Tearing down the closet of 1950s Hollywood
There’s been a bit of controversy surrounding the release of the new documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood due to the shocking details revealed by the main subject about the private lives of some of Hollywood’s most classic and beloved stars. A number of questions have been raised, with the most pressing being: Is it right to reveal secrets of those no alive? Another question will certainly be: Will avid lovers of Turner Classic Movies, who lap up every showing of Bringing Up Baby, want to watch a documentary which runs the risk of forever changing the way they watch such films? The answer is a difficult one to reach, yet the fact remains that Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood should be seen by them and others. As scattered as its focus can be at certain times, the film offers up and incredibly compelling story that never ceases to function on a deeply human level.
Based on his memoir, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood takes a look at the life of 91-year-old Scotty Bowers, who for the better part of a decade following his service in WWII became the go-to guy for Hollywood stars looking for sexual encounters. Acting as both pimp and (sometimes) lover, Bowers describes his practice setting up the likes of Walter Pidgeon, Bette Davis and Rock Hudson with a collection of handsome men. Told from the point of view of Bowers, his wife, friends, and even some of the young men themselves, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood strips away the illusion of classic tinsel town and brings to light the real men and women who populated it.
There’s no pretending that certain parts of Scotty’s life story don’t fall into the category of tell all. In fact, fewer documentaries offer up more juicy secrets about well known celebrities than Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood does in its mere 90 minutes. While I won’t reveal much of the film’s many secrets, what I can say is that the documentary completely succeeds in dispeling the specific myths of Hollywood cinephiles knew were false, yet were never forced to believe until now. The argument at the center of Scotty’s revelations is: Is it good or bad; right or wrong to reveal such details about the famous names no longer with us, while shattering many an illusion in the process? When a patron at a book signing poses the notion to Scotty, he replies by commenting that “some square in Illinois” may not have known, but those who knew these people did. Therein lies the crux of the matter. As surreal as it is to absorb what Scotty is claiming, he isn’t revealing anything new to those in these people’s lives who knew them best; those who truly mattered to them. Ultimately, what Scotty’s revelations show is that the stars were indeed real people who didn’t owe the public anything in terms of image, particularly in death.
It’s impossible to fully asses Scotty’s story without first realizing the context in which it unfolded. The film does a good job of showing the harsh and unforgiving flip side of conservative 50s Hollywood where stars were literally groomed and crafted to become matinee idos, seemingly free from any kind of flaw or imperfection. This, coupled with the overall stigma which came with being known as gay in the public eye, was nothing short of stifling to say the least. Even in Hollywood, being gay (or even just being ACCUSED of being so) was grounds for incarceration, and in some cases, actual labotomies. If the notorious magazine “Confidential” (which hounded Scotty for stories, but whom he repeatedly turned away) reported that a major star was seen at a gay function or establishment, the swift punishment was an instant dead career, among other possible troubles. The stigma was real as was the fear it instilled and showed that anyone was prey to it. For many of these closeted individuals, Scotty served as the one pathway which allowed them to explore the side of themselves which studio execs and society as a whole would never allow.
When Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood turns its focus on Scotty himself, things become quickly serious. Apart from the jaw dropping secrets Scotty so casually doles out, the portrait depicted of the man himself is oftentimes a sad one. Beyond the endless charm and smiles is a damaged individual who suffered sexual abuse at a young age, experienced the horrors of WWII (which still brings tears to his eyes) and in the present day can rightfully be called a hoarder. Yet Scotty dismisses all negative events in his life, past and present, as instances with less far reaching consequences, and instead chooses to focus on the brighter side of his life. This is especially true when it comes to reflecting on the service he provided for the Hollywood elite. For Scotty, there was nothing shady or wrong about his arranging dalliances for the stars. As someone who exudes endless amounts of joy, in his mind, Scotty believes he was doing nothing but giving people the true happiness they craved.
I recall seeing a clip of the famed Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert when they guested on Letterman in 1995. At the time, the Hugh Grant scandal was alive and well and the host asked the critics about it after the pair commented on having seen the actor’s latest movie, Nine Months. Siskel immediately gave a sort of mini-rant about how he was totally unable to focus and enjoy the movie whatsoever because his mind kept returning to the real-world actions of the film’s star. Ebert sat next to him, listening and once his colleague had finished, asked him: “So when you watch Casablanca, does it depress you that everyone on the screen is now dead?” The response got a large round of applause from the audience, who agreed on the statement within Ebert’s words. An actor’s life and their art are two separate entities and to hold them to a specific standard due to whatever public persona they adopted, or were given, couldn’t be more unfair. The personalities Davis, Cary Grant and Spencer Tracy emulated on the screen were FOR the screen and neither them, nor any other star in Scotty’s tale, ever owed the public anything beyond that. It’s hard to disguise or refute the fact that this is a story centered around prostitution with Scotty functioning as a pimp with a heart of gold. Still, both his book and the documentary does allow the mythologized figures to finally be seen as the very real men and women they were told not to be.
