This film is part of Rentals
Boys and Girls Together
Extraordinary 1970s sexploitation film, groundbreaking in its portrayal of interracial and homosexual sex.
Director: Ralph Lawrence Marsden
Overview
A real curio of 1970s sexploitation, this tonally bizarre and often slapdash short feature is nevertheless groundbreaking in its portrayal of a sexually fluid, multiracial group of twentysomethings shacked up in a Hampstead boarding house. Sexual frustration builds, as Indian Lily, German Ilsa, Singaporean Jat, West Indian Leroy, American Dan and Brit Jenny eye each other up, masturbate, and eventually come together in 'surprising' combinations. Though brief, the gay scenes are remarkable since two men having sex was then unheard of in British porn. The film's climax sees the couples revert to heteronormativity in a softcore hippy orgy on Hampstead Heath.
The film is valuable for its locations too: elsewhere in Hampstead, look out for the King William IV, among London's oldest gay pubs, where Jat and Leroy watch a drag show; and a glimpse of 1970s Soho, then the hub of Britain's porn industry. Produced as a supporting feature by Welsh porn baron David Sullivan's Roldvale company, Boys and Girls Together was shown alongside Boney M's Disco Fever and Mary Millington's True Blue Confessions, but quickly sank without trace.
Related
The Pass The Pass
Drama 2016 86 mins Director: Ben A. Williams
Russell Tovey stars as a Premier League footballer who shares a fumbled pass (of the sexual kind) with a teammate (Arinzé Kene), changing everything - both on and off the pitch.
Entertaining Mr Sloane Entertaining Mr Sloane
Comedy 1970 94 mins Director: Douglas Hickox
Joe Orton’s delicious slice of suburban perversity, in which Beryl Reid’s lascivious landlady and her gay brother attempt to seduce their psychopathic tenant.
Entertaining Mr Sloane Entertaining Mr Sloane
1968 81 mins Director: Peter Moffatt
Surprisingly risqué TV adaptation of one of Joe Orton’s best known plays, filmed shortly after his murder.
Wild Flowers Wild Flowers
Romance 1989 68 mins Director: Robert Smith
Robert Smith's Wild Flowers is an exquisite drama set at the funeral for a daughter, where her mother remembers the passionate yet painful affair she once had with another woman in Scotland.
The Book of Gabrielle The Book of Gabrielle
Drama 2016 79 mins Director: Lisa Gornick
Lisa Gornick's funny and frank drama sketches the relationship between a sex-obsessed lesbian illustrator and a randy hetero author, who bond over their favourite subject.
50 Years Legal 50 Years Legal
Documentary 2017 77 mins Director: Simon Napier-Bell
Five decades on from the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, a range of LGBTQ+ stars (including Sir Elton John and Stephen Fry) reflect on Britain's history of prejudice, persecution and liberation.
The Taste of Mango The Taste of Mango
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: Chloe Abrahams
Sleepwalking into submerged depths of memory, a mother’s dream and a daughter’s beckoning, this fascinating film tenderly untangles the knots of the past.
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Biopic 2024 88 mins Director: Mark Cousins
A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
Documentary 2024 150 mins Director: Johan Grimonprez
Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.