In 1986, writer Boze Hadleigh published a collection of interviews conducted with six major players in the movie industry. Well, not exactly interviews in the normal sense. Hadleigh didn't sit down to chat about the latest gossip or next movie project with his subjects, instead having something like conversations, as the title of the book implies. Very easygoing, relaxed, setting the subjects at ease. And he needed to keep them at ease for these six gentlemen shared something in common: actor Sal Mineo, director Luchino Visconti, photographer Sir Cecil Beaton, director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, director George Cukor and actor Rock Hudson were all gay and were forced to keep their sexual identities hidden during their successful careers. Thanks to their frankness with Hadleigh, each gives remarkable insight into the Hollywood system and how it affected their lives and their sexuality, whether it was contractual marriages (such as Rock Hudson's to secretary Phyllis Gates) or being removed from a picture (George Cukor's removal due to a rumored homophobic Clark Gable) or even having the freedom to openly tackle homosexual themes in films. I also found it interesting to see the split between nationalities -- 3 Americans and 3 Europeans -- and how the differing film industries treated the subject of homosexuality: the American/Hollywood system wanting to keep things quietly under wraps whereas the European system accepting it as a normal part of society.

"Conversations with my Elders" is a remarkable book that both film buffs and followers of gay/lesbian history will find beneficial and intriguing. ( )