Him (lost gay pornographic Jesus film; 1974)
Gustav Von Will portraying Jesus in Him.
Status: Lost
Him is a 1974 movie that loosely references the life of Jesus Christ with homosexual pornographic content. The film's protagonist is a man with an erotic obsession with Christ.
It first received mainstream attention in 1980, when it was featured in the book The Golden Turkey Awards, for which it won "Most Unerotic Concept in Pornography". The next page claimed one film written about didn't exist, leading many to believe that Him was a fictitious film. However, it was soon discovered that the fake film in the book was Dog of Norway.
Several fragments relating to the movie have resurfaced, including a few advertisements and reviews from online newspaper archives. Additionally, the identity of the late actor portraying Jesus was uncovered as Gustav Von Will (aka "Tava") in a blog post,[1] thanks to correspondence from his former partner, Vinny Parrillo.
It was screened at the 55th Street Playhouse in New York from 27 March to 23 May 1974. It returned to the Playhouse on December 6th, 1974, and January 1976. The film also played at the Bijou Theatre in Chicago, David Theater in New York, and the Penthouse II Theatre in Pittsburgh.[2] No footage has resurfaced in any form since, however.
Gallery
- HIMad1.jpg
Newspaper ad for Him 1/4
- HIMAd2.jpg
2/4
- Himad3.jpg
3/4
- HIMad4.jpg
4/4
- Him review.jpg
Newspaper review for Him
- Village voice - Dec 2 1974.png
Ad from December 2nd, 1974
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 21, 1975.png
Ad from May 21st, 1975
- Village voice - Apr 28 1975.png
Ad from April 28th, 1975
- Village voice Jan 12 1976.png
Ad from January 12th, 1976
- Him.png
Ad from the Chicago Tribune, dated January 31st, 1975
References
- ↑ Him page on obscurityandbeyond.blogspot.com, the blog that received correspondence from Vinny Parrillo. Retrieved 26 Feb '13.
- ↑ Extensive essay on the film. Retrieved 12 Mar '17.