Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)

Ten women, most of them in Vancouver or Toronto, talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first ... See full summary »

Directors:

Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman

Writers:

Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman

Stars:

Keely Moll, Stephanie Ozard, Ann Bannon

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keely Moll	...	Herself
Stephanie Ozard	...	Herself
Ann Bannon	...	Herself
Reva Hutkin	...	Herself
Lois M. Stuart	...	Herself
Nairobi	...	Herself
Jeanne Healy	...	Herself
Amanda White	...	Herself
Carol Ritchie-MacKintosh	...	Herself
Ruth Christine	...	Herself
Stephanie Morgenstern	...	Laura
Lynne Adams	...	Mitch
Marie-Jo Therio	...	Beth
George Thomas	...	Bill
Lory Wajnberg	...	Bartender

Storyline

Ten women, most of them in Vancouver or Toronto, talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first affairs, the pain of breaking up, frequenting gay bars, facing police raids, men's responses, and the etiquette of butch and femme roles. Interspersed among the interviews and archival footage are four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, "Forbidden Love": Laura leaves her hick town and heads for the city, where she meets Mitch in a bar. Sparks fly, and so do laughter and joy. Ann Bannon, one of the writers of those paperback novels about forbidden love, talks about the genre.

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Plot Keywords:

novels | pulp | 1940s | 1950s | pulp fiction | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1995 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Forbidden Love

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in SexTV: Portland: Strip City U.S.A./Strange Sisters: The Golden Age of Lesbian Pulp (2002)

User Reviews

Smart, easy-to-take documentary

Kitschy paperback book covers from the golden days of pulp fiction frame this look at a group of gay Canadian women and their separate stories of growing up lesbian in the '40's, '50's and '60's. The reenactments of "forbidden" stories of passion are a little enervated and weak, but the women themselves are funny, smart, candid and exciting to listen to. There are some great quotes here, and plenty of funny and poignant memories. The only thing the movie isn't is suggestive or sexy. It strives to be informative, and that it certainly is, but we really don't get a sense of the sexual thrill behind the headlines. We learn why a married woman would leave her family and surroundings for the embrace of a lesbian lover, but we don't sense the drive and passion that keeps them away, or what keeps two women together.