LA Plays Itself

Director Fred Halsted’s classic odyssey of Los Angeles men has been hailed by critics around the globe as a watershed film in the history of gay erotic cinema. Both “L.A. Plays Itself” and the additional short film “Sex Garage” have been chosen for the permanent film collection of The Museum of Modern Art. After watching the film when it was screened in New York in the 1970s, the eccentric artist Salvador Dali reportedly is quoted as muttering "new information for me." With whips, chains, bitch-slaps, beer, motorcycles, boots, leather, bulging denim, mustaches and more, director Fred Halsted's contribution to gay erotic film-making is undeniable. Described by Harold Fairbanks, advocate film reviewer, as the first really artistic gay porn film. Halsted says that he saw no gay porn prior to filming this.