THE LEATHER BOYS (1964)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Currently streaming on Prime
Today's Lockdown Theater pick to click is Sidney J. Furie's 1964 kitchen sink biker drama The Leather Boys, adapted from the novel by Gillian Freeman (originally published under the pseudonym Eliot George). Colin Campbell is Reggie, the dim-witted but earnest motorbike-riding protagonist, who marries Dot, his sixteen year old girlfriend (the great Rita Tushingham, fresh off A Taste of Honey). After a stormy honeymoon at Butlin's Holiday Camp, things go downhill fast for the newleyweds. Soon Reg has left their one-room flat and moved in with his sexually-ambiguous biker buddy Pete, played by Dudley Sutton, who would shortly thereafter play the title role in the original theatrical production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane. His character is sympathetically portrayed and free of camp stereotypes. I recommend this film for fans of British neo-realism and gay cinema alike. Currently streaming for free on Prime. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
