This informative and enlightening documentary examines how gay people lived and supported and recognized each other in the days before the landmark disturbance at the Stonewall bar in New York in 1969, an event that gave new impetus to the gay rights movement in the U.S. It features many brave individuals who risked life and limb back in the "dark ages" by even broaching the subject of homosexuality in the open. Many viewers will find revelations here that are fascinating, for example how World War II, of all things, served to end the isolation felt by many gays who fought and served back then. It deserves a wide audience.
10 Reviews
Getting caught often led to ruined lives, imprisonment, commitment to a mental institution or suicide.
lastliberal25 July 2010
An absolutely fascinating account of gay life in the United States before 1969, especially how WWII changed everything.
This collection of interviews, archival material, and history gives a clear picture of how gays and lesbians lived and interacted in this country before people "came out" publicly.
I was impressed with those who came out openly in the 50s and started the first gay and lesbian organizations and magazines. These were people of extreme courage.
The incorporation of gays and lesbians in the civil rights movement and the women's movement was thoroughly examined.
This film should be seen by all to have a better understanding of oppression in America, and how far we have come.
This collection of interviews, archival material, and history gives a clear picture of how gays and lesbians lived and interacted in this country before people "came out" publicly.
I was impressed with those who came out openly in the 50s and started the first gay and lesbian organizations and magazines. These were people of extreme courage.
The incorporation of gays and lesbians in the civil rights movement and the women's movement was thoroughly examined.
This film should be seen by all to have a better understanding of oppression in America, and how far we have come.
Warmly presented and informative
mashington_riley19 January 2016
A humanising and edifying account of the emerging gay rights movement across the early to mid twentieth century. Before Stonewall documents the struggles gay people faced leading to the protests of the 1960s. Containing archive footage of early depictions of gays on film, original interviews with gay rights activists, frequenters of early gay scenes of New York and San Francisco and authors including Allen Ginsberg. This film made me realise what a force for the creative voice the gay scene was in how it championed the subversive and the ironic. It is testament to the boundless positivity and optimism of the prominent individuals of the gay rights movement featured in this film that despite the often painful experiences they had to endure, their stories are retold in a witty and engaging way. Highly recommended for both educational and entertainment purposes!
A Landmark Documentary
citizen_cupid5 November 2000
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this wonderful documentary. The archival material alone -- film clips and still photographs of gay life in America between 1900 and the '60s -- is enough to make this film a treasure; but it is the interviews with survivors of the pre-Stonewall era that make Before Stonewall a priceless heirloom of gay studies and a must in the personal education of any socially conscious person interested in gay culture.
THE documentary to watch
TheLurkingFox9 February 2011
Before Stonewall is a unique piece because it was made in 1984, 15 years after Stonewall: It was still fresh in people's memory, it wasn't so long before.
Above all, it means that the people interviewed in the program were old enough to remember what the 20-30s were like, remember an experience in the army during the Second World War, remember life as a young gay person in the fifties. Most of those people wouldn't be able to be interviewed today: Most probably died of old age and many probably died of the greatest tragedy to ever affect the gay community a bit after the documentary was made: the aids epidemic.
Thus this documentary is invaluable to anyone interested in gay history, and one can really feel grateful that it was made back then, that someone decided to collect all those memories and amazing life experiences, or they would have been lost for ever.
Above all, it means that the people interviewed in the program were old enough to remember what the 20-30s were like, remember an experience in the army during the Second World War, remember life as a young gay person in the fifties. Most of those people wouldn't be able to be interviewed today: Most probably died of old age and many probably died of the greatest tragedy to ever affect the gay community a bit after the documentary was made: the aids epidemic.
Thus this documentary is invaluable to anyone interested in gay history, and one can really feel grateful that it was made back then, that someone decided to collect all those memories and amazing life experiences, or they would have been lost for ever.
Landmark documentary
gbill-748779 December 2020
A truly landmark documentary about the experience of being gay in America over the course of the 20th century, at least up until the 1969 Stonewall riot. Through the use of a wide variety of archival footage and lots of interviews with people who lived through the times and helped bring about change, it gives the context for bigger historical moments (like the Kinsey report, the McCarthy driven purges in government, and the trial over Ginsberg's Howl), as well as profoundly personal moments (like being a gay soldier in WW2, the WAC bravely standing up to Eisenhower, and the influence of Ann Bannon's books, or countless others). It was heartbreaking to hear the stories of the repercussions of being gay in some of these years, e.g. being committed to an asylum, losing one's job, or being publically outed and branded a pervert.
As one of the people interviewed points out, it's hard to imagine all of this happening - and that was in 1984, so it's even harder to fathom these things 36 years later. (Or is really hard to fathom with homophobic incidents still regularly popping up in the news? I don't know.) The film feels a bit frayed and it isn't perfect - but considering the enormous step forward even making it represented, I really enjoyed it nonetheless. It's a snapshot in time and since then there has been further progress, including a greater appreciation for the full LGBTQ community and MUCH greater acceptance in mainstream culture - as well as backlash and serious struggles along the way (I would love to see an updated version of this film!).
Ironically, the documentary was made right as the AIDS crisis was taking off, to which the Reagan administration's depraved indifference would certainly count as a struggle (and we see Reagan lamely commenting that he believes being gay is a psychological disorder). If anything, I wish the film had pointed out more of the problems which still remained to the community; it has the air of finality, as if Stonewall happened and then "we made it." Then again, its focus is history, as its title suggests. Anyway, this is a good documentary, and it would be good as an educational film.
As one of the people interviewed points out, it's hard to imagine all of this happening - and that was in 1984, so it's even harder to fathom these things 36 years later. (Or is really hard to fathom with homophobic incidents still regularly popping up in the news? I don't know.) The film feels a bit frayed and it isn't perfect - but considering the enormous step forward even making it represented, I really enjoyed it nonetheless. It's a snapshot in time and since then there has been further progress, including a greater appreciation for the full LGBTQ community and MUCH greater acceptance in mainstream culture - as well as backlash and serious struggles along the way (I would love to see an updated version of this film!).
Ironically, the documentary was made right as the AIDS crisis was taking off, to which the Reagan administration's depraved indifference would certainly count as a struggle (and we see Reagan lamely commenting that he believes being gay is a psychological disorder). If anything, I wish the film had pointed out more of the problems which still remained to the community; it has the air of finality, as if Stonewall happened and then "we made it." Then again, its focus is history, as its title suggests. Anyway, this is a good documentary, and it would be good as an educational film.
Important and worth seeing
jellopuke18 January 2020
My Father is One of the Eight Actors in Solame
liserani8 May 2004
Have many pictures of our father (Louis Dumar) in silents - my sister has one of him in Salome in her guest bedroom. Just found out last year, from a German website, about the film's "all gay" reputation.
He died 50+ yrs ago, so no way to find out real scoop now.
I purchased a Video of the short version - apparently all that remains - of the film and have have had some good laughs showing it to friends. The costumes are great and the whole thing very much before it's time. Hope to find out more about it's history.
Our dad's brother (Gino Corrado) was also in the movies, and is credited with something 272 appearances from 1916 to the 1970's. Remember seeing him in "B" movies on TV as a kid.
He died 50+ yrs ago, so no way to find out real scoop now.
I purchased a Video of the short version - apparently all that remains - of the film and have have had some good laughs showing it to friends. The costumes are great and the whole thing very much before it's time. Hope to find out more about it's history.
Our dad's brother (Gino Corrado) was also in the movies, and is credited with something 272 appearances from 1916 to the 1970's. Remember seeing him in "B" movies on TV as a kid.
Before Stonewall (1984) : A Must See Documentary
marcl978 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Directors Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg pull off a miracle here. They use authentic archival material, such as film clips, photos and interviews with real people who lived through it, to tell the story of the struggles of the LGBTQ+ ("Gay") community in America in the decades leading up to the famous Stonewall Inn riots of 1969.
The now famous Stonewall riots clearly did not just happen suddenly. The tension was building for centuries with this film focusing on Gay life in America between 1900 and the 1960s. It portrays a dark story of how Gay people were harassed, abused, humiliated, and forced to hide while being hunted down by the straight establishment (many of whom were closeted Gays themselves.)
Gay people from all over the U. S. moved to the Gay meccas such as San Francisco, CA, Harlem, NYC and of course, Greenwich Village, NYC, to escape into worlds of Gay bars, clubs, bathhouses, etc., at least to find some temporary relief. While they met people, made new friends, and found community, they were also terrified of being outed. Being outed meant beatings, arrests, almost certain termination from one's job, and pressure to out other Gay people.
Police raids on Gay bars, such as Stonewall, were routine, and people arrested often found their names printed in local newspapers as part of a list of deviant, mentally ill misfits. In fact, being Gay was considered both a crime and a mental illness. Gay people could be forced into mental institutions since after all they were "sick." They were hunted down like communists were hunted down in the late 1940s and 1950s, during Senator Joseph McCarthy's hideous witch hunts.
(The film does mention that Gays were sent to concentration camps during WWII, along with Jews and other minorities.)
So why does this fact-based documentary matter so much today, in 2021, in the post-2015 era of legal same sex marriage in America? Partly as a reminder, but more to educate the Gay youth of today who are able to live a much more comfortable, though not problem free, existence. There are also pockets in America today where conditions for Gay people are still unbearable. There's much work to be done to achieve true Equality and the risk is ever present that progress that has been made can be rolled back in a heartbeat. So, Gays need films like this to study and learn from to be prepared. The film brings out the importance of unity and community self-organizing. And a note to today's Gay youth: never forget the generations who came before you and paved the way for you to have the rights and freedoms that you have today.
The now famous Stonewall riots clearly did not just happen suddenly. The tension was building for centuries with this film focusing on Gay life in America between 1900 and the 1960s. It portrays a dark story of how Gay people were harassed, abused, humiliated, and forced to hide while being hunted down by the straight establishment (many of whom were closeted Gays themselves.)
Gay people from all over the U. S. moved to the Gay meccas such as San Francisco, CA, Harlem, NYC and of course, Greenwich Village, NYC, to escape into worlds of Gay bars, clubs, bathhouses, etc., at least to find some temporary relief. While they met people, made new friends, and found community, they were also terrified of being outed. Being outed meant beatings, arrests, almost certain termination from one's job, and pressure to out other Gay people.
Police raids on Gay bars, such as Stonewall, were routine, and people arrested often found their names printed in local newspapers as part of a list of deviant, mentally ill misfits. In fact, being Gay was considered both a crime and a mental illness. Gay people could be forced into mental institutions since after all they were "sick." They were hunted down like communists were hunted down in the late 1940s and 1950s, during Senator Joseph McCarthy's hideous witch hunts.
(The film does mention that Gays were sent to concentration camps during WWII, along with Jews and other minorities.)
So why does this fact-based documentary matter so much today, in 2021, in the post-2015 era of legal same sex marriage in America? Partly as a reminder, but more to educate the Gay youth of today who are able to live a much more comfortable, though not problem free, existence. There are also pockets in America today where conditions for Gay people are still unbearable. There's much work to be done to achieve true Equality and the risk is ever present that progress that has been made can be rolled back in a heartbeat. So, Gays need films like this to study and learn from to be prepared. The film brings out the importance of unity and community self-organizing. And a note to today's Gay youth: never forget the generations who came before you and paved the way for you to have the rights and freedoms that you have today.
the history of gays in the US
lee_eisenberg28 December 2023
The Stonewall Uprising in 1969 is widely seen as the kickoff of the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. Greta Schiller's "Before Stonewall" looks at the history of LGBT people throughout the 20th century. I would never have guessed that World War II turned out to be an earlier kickoff.
Since this documentary only goes up to Stonewall, it doesn't cover Harvey Milk (he got his own documentary that same year). A similar documentary is "The Celluloid Closet", about the depictions of LGBT people in cinema. All three documentaries are worth seeing to learn about LGBT history in the US. It sounds as though there's a sequel to this one, so I'll try to see that also.
Since this documentary only goes up to Stonewall, it doesn't cover Harvey Milk (he got his own documentary that same year). A similar documentary is "The Celluloid Closet", about the depictions of LGBT people in cinema. All three documentaries are worth seeing to learn about LGBT history in the US. It sounds as though there's a sequel to this one, so I'll try to see that also.
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