Curt McDowell

Director

January 9, 1945 (42 years)

† June 3, 1987

Lafayette, Indiana, USA

Biography

Curt McDowell worked in San Francisco from the late 1960s until his death in 1987 – a period that witnessed the Summer of Love, gay liberation, and the onset of HIV/AIDS, to which he succumbed at the age of forty-two. The author of numerous films that recast the American dream of plenty in pansexual terms, McDowell, like so many artists of his generation, indulged in the era’s carnal abundance, and his appetites and experiences are reflected in his work, which alternates between the revealing an…

Filmography

5.4

Taboo: The Single and the LP

"Abner L. Fuqua clears his throat and I get mad and stand close to trains or cut my eyebrow off. Dorothy is Abner's wife. Abner can slap hard, like blue magic." - graffiti

6.4

Sparkle's Tavern

Siblings hide their ownership of a bordello from their mother. When she is visited by a man who shares the joys of sexual enlightenment with her, her entire world is turned upside down.

5.0

A Visit to Indiana

A comedy for the people of liberated cities about the tragedy of small town imprisonment. A ten-minute dialogue of nephew and uncle during which so little is said that all is revealed. Visually, all action is shown that will ever occur. Starring Mom, Dad, Grandma McDowell, Aunt Rachael, Uncle Paul, Melinda, Marce, and the rest of the family.

4.0

Beaver Fever

Starring George Kuchar as "Hunk", Mrs. Ruby B. Davis as "Aunt Ruth", and introducing Melinda McDowell as the much-abused, sex bomb "Goldenrod".

3.0

Peed Into the Wind

An hour-long saga of Mick Terrific, rock 'n' roll star, and the cast of 50 he encounters on his search for "Mr. Wonderful." “PEED INTO THE WIND smears across the screen like one of those dirty underground comic books. It’s loaded with a lot of big scenes and unusual looking people that make this epic resemble a clogged toilet. Unfortunately, since several of the performers were not as loyal as Ainslie Pryor and John Thomas, the plot is difficult to follow but in no way hinders the sewer-like sequences. It’s quite enjoyable and possesses the releasing power of an enema.” –George Kuchar. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.

3.3

Pornogra Follies

Ted Davis is everyone's favorte Master of Ceremonies for the following performances: Peckernose Act, The Cooking and the Washing Act, Spin Your Little Clothes Off Act, Tea Break, The Spinning Nuns, Balancing Prick Act, The Dirty Hummers, Spanish Dancer Act, The Whora, Picking a Winner, The Poop Chute Act, Waiting and Worrying Nude Act, The Tapping Tennis, The Disappearing Milk and Sandwich Act, The Flower Magician, Fart Chorus, The Whirlwinds, The Paper Bags on the Heads Act, The Belly Dance, Cheek to Cheek, Head Job Act, Tweeting Prick Act, Fanny Dancer, Back Words Act, Betsy the Cussing Doll, And… The Singing Twat

5.5

A Night with Gilda Peck

A vehicle for the talented Mrs. Kathleen Hohalek, as the tenant of the Pyramid Penthouse, with George Kuchar and Bob Hohalek as the burglars, "Slug," and "Boom Boom," John Thomas as "the Copper" and Ainslie Pryor as "the maid."

N/A

Flesh Histories

A diverse program of films and videos by various artists who challenge conventional representations of gender, family and sexuality, curated by Tom Kalin for Drift Distribution.

3.3

Nudes: A Sketchbook

"Curt McDowell's NUDES (A Sketchbook) is a paean to the filmmaker's closest friends: a series of portraits (beginning with one of George Kuchar) based on stylized, often graphically sexual interpretations of his or her personality. The portraits also, at times, represent Curt's own sexual interests as he projects them onto the lives of others. My favorites are 'Barbara', a Pre-Raphaelite vision of woman and 'Ainslie', a musical spoof on glamour. The filmmaker's point of view ranges from compulsively erotic to light-hearted and self-debunking. A broad reading of the term 'romantic' would probably best describe the spectrum of extreme, even outrageous, possibilities which Curt embraces in this sketchbook/film." - Karen Cooper, Film Forum

4.0

Wieners and Buns Musical

A musical about an unhappy couple and the man that stands between them. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

4.3

True Blue and Dreamy

A real and favorite dream of mine, preserved on film to be relived over and over.

3.7

Boggy Depot

A musical for the whole family. A rural operette starring Ainslie Pryor and Geore Kuchar, told through song and rhme.

4.0

Stinky-Butt

The film that caused Sheri Millbradt to lose 40 pounds.

4.3

Naughty Words

"...WORDS was a Curt McDowell work covering the gamut of cinematic profanity."

5.8

Confessions

"Just as outrageous is Curt McDowell's CONFESSIONS. McDowell, a graduate student at San Francisco Art Institute, opens his film with a confession to his mother and father, listing in exhausting detail his sins of the flesh."

4.0

Dora Myrtle

Ainslie Pryor in two miniature dramas, utilizing wind sound effects, canned laughter, and "I Love Lucy" lighting.

5.5

Truth for Ruth

Muffled, inaudible sound and no image to speak of make this one a real crowd pleaser.

3.3

Ronnie

A naked hustler tells his story nonstop. A real wonder-hunk.

N/A

The Mean Brothers "Get Stood Up"

Two brothers are stood up and lament through song. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

6.3

Thundercrack!

An eccentric and alcoholic widow hosts a motley assortment of travelers - four men, three women and one gorilla - who arrive one eventful night to get out of a torrential rainstorm.