Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)

“90% of jobs could be lost from being gay. You were in the closet basically. So many people were. This is why what I did in the gas station was so nice for people.” – Scotty Bowers

Number of Times Seen – 1 (23 Dec 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the man who claims to have been the pimp for gay actors and actresses during the early days of Hollywood.

My Take on it – This is a film that I came across by accident and it shows in an accurate fashion how many actors and actresses chose to spend time at this gas station in order to keep their secrets safe.

Unfortunately, this film raises far too many questions about the reliability and integrity of this man.

Scotty does a great job sinning yarns, but since there is no real corroborating evidence, we never will know what it the absolute truth and what is a fabrication.

This actually hurts the film because once the questions are beginning to be asked, one constantly wonders whether the answers are real or fake.

Scotty himself and all of the other interviewees are quite candid about things that they have heard over the years.

The story is spun in a certain way in order to connect it to numerous current event stories which in turns makes this film seem more integral and important than the others.

Bottom Line – Intriguing idea that leads us to far too many questions about the reliability and integrity of the main character. It’s fascinating listen to Scotty tell his tale, but we will never know which of his stories are true or a figment of his imagination. The film doesn’t bring enough corroborating witnesses to much of what he says and that hurts things a bit too much. The candid manner that Scotty and all of the interviewees tell their stories raises too many questions. The way that they spin this tale to make a connection with current events helps make this film and its story feel more important than it probably should be.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In July 2020, it was announced Searchlight Pictures had acquired the rights to the documentary and was developing a feature film based on Bowers’ life. Luca Guadagnino was hired to direct, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg writing the script. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)