The Sapphic Cinema

BY LAURAJEAN ERMAYNE

AS FAR AS IS KNOWN, THIS IS THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO CREATE A CHECKLIST OF LESBIAN FILMS. IN SOBER POINT OF FACT, FEW (OTHER THAN ONE OUTAND-OUT UNTITLED "STAG" FILM) CAN QUALIFY AS LITTLE MORE THAN LESBIANOID ONLY SEMI-SAPPHIC IN CONTENT FOR THE WELL OF LONELINESS AND THE REAL BUTCHNIK PIX IN BILITISCOPE AND SAPPHONIC SOUND ARE STILL AMONG THE "SHAPES" OF THINGS TO COME.

BUT TAKE HEART, DEAR HEARTS! IN 1932 WHEN FORREST J. ACKERMAN PIONEERED IN A SIMILARLY "ESOTERIC" FIELD AND COMPILED HISTORY'S FIRST LIST OF FANTASTIC AND SCIENCE FICTION TYPE MOVIES, HIS PROUD ROSTER OF "SCIENTIFILMS" NUMBERED ONLY A MEAGRE 34. NOW, FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS, HE HAS BEEN FILLING WHOLE 68 PAGE ISSUES OF AN INTERNATIONALLY CIRCULATED MAGAZINE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HUNDREDS OF "SCI– FI" FILMS. SO, LET US HOPE, WITH RUMORS OF LESBIANISM IN SPARTACUS, AND MUCH TALK ON THE WORLD MART ABOUT THE MAKING OF SEVERAL OF "OUR KIND" OF MOTION PICTURES, LET US HOPE THAT OUR SALAD DAYS ARE ABOUT TO APPEAR ON THE MOVIE MENU. MENTIONED FOR PRODUCTION HAVE BEEN THE CAPTIVE, AN AS YET UNTITLED EXPERIMENTAL FILM SCRIPTED BY AND TO BE PRODUCED BY JOHN SCHMITZ OF HOLLYWOOD, THE ITALIAN SAPPHO GODDESS OF LESBOS (FEATURING LUSCIOUS TINA LOUISE), AND THE WELL OF LONELINESS ITSELF!

IN 1947, WHEN I WAS ASSISTING LISA BEN WITH VICE VERSA CONTRIBUTIONS, WE KNEW OF ONLY FOUR FILMS THAT QUALIFIED IN ANY WAY: ESCAPE TO YESTERDAY, A FRENCH PRODUCTION WITH A BRIEF SEQUENCE IN A CABARET WHERE HOMOPHILES, INCLUDING ONE CLYFFE, WERE RECOGNIZABLE; TURNABOUT (YES, THE THORNE SMITH SEX-FARCE WHERE IN A MAN FINDS HIS EGO TRANSFERRED TO A WOMAN'S BODY); CHILDREN OF LONELINESS, A MISERABLE EXCUSE FOR A MOVIE OF ANY NATURE; AND THE BEST OF ITS KIND MADE TO DATE CLUB DES FEMMES (GIRLS CLUB), ABOUT WHICH MORE LATER.

HERE, THEN, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, IS OUR PITIFUL LITTLE LIST OF FILMS WITH AT LEAST A TINGE OF INTEREST FOR THE URANIAN. CAN YOU ADD TO IT?

THE ADVENTURES OF KING PAUSOLE

CHILDREN OF LONELINESS