Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 16: TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL
Jeffrey Schwarz’s exploration of the secret life of a Hollywood heartthrob made its debut at SXSW this Spring. Its extensive fest run has also included Cleveland, Sarasota, Seattle, Maryland, Provincetown, Revelation, and LGBT fests in London, Miami, Boston, San Diego, Toronto, Portland, Torino, San Francisco, Honolulu, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Dublin, Atlanta, Montreal, and Sydney, among many others.
Tab Hunter – born Arthur Gelien – was the all-American boy next door, a handsome blond, blue-eyed young man who found success in Hollywood in the 1950s. As revealed in his 2006 autobiography, upon which Schwarz’s entertaining portrait is based, he was also gay, but the Warner Bros studio machine worked overtime to bury any rumors as they marketed him to the emerging teen audience, making him the subject of countless fan magazine articles and grooming a pop singing sideline career. As he tried to balance clandestine relationships with the likes of Anthony Perkins with the demands of the film industry, Hunter grew restless with the generic roles the studio offered. He eventually decided to strike out on his own, but was unable to shake off his highly-polished image, and his acting career lay mostly dormant until John Waters cast him in POLYESTER. Schwarz benefits greatly from Hunter’s full participation here, demonstrating a genuine affability rather than any rancor over lost opportunities or faded dreams. His sexuality remains primarily a private matter rather than a political cause, but he seems perfectly content with his life now, partnered with film producer Allan Glaser, and out of the limelight.
what (not) to doc 