CLIP #1: Welcome to Boise It's an introduction to the community, using rare vintage film footage of Boise in October of 1955 -- remarkably the same month the scandal started.
CLIP #2: The Document This focuses on a piece of questionable evidence used to implicate two men in the scandal.
CLIP #3: The Last One We start in San Francisco with the final arrest from the scandal, and lead into comments from Boiseans on why the scandal ended when it did.
CLIP #4: One House It is a rare look inside a place that's off limits to the public, the Number One Cellhouse at the Old Idaho Penitentiary. One of the convicted men describes what it was like to live in this building that pre-dates Idaho statehood.
Broadband Trailer for THE FALL OF '55
This is a trailer for the documentary, "The Fall of '55." The film explores a McCarthy-era sex scandal that rocked the community of Boise, Idaho. The events garnered national attention and left scars which remain to this day. Some regard the so-called "Boys of Boise" cases as one of America's most notorious homosexual witchhunts. The filmmakers uncovered previously-untold stories and perspectives on the cases.
About me:
In the fall of 1955, a gay sex scandal erupted in the unassuming, wholesome and "vice-less" town of Boise, Idaho, as teenage boys who had prostituted themselves to older men began to disclose their dalliances to authorities. Overnight, Boise’s homosexual underworld — comprised mostly of married family men — was splashed onto headlines and thrust into the spotlight. Reputations were shattered and lives ruined as the rumors and accusations flew. What followed was a classic witch-hunt, marked by intense homophobic hysteria, in which the whole town became embroiled.
The Fall of '55 provides unique insights into the pre-Stonewall gay experience as well as 1950s' America's struggle with the issue of homosexuality and the prevailing myth that it was a cancer that could be spread to the youth. Interesting parallels are also drawn with the era of McCarthyism, during which fear and paranoia supplanted rational thought, and the federal government began its own purge of gays (one that continues to this day in our military).
The Fall of '55 raises many questions that prove difficult even in 2007: With the accusers ranging in age from 15 to 22, at what age did their accusations of sexual corruption become simple hypocrisy? What kinds of behavior were immoral? How far should the community have gone to protect the youth? Who were the victims, and who were the exploited? In Boise, more than fifty years later, opinions are still deeply divided.
Who I'd like to meet: People interested in the true story of lives, families and a community scarred by prejudice.
Hi Seth,
I'd just like to thank you again for letting us present your wondeful film at the Festival.
We're all looking forward to your next work!
All the best,
Bruce
