'd think he must have some stars' memorabilia-not. Although director Matt Trynauer jazzes it up with male frontal nudity and vintage Hollywood footage, Scotty's shuffling senescence lends the dusty mood of an old album full of his photos and too few of Hollywood stars. Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood guards those secrets too well for my adolescent-like curiosity.

"Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" (2017 release; 98 min,) is a documentary about Scotty Bowers. As the movie opens, there is a celebration of Scotty's 90th birthday at the Chateau Marmont. We learn that Scotty just recently has written a memoir called "Full Service" (which is the basis for this film), in which he retells of the days right after WWII when he by happenstance became the "pimp" of gay and lesbian Hollywood, the "center of an alternative world", in which famous movie stars like Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn lived lives that were very different from their public personae, and calling on the services provided by Scotty. "Everything cost $20", Scotty laughs. Along the way we alo learn how today's Scotty has become a compulsive obsessive hoarder... At this point we're not even 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this is the latest from up-and-coming documentarian Matt Tymauer, whose previous film was the excellent "Citizen Jane: Battle For the City". Here he picks up on a long unknown fact, namely how one guy became the Hollywood king-pimp starting in the late 40s. Tymauer tries to take that fait divers to build a documentary about "gays and lesbians in Hollywood" over the years. Yes, there are glimpses here and there (in particular as we get to the AIDS era), but overall it feels like this film is a missed opportunity to do an in-depth look at that topic. Instead, we get a close look on someone who seems like a nice enough guy, but it is as if he stands in the way of a far more important documentary. The fact that we get sidetracked by the compulsive hoarding behavior only reinforces that feeling... "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" premiered at last year;s Toronto International Film Festival (yes, almost a year ago) to positive acclaim. The movie finally made it to my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (about 10 people). If you are in the mood for a documentary that is brought mostly with a light touch about how gays and lesbians got by in the Hollywood era of the 40 and 50s, I'd suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray and draw your own conclusion.

Pumping gas by day and clients by night tinsel town pimp extroadanaire Scotty Bowers made quite a living in the 50s catering to the Hollywood set in search of utter discretion. Walter Pidgeon, Charles Laughton, George Cukor, Tracy and Hepburn even the Duke and Duchess of Wales were clients. At 90 he revisits his days of glory when he was both player and manager doing a threesome with Ava Gardner and Lana Turner among others. He even brought Al Kinsey to gang bangs for "research" purposes. It is pretty saucy stuff, a jolt to the film historian. Ancient Scotty is in excellent shape reaching final count down to the century mark as he climbs ladders and displays an enthusiasm decades younger than he is. Unapologetic and proud he says he provided fun to an uptight society where morals clauses held famous careers in the balance. No doubt his unique service proved invaluable to his customers. With the real story 50 years in the past, director Matt Tyraneur has to deal with Bowers a pack rat of immense proportions stumbling through mountains of trash in a couple of deeded properties, climbing ladders, stealing cat food, coveting a sidewalk toilet and tooling around LA while he dishes on Hudson, Grant and the good times. There is also testimony to his friendship and loyalty and dependability seeing through a scheduled trick the day he found out his daughter was dead. Yes, I know. Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is a by product of the major success of his tell all tome Full Service. Purportedly it has even more salacious detail as Bowers re-buries legends. But why? He was extremely well off and took so much pride in keeping things on the down low for these folks while alive. There was also a degree of underground fame to go along with it. But even his wife thinks he's a sleaze for doing it, especially since he's in the final stretch of an exciting life (Chicago streets as a kid, action in the Pacific as a marine) to stumble and fall as he rats out the people that gave him an excellent living. It's a lousy last act, the gossip of an ingrate dishing titillating trash while living in the middle of it. You might want to shower after watching it for a number of reasons.

True story of Scotty Bowers. He was a young. Handsome guy who (in the 1950s and 60s) provided men and women to closeted actors and actresses. Most of the movie consists of Bowers (still alive and in his 90s) talking to the camera and recounting his life. It also has him visiting people he worked with who back up his story 100%. There's also talk about who was gay back then. Naturally all the stars they talk about are conveniently dead. There's also some hardcore gay sex footage. (It's not rated but would easily get an NC-17 if it were). This isn't a bad movie but I was bored silly. I actually dozed off a few times! The film says the same things multiple times over and none of the revelations of who was gay are shocking. It just shows us again and again that Bowers is a compulsive hoarder--the state of his house is downright disgusting. So it was somewhat interesting but I was bored.