Boys in the Sand
| Boys in the Sand | |
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Original newspaper ad
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| Directed by | Wakefield Poole |
| Produced by | Wakefield Poole Marvin Shulman |
| Written by | Wakefield Poole |
| Starring |
Casey Donovan Peter Fisk Danny Di Cioccio Tommy Moore |
| Distributed by | Poolemar |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000 USD (estimated) |
Boys in the Sand is a landmark American gay pornographic film released at the very beginnings of the Golden Age of Porn. The 1971 film was directed by Wakefield Poole and stars Casey Donovan.Boys in the Sand was the first gay porn film to include credits, to achieve crossover success, to be reviewed by Variety, and one of the earliest porn films, after 1969's Blue Movie by Andy Warhol, to gain mainstream credibility, preceding 1972's Deep Throat by nearly a year.
Produced on a budget of $8,000, the film is a loose collection of three segments depicting Donovan's sexual adventures at a gay beach resort community. Promoted by Poole with an advertising campaign unprecedented for a pornographic feature, Boys in the Sand premiered in New York City in 1971 and was an immediate critical and commercial success. The film brought star Donovan international recognition. A sequel, Boys in the Sand II, was released in 1986 but was unable to match the success of the original.
The film's title is a parodic reference to the Mart Crowley play and film The Boys in the Band.
Boys in the Sand is composed of three segments set on Fire Island.
Poole was inspired to make the film after he went with some friends to see a film called Highway Hustler. After watching the film, he said to a friend, "This is the worst, ugliest movie I've ever seen! Somebody oughta be able to do something better than this." Poole was convinced that he was that somebody; "I wanted [to make] a film that gay people could look at and say, 'I don't mind being gay - it's beautiful to see those people do what they're doing.'" Having enlisted the help of his lover, Peter Fisk, and another man, Poole first shot a ten-minute segment entitled Bayside.
The success of that initial shoot convinced Poole to plan two more segments and seek theatrical distribution for the completed work. He hired Tommy Moore and Casey Donovan for the third segment, Inside. When Fisk's scene partner from Bayside heard about the potential distribution deal, he refused to sign release forms until he was guaranteed 20% of the profits. Instead, Poole decided to scrap the segment and re-shoot with Fisk and Donovan. The resulting footage was so good that Poole decided to use Donovan for the second segment as well, entitled Poolside, and construct the loose storyline around him. The three segments were filmed on a budget of $8,000 over three successive weekends in August 1971 in the gay resort area of Cherry Grove, New York, on Fire Island.
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