Out of the Closet: Bob Mizer Foundation Releases Films from the Groundbreaking Stonewall Era

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 (San Francisco, CA) - It was 1968. Free love and the sexual revolution were happening all across America. But the mores of the past still lingered, and photographer Bob Mizer’s pictures of male nudes were cited as part of the evidence labeled “obscene” in a 1968 trial in Federal Court.

But in the case, Spinar DSI v. U.S.(440 F.2d 1241), Mizer and others were ultimately vindicated, as that court and others around the country began to recognize nudity as not obscene, and the prior convictions of the defendants in DSI, a mail-order company, were reversed.

Tame by today's standards, the films in the newly released DVD Bob Mizer: Court Declares Nudity Not Obscene 1967-1971 were courageously produced in the first months that male frontal nudity was legal in America. Culled from the Bob Mizer film archive−the world’s largest repository of original moving images documenting the twentieth-century underground physique movement−the eleven films in this compilation were created in the months before and immediately following a series of cases which helped redefine obscenity. Marketed to a bodybuilding audience, but widely purchased by many closeted gay men, the films in the collection were made at a critical juncture in time, from just before to just after the Stonewall riots in June 1969. It was a time when even the liberal Village Voice publication still refused to print the word “gay.” Unlike other photographers, Mizer was unashamed to attach his name to nude films, and stood up for the right to create and market erotic art to adults.

Compiled from research of Mizer's original marketing materials and the actual camera negatives of the first nude films he produced, Bob Mizer: Court Declares Nudity Not Obscene 1967-1971 was remastered to enhance its original color and sound. The dates of production come from Mizer’s own diaries; some are exact, and other dates are approximated from notes and materials Bob kept.

From the time he established the Athletic Model Guild in 1945 until his death in 1992, Mizer focused his lens on the male form--drawing ire from the religious right, law enforcement, and even the federal government. With over 3000 film masters and one million still images, Mizer’s immense body of work was instrumental in overcoming legal obstacles to censorship. The change in the laws allowed filmmakers like Mizer to gradually emerge from the underground, allowing for work previously dismissed as obscene to be recognized for its artistic value. The twentieth DVD released in the
Foundation’s Americana Collection, Bob Mizer: Court Declares Nudity Not Obscene 1967-1971 celebrates this mission.

This historic collection of film captures men exploring nudity, fantasy, and frank sexuality. It also allows viewers to be witness to an important chapter in the long-fought battle for equality and freedom of expression by and for the LGBTQ community. Mizer’s artistic vision went on to influence more sexually explicit work by artists Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol, whose work was widely regarded as art from its inception, even in the face of intense controversy.

Bob Mizer: Court Declares Nudity Not Obscene 1967-1971 is available exclusively at BobMizerFoundation.org for a limited time at $39.99. It will later be offered at a regular price of $49.99, and it will also be made available on other partner retail sites later in 2014.

The Bob Mizer Foundation Inc. was established in 2010 by photographer Dennis Bell for charitable and educational purposes, and as an organization committed to promoting and preserving the works of progressive and controversial photographers. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Foundation is supported by grants, donations, and the contributions made by its devoted members, interns, and volunteers.

Bob Mizer: Court Declares Nudity Not Obscene 1967-1971
Bob Mizer Foundation Americana Collection #20

Studio: Athletic Model Guild
Format: DVD+R
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Region Coding: 0 [No Region Coding]
Discs: 1
UPC: 851997-001521
Rated: Not yet rated
Release Date: August 25, 2014

Convict (1969)
Randy Land, B.B. Thomas
RT: 5:01
Synopsis: A convict tries to steal a cowboy’s clothes, but the latter takes pity on him when he sees welts on the convict’s back.

Son Of A Dingaling King [Outtakes] (1969)
Jim Panama, Hans Siegfried, Bill Hadnagy
RT: 5:58
Synopsis: Never-before seen outtakes of the actors practicing dialogue in full regal costumes.

Naughty Fauns (1967)
Dean Roberts, Phil Seward, Ricky Luben, Billy Butt
RT: 6:26
Synopsis: Two young deer sneak up on a hunter and try to trick him, only to be out-tricked by a wintery wizard.

College Capers (Nov. 1, 1970)
Monte Hanson, Rick, Tony
RT: 5:01
Synopsis: A group of young men work out in the college gym, and then hit the showers with full towel-snapping play.

Badge Of Shame [Outtakes] (1969)
Jim, Sam, Jim Panama
RT: 5:55
Synopsis: Behind-the-scenes outtakes of Sam and Jim Panama on the Athletic Model Guild soundstage, trying to perfect their dialogue.

Terry & The Devil (Sept. 6, 1971)
Terry Douglas, George Krowles
RT: 5:08
Synopsis: When Terry drinks too much, the Devil comes to steal his soul. Instead, the Devil falls in love with him.

Burglar & The Buggered Dancer (May 7, 1970)
Eddie Dancer, Mel Baehm
RT: 5:58
Synopsis: When a robber sneaks up on an unsuspecting sunbather, he ends up stealing his heart rather than his wallet.

Sleeping Beauty & The Beast (1969)
John Travis, Dick Voldemar
RT: 5:32
Synopsis: A naked young man breaks a magic spell in this mash-up of two infamous fairy tales.

Boy From The Bottle (May 31, 1969)
Jack Renio, Ron Wallace
RT: 6:47
Synopsis: A magic bottle contains Jack Renio, who gives Ron Wallace a good workout before flickering away and back into the bottle.

Tommy's Christmas Surprise (Dec. 16, 1968)
Johnny Stumps, Tony Perry, Tom Scott
RT: 9:06
Synopsis: Tommy gets a magical Christmas present in the shape of Johnny Stumps.

Have Vibrator Will Travel (1972)
Mack McDougal, unknown actor
RT: 12:46
Synopsis: A massage artist shows up to work on a client’s injured back, and winds up with more than he bargained for.

About The Bob Mizer Foundation

The Bob Mizer Foundation Inc. was established in 2010 by photographer Dennis Bell for charitable and educational purposes, and as an organization committed to promoting and preserving the works of progressive and controversial photographers. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Foundation is supported by grants, donations, and the contributions made by its devoted members, interns, and volunteers. 

Press Contact

Corbin Crable
Chief Communications Officer
corbin@bobmizer.org

 

Media Assets