James Robert Parish's Gays and Lesbians in Mainstream Cinema covers 272 films in greater detail. Murray includes both Hollywood and underground films in his book. Lindsay Anderson's inclusion in the directors chapter is a mystery, since there is no mention of his connection to gay themes except a passing reference to one scene in the movie If. Readers may question why some stars appear in the book. Many black-and-white clips of film scenes and photos of directors and stars complement the entries. The themes index lists films by ethnic group, country, genre, and such themes as homophobia, cross-dressing, and vampires. The annotations for these films are somewhat longer than those for films appearing in the biographical chapters.ĭetailed indexes of film titles, directors, personalities, and themes conclude the book. and their fans.' The following chapter deals with 'cheesy films that feature gay, lesbian or transgendered characters.' The last chapter covers 'films with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters in secondary or bit roles and/or films which make references to homosexuality.' In the chapters focusing on films, entries contain information on year released, running time, country of origin, and director.

Four chapters are organized by audience: of interest to both gays and lesbians to gays alone to lesbians alone and to 'transsexuals, transvestites and drag queens. The remainder of the book covers films with gay themes. Following this, the person's films are listed chronologically, noting the year released, running time, and country of origin each film is also annotated briefly with evaluative comments.

Each entry summarizes in several paragraphs the person's contributions to film and discusses his or her private life. Images in the Dark is organized into nine chapters, the first three of which consist of entries dealing with directors, actors, and writers, artists, dancers, and composers. Films included in the book must be at least 60 minutes in length and have 'a gay theme that is relatively evident.' Murray's emphasis is on American and English films, although he does have selective coverage of European and Asian cinema. The book's scope also extends to such straight people as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand who are popular in gay culture. Broad-ranging, informative, and entertainingly written, this reference source covers 200 gay, bisexual, and lesbian actors and directors as well as more than 3,000 films and videos with gay themes.

Images in the Dark by Raymond Murray