Who knew a history lesson could be this much fun? From its opening, eye-popping title sequence, Continental spills over with lively interviews, hilarious anecdotes, crazy stock footage and loads of gossip.
Ingram’s skill as a documentary filmmaker comes into full play here. Continental is the story of the legendary bathhouse, which existed from the late 1960s to the late ’70s. This, of course, was a pivotal time for the gay community and for civil rights advances, and the film shows us how an institution that operated 24/7 and was essentially one gigantic orgy was part of that change. People showed up, partied, had sex, shopped in the boutique or had a coffee, then had more sex. Some men would stay for days at a time.
The star of the documentary emerges as Steve Ostrow, an entrepreneur who realized men wanted to meet up with other men for sex but often had no way or nowhere to do it. He set up shop, soon to realize that the police would not allow for such an obvious gay-orgy outfit. But Ostrow explains that after a couple of raids the police pointed out that if he simply bought some tickets to their weekly fundraising ball — $8,000 worth each week — the raids would stop. Ostrow agreed, given the burgeoning success of his business and his need to protect his customers’ anonymity.
While acknowledging that the bathhouse culture accommodated those who remained closeted, Continental also shows us that Ostrow was himself a man discovering his own gay sexual identity and that he and bathhouse staff always fought for the decriminalization of gay sex. It’s a strange time to look back at because there was a sense of euphoria that went with the sexual revolution and there was no stigma of AIDS. Interviewed for the film, author Edmund White quotes Susan Sontag, who suggested there was, in fact, a brief window of about 30 years — from the widespread dissemination of birth control pills and antibiotics to treat STDs to the outbreak of the AIDS crisis — when people could live with complete sexual abandon. The Continental bathhouse stands as a potent symbol of this time.
But perhaps the strangest part comes with the Continental’s status as a multipurpose space. Leave it to gays to decide they had to put on a show. Ostrow had a dancefloor installed (the first glass disco floor ever, he claims) and recruited talent to perform live. Most legendary is the story of how he discovered Bette Midler, who was a struggling performer paying her way by waitressing, and how she got her start there, accompanied by a then-unknown Barry Manilow on piano. (They didn’t get along at first, Ostrow says.) Peter Allen played there, as did Sarah Vaughan and Patti LaBelle. It sounded like quite the party.
But Ingram, to his credit, doesn’t gloss things over. A disgruntled White suggests that the shows got in the way of the sex party, which he feels was the main reason the Continental existed and should have been its focus. The Continental became the talk of the town, and as such, all sorts of people starting showing up to check things out, among them Johnny Carson, Hitchcock, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. Ingram doesn’t skimp on gossipy details: Nureyev loved rough trade! Holly Woodlawn occasionally performed while lying down, as she was too wasted to stand up!
Given what would come down the pipes not so long after the Continental shut its doors, Ostrow’s story makes for a beautiful — and quite uplifting — story arc. He got to pursue his lifelong dream of being an opera singer and now works to better the lives of older gay men. It’s a fitting punctuation mark to an invigorating documentary, which, in the Grindr era, seems almost like science fiction. By the final credit roll, I was sure of one thing: watching Continental made me want to see the Continental.
The men should need a shower or bath after their sex it is important .
Have loved this women ever since the 70’s, she was always herself, which we all loved long before she made it BIG. I always smile when I think back to the good old days.
used to have some grand times in a bath house in Pittsburgh in the early 90s
Woulda been funny if they’d included Edith Prickly from SCTV doing her show at the baths.
loved the bath scene when it was underground and you weren’t sure if the cops would come in and piss on the floor (happened in Vancouver BC)and the seedy atmosphere of some of the dives in Toronto. Haven’t been recently cause the last time there seemed to be so much superficial fairy dust in the air…
Bette Midler the modern day gay equivalent to “July Garland”.
I was one of the fortunate ones who lived through those wonderful times at the Continental watching Bette and Barry practicing for their performance. I was able to watch them naked from the swimming pool on the other side of the basement next to the cavernous steamroom and open showers. It was glorious and I a happy to be around now to reminice. So many of my friends fell victim to AIDS. I was one of the luck ones!
I am so excited to see this documentary has been made. I thought of the film The Ritz when I read this. The Ritz was shot at the Continental Baths and is so funny….it gives you a bit of an idea of what the bath was like. We are so lucky that we have these archives of historical gay history to chronicle. I fear that eventually we will lose our uniqueness in the mundane world. I hope we can keep our gay subculture alive to revel in and appreciate how these institutions brought us together when we were so repressed….I cannot wait to view this….
Unfortunately I missed those days, I guess from what I’ve seen life would have been heaps of fun in a safe environment with very few restrictions. Good to see some real entertainment on here
Let’s not forget that Barry Manilow was her pianist! I’m sure he felt right at home!!
I like Bette
Malcolm Ingram (small town gay bar/ Bear Nation) has brought us another entertaining/informative documentary of the gay experience. I saw the film last year in a showing for those of us who donated to Kickstarter to make the film possible. It’s told as a series of reminiscences by Steve Ostrow and others who were there. It includes old clips of performances and stills as the baths are gone..now a parking area under the old Ansonia.
I remember family vacations to NY where we had friends that were part of the “in crowd” who took us there to see the cabaret shows. I remember seeing Midler/Manilow once( at the piano in just a towel!); Gloria Gaynor; Pointer Sisters; Andy Kaufman; Labelle; Roslyn Kind singing (Streisand’s half-sister) and Holly Woodlawn (trans-actress, Warhol superstar and ‘the’ Holly in the song “Walk on the wild side”) over several years trips. In the audience were the movie/stage stars, Warhol, the Jaggers, and such. The shows ended in 1974.
When I returned a bit older, I went to the baths under the guise of exploring the city and had my first experiences there with older ‘daddy’ types. My first time, I was really nervous and a stout and furry man, John, pulled me into one of the rooms..he set me at ease and we explored the wonders of gay sex daily for the week. It would be years before we crossed paths again.
The Continental was already on its last legs and would close in 1975. It was started by Steve Ostrow in the basement of the old Ansonia hotel. The previous owner had been sent to prison for fraud and the largest investor, Jake Starr, took over the building through bankruptcy. Jake owned Artkraft Strauss which made all the lighted marques on Broadway. When he took it over, it had no permits for a hotel as it had been built before they were required. He just kept running it ‘as is’ as millions would be needed to update it. When Steve wanted to rent the old arcade/health club in the basement, Starr jumped at the chance of new revenue. You can see the old baths in the movie “The Ritz”. Steve closed the baths due to no business and the site became “Plato’s Retreat” a notorious swingers club till Koch closed it in ’85 at the height of the AIDS epidemic there.
I would meet Steve Ostrow years later here on the west coast. Steve was trained as a soprano opera singer. Back in NY, be had been a financial advisor and diversified into the baths as an investment and to indulge his bisexual interests. After the Continental closed , he came to San Fransisco to join the opera company and revive his love of singing. He stayed for 7-8 years. During this time, some friends were patrons of the opera and I met him at one of their cocktail parties. Quite a handsome man who loved to tell his story to others. Over time we became friends. Steve is one of the essentially unknown heroes of the gay community. Back in NY he was instrumental in getting the city ban on gay activities overturned. Likewise, he helped get the idea of being gay a ‘pathology’ tossed out of DSM III, the official book of mental disorders. From SF, he went to the Stuttgart Opera, where with Bob Hope, he managed the USO. In ’87, he and his wife Joanne went to Sydney for a vacation. There he fell in love with the country and the opera scene joining the Lyric Opera of Queensland. There he also founded the AIDS Counsel of NSW and MAG (Mature Age Gays) in 1991, the largest gay organization in Australia. He’s retired now, his wife has passed, but be is one of the most sought after vocal coaches down under. He even had a cameo in “Superman Returns”..one of Lex Luther’s Vanderworth relatives. He told his own autobiography in his book: ” Live at the Continental”, still available on Amazon.
While I was consulting on the film “Pacific Heights”(1990) with Debra Schutt, set designer, the director and producer came to talk about some changes. The director gave me a sense of déjà vu. Later that night it came to me and I caught the director in the parking lot the next morning. After a few minutes of oblique references and the name Continental, we laughed about him, John Schlesinger, being my ‘big daddy’ so many years before back at the baths! We had dinner that night and I met his wonderful partner, Michael Childers, the famous photographer. After that, we worked together on several more of his projects before his death. Mike remains a friend and still like lives in their home in Palm Springs. I just got a fund raising cards from him for an AIDS benefit in Rancho Mirage. What a strange small world we live in to cross so many paths.
P.S.: Since John Schlesinger was gay, that’s why he was perfect for directing the seminal gay film, “Midnight Cowboy”(1969). Be personally knew the street life he depicted. If he was in NY, he was a regular at the Continental until it closed. Few knew who he was and he never divulged his identity to his partners. When you’re naked and out of context, you’re just anonymous…lol.
There used to be so much more fun involved with being gay when most things were underground.. and absolutely unknown to the outside public. The situation is BETTER today, but not nearly as much fun.
I think it’s excellent that Squirt posts items like this one on the Continental Baths, especially for a generation that’s too young to remember how things once were. Never take your ‘freedom’ for granted.
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Thanks for the comments from those who were there. We talk about the gay population being more integrated now but it sounds like despite the closet aspect that in a sense there was integration at that time. Straights certainly showed up for the shows and such. I wonder when the fear factor will dissolve again the reality of aids is stark but nothing as bad as it was and modern youth simply do not have the same issue with sex in general despite the odd exaggerated fundamentalist voice they grew up with. There is no reason not to have a more fluid sexuality at this time scene or not. It seems so sad that men who are bi or questioning are almost less able than even than in the 1800 and early 1900s to be with other men and explore. it seems homophobia is punished with less intimacy between straight men. The recent post on I Still Stand You is a response to that but years before even the gay scene emerged straight men bathed together and held hands or put arms around shoulders and I have been told also simply tried things with guys much as we think women can experiment easily now. BTW when did this hotel open?