Vapors

You can buy this on the Something Weird label as part of one of their collections of Gay Films from the 60s and 70s.

"Vapors" is about a man's first trip to a gay steam-room. It was banned across America when it came out - it's quite tame by our standards, but does feature a male-male kiss and is very weird. Full of camp little gay men running around being horrible to each other, and a very odd climax involving a paper sunflower and the rhyme "this little piggy went to market". The final scene, which shows a penis coming at the screen was censored with an annoying black line.

The two main characters seem to be more interested in spooking each out than having sex - there's a particularly horrible story about a man's son who died in a lake, while the description of dreams involving women's feet, and the analysis of sanitary pads reveal that these men find the ordinary to be disgusting - of course this is all juxtaposed with the fact that their targets would find going to a gay bathhouse to be disgusting... Interesting all the same.

If I were going to try to convince someone of the value of Andy Milligan's work, VAPORS would be the film I'd show. In fact, I HAVE shown it to a few people over the years with that purpose. It's a gritty 16mm black-and-white feature set in a gay bathhouse and it seems very much like a "small theatre group" play, which makes sense since Milligan himself ran a few such theatre groups. The film transcends the gay aesthetic it represents and is really a meditation on loneliness--gay, straight, or whatever. While the room-tone echo on the recorded sound takes a little getting used to, it should not diminish the quality of the acting, which is quite moving in the case of the two leads. While the late Mr. Milligan was a unique filmmaker, Warhol always seemed to be his main-man artistically, and that's clearer here than anywhere else in Milligan's work. Milligan obviously knew what it meant to be lonely, to be afraid, and to reach out. This beautiful but raw film captures that as well as, for example, any Bergman film or Saul Bellow novel. History will view this film as a pioneering work of cinema. Please be warned, though, that it is NOT for the casual viewer or the viewer who cannot see beyond the film's lack of traditional qualities of slickness and "professionalism." Seeing this on a big screen at the time of its minimal release must have been a revelation!!! If Milligan had never made another film, this would rate him as a major filmmaker in my book.

Milligan's first film is possibly his best. Certainly its one of the few where the technical limitations of his equipment didn't hurt the film (Andy used basically one camera with one lens which could make things cramped) The plot has the meeting of two men in a gay bath house and talking. Very little happens other than other men come and go and you sense the longing and the need to connect to someone like yourself. One of the first films graphically (well for the time) deal with homosexuality as something real and not monstrous this film rattled cages. Very much an independent film, low budget art film this is very different than almost anything else that Milligan did (at least that survives). There is a rawness and a realness that shines through so that even though we know its artificial we can sense the reality behind it. Clearly not for all tastes this is an interesting look for those who like Milligans drek, to see where he started, and its an interesting side note for theater buffs to see one of the footnote founders of off Broadway went off theater.

Vapors (1965)

*** (out of 4)

Strange but entertaining film takes place in a New York City bath house for homosexuals. One man shows up for the first time not really knowing what to do when he comes across another man who offers up some friendship.

VAPORS is from director Andy Milligan and it was the first film he ever made. The cult director is best remembered for his horror movies and the fact that the majority of them were awful but this early film really shows a different, more serious side. Milligan was a homosexual so I'm sure the material here was a lot closer to his heart than some of the monster movies that he would go onto make. I found the performances here to be rather raw and realistic and I also found the dialogue to be quite good and, again, realistic. This here will mainly appeal to Milligan fans but it's certainly a good little picture.

Renowned exploitation favourite Andy Milligan made his feature debut with this short film that works largely due to a degree of intimacy. A lonely gay man, Thomas (Gerald Jacuzzo), checks out an NYC bath house for men, where regulars are quick to tell him the rules. Soon, an enigmatic stranger named Mr. Jaffee (Robert Dahdah) is making overtures of friendship, yet in this short amount of time they are together, they make a connection beyond mere pleasures of the flesh.

All in all, "Vapors" is an effective ode to loneliness. While other regulars come and go, Milligan remains focused on the dialogue and relationship between Thomas and Jaffee, with the latter revealing unhappy details about his life. He's married, and a father, but has fallen out of love with his wife and no longer derives sexual pleasure from being with her (if indeed he ever did). We don't learn so much about Thomas, but no matter. There's still a real poignancy in seeing these two men become acquainted.

While not really "great cinema" (Milligan opts to mostly just "point and shoot"), there is a stark efficiency to it. Milligan does capture the inherent seediness of this place, and the cattiness of the other regulars.

There are two decent performances at the core of the film from Jacuzzo and Dahdah. Milligan aficionados will note the presence of Hal Borske, who later had a role in his familial horror film "The Ghastly Ones", in a supporting role.

All in all, this is not as exploitative as some viewers might think: no violence, not much nudity, and little in the way of objectionable language. Milligan aimed for something a little deeper here, and succeeded pretty well.

Seven out of 10.