Curt McDowell

Curt McDowell

Born: January 9, 1945
Died: June 3, 1987
in Lafayette, Indiana, USA
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 and the puerile.

Movies for Curt McDowell...

It Came from Kuchar
Title: It Came from Kuchar
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 22, 2009
Type: Movie
It Came from Kuchar is the definitive, feature documentary about the legendary, underground filmmaking twins, the Kuchar brothers. George and Mike Kuchar have inspired two generations of filmmakers, actors, musicians, and artists with their zany, "no budget" films and with their uniquely enchanting spirits.
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Video Album 5: The Thursday People
Title: Video Album 5: The Thursday People
Released: January 1, 1987
Type: Movie
The comings and goings of the late underground filmmaker, Curt McDowell—and the people and activities that came and went along with him—are the themes that run through this existential diary of daily life. McDowell was dying from AIDS-related illnesses during the production of the diary. “An elegy for McDowell, the videowork captures Kuchar’s mournful remembrances of his long-lasting friendship with the young filmmaker. But it also has the inquisitive charm, perverse humor, and quirky candor that places Kuchar’s visual expressions in a gritty niche all their own.”
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Xmas 1986
Title: Xmas 1986
Character: Himself
Released: December 25, 1986
Type: Movie
"In Xmas 1986, George Kuchar’s mother Stella has come to stay with him for the holidays. After a series of dinners with friends, Stella’s repeated discussions about her shingles and Kuchar’s ominous film-noirish narration, Kuchar rescues the morale of a dinner party gone bad thanks to an undercooked ham by presenting his hosts with a very memorable holiday gift." – Kyle Riley
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Little Showoffs
Title: Little Showoffs
Character: Himself - Interviewer (as Roger Halcyon)
Released: August 13, 1984
Type: Movie
From filmmaker Zachary Youngblood (Deep Tango) comes Little Showoffs, an intimate study of the sexual fantasies of real people, brought to the screen. From the surreal, to the highly personal, Little Showoffs explores the range of erotic desire through six vignettes framed by and starring the actual people who conceived them.
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George Kuchar: The Comedy of the Underground
Title: George Kuchar: The Comedy of the Underground
Character: Himself
Released: April 1, 1983
Type: Movie
A documentary portrait of filmmaker George Kuchar conducting a tour of his apartment where he displays memorabilia and his toys which were used for props.
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Audience
Title: Audience
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Barbara Hammer’s Audience is a fascinating deep cut from the director’s prodigious filmography. Relatively raw in its design, this 16mm diary of audience reactions at retrospectives of Hammer’s work in San Francisco, London, Toronto, and Montreal in the early 1980s bears none of the distinctive visual flourishes and essayistic form one usually finds in her filmmaking. Today, Audience serves as an invaluable historical archive, providing quick but complex portraits of lesbian scenes in different cities and countries: the San Francisco women are bold and raucous, treating Hammer like a celebrity; the London crowd more reserved and tentative; the Canadians politely critical after initial hesitation. It also functions as a testament to the power of Hammer herself as a figure of lesbian culture, showing how fully she engages audiences to incite new forms of discourse about representation.
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Loads
Title: Loads
Character: Self
Released: June 21, 1980
Type: Movie
Curt McDowell offers an account of his adventures with straight boys and the hospitality he extends to them.
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Symphony for a Sinner
Title: Symphony for a Sinner
Released: September 21, 1978
Type: Movie
Symphony for a Sinner (1979) was a long, lavishly photographed color film generally considered the magnum opus of the class productions.
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The Mongreloid
Title: The Mongreloid
Character: Himself
Released: September 21, 1978
Type: Movie
A man, his dog, and the regions they inhabited, each leaving his own distinctive mark on the landscape. Not even time can wash away the residue of what they left behind.
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A Reason to Live
Title: A Reason to Live
Released: January 1, 1976
Type: Movie
"This film is about depression, although it's not that depressing. I suppose it has a message of faith and hope in it ... it does for me .... But then again my interest may not match yours. It was shot in San Francisco and in Central Oklahoma with a cast of one man and four women. Crushing emotions are indulged in against a massive meteorological background that brings inspiration and terror to the characters involved."
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Thundercrack!
Title: Thundercrack!
Character: Medusa / Gerald Hammond (as Pamela Primate)
Released: December 29, 1975
Type: Movie
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.
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The Devil's Cleavage
Title: The Devil's Cleavage
Character: Frank
Released: November 28, 1975
Type: Movie
A shady motel manager becomes obsessed with a neglected wife.
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Naughty Words
Title: Naughty Words
Released: July 10, 1974
Type: Movie
Naughty Words is a 3 min experimental film by Curt McDowell, covering the gamut of cinematic profanity.
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Naughty Words
Title: Naughty Words
Character: Himself (Voice)
Released: July 10, 1974
Type: Movie
Naughty Words is a 3 min experimental film by Curt McDowell, covering the gamut of cinematic profanity.
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Stinky-Butt
Title: Stinky-Butt
Released: January 1, 1974
Type: Movie
A comedic satire of psychological thrillers.
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Resurrection of Eve
Title: Resurrection of Eve
Released: September 13, 1973
Type: Movie
Eve is stuck in an abusive relationship with her lover, Frank, but after attending a few swing parties, she begins to lose her inhibitions in more ways than one.
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Dora Myrtle
Title: Dora Myrtle
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
A short film in two parts by Curt McDowell. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
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Boggy Depot
Title: Boggy Depot
Character: Mean Brother
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Two men hypnotize their roommate and attempt to force him to fall in love.
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The Mean Brothers
Title: The Mean Brothers "Get Stood Up"
Character: Mean Brother
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Two brothers are stood up and lament through song.
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Wieners and Buns Musical
Title: Wieners and Buns Musical
Character: Mugsy
Released: May 12, 1972
Type: Movie
A musical about an unhappy couple and the man that stands between them.
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Confessions
Title: Confessions
Released: March 15, 1972
Type: Movie
Curt McDowell has a confession for his parents. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
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Siamese Twin Pinheads
Title: Siamese Twin Pinheads
Released: January 1, 1972
Type: Movie
Willy and Billy attempt to entertain while struggling with their primal urges.
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Peed Into the Wind
Title: Peed Into the Wind
Character: Mick Terrific
Released: January 1, 1972
Type: Movie
“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
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Truth for Ruth
Title: Truth for Ruth
Released: January 1, 1972
Type: Movie
Curt McDowell relates an idea for a film to Ted Davis.
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Riverbody
Title: Riverbody
Released: March 11, 1970
Type: Movie
A continuous dissolve of 87 male and female nudes. "The film's fascination lies with the suspense of that magic moment, halfway between two persons, when the dissolve technique produces composite figures, oftentimes hermaphroditic, that inspires awe for the mystery of the human form." - B. Ruby Rich, Chicago Art Institute
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A Visit to Indiana
Title: A Visit to Indiana
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
Super 8 home movie footage of McDowell's trip home to Indiana, with voice-over by McDowell and Ted Davis.
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Pornogra Follies
Title: Pornogra Follies
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
A musical revue of lewd routines.