Le Beau Mec

When I attended the premiere of "Le Beau Mec" at the old Adonis Cinema in Manhattan back in the late 70s, the theater was packed. No one there ever forgot the bigger-than-life images of the fabulous Karl Forest as we followed his evolution from over-sexed boy into the over-sexed male prostitute of Paris. No wonder he was the "It" boy in France of that era. Forest came across as someone impossibly gorgeous, tough, sensuous and totally into his electrifying narcissism. The movie was beautifully photographed, with a great musical accompaniment, and Forest instantly became a bigger-than-life icon of movie sexuality. You see him in all his unclothed glory as the camera slowly traveled across his torso, investigating every nook and cranny. LE BEAU MEC was sold in America as just another gay erotic movie but it's much more than that. Anyone--male or female--who wants to lose themselves in nearly two hours of body worshipping should definitely try to check this movie out--if you can find it. My VHS copy is nearly worn out from repeated viewings. Whatever happened to Karl Forest is a tantalizing mystery since he would probably be in his fifties by now.

As far as gay porn goes this is a masterpiece ... Beautifully shot ... This film is in need of reevaluation ... Goodness knows who Wallace Potts was ( though he was obviously known in the industry and did other non porn films ) but the man obviously had a lot of stories he could have told ... Its a shame he died last year ... Also whoever Karl Forest ( the lead, co writer and producer ) was, he was one handsome man ... And was certainly one of my fantasies in past years ... Would love to know more about this movie if anyone has information ... I think its important that these films don't just get forgotten as they are a large part of the history of gay men in the 20th century and a huge part of coming out

This movie is more than porn and should be categorized as film in the same vein as the Japanese film, "In the Realm of the Senses". That movie was shown in foreign film venues and the explicitness of the straight sex scenes match that of the gay sex scenes in "Le Beau Mec". The French language soundtrack and music added to the erotic charge of "Le Beau Mec". Having an English soundtrack, "Dude", did not enhance the movie for me, but it was interesting to know the actual dialog having seen the movie in the original French. Wallace Potts was a long time lover of Rudolf Nureyev, the great Russian ballet dancer. Mr Potts is mentioned, as is the movie, in some of the biographies of Nureyev which included pictures of Potts and the other men in Nureyev's life. He made the movie while in the relationship which could explain the the excellence of "Le Beau Mec", a fascinating psychological study of street hustling and gay life in the 70's. Yes, Karl Forest was a beauty!

Other classics such as Boys in the Sand or LA plays itself. Sextool etc are light years behind this film, everything about it is primo starting with the concept and ending up with the sets, we needed more like this one!

Thank you for gracing us with this treasure Toby Ross.