When porn previously available on other viewing formats is released on DVD, it's always fun to see a reminder of another age. However, no one has gay erotic nostalgia covered like Athletic Model Guild, which is devoted to reminding porn fans how it all started. To watch this collection is to step back not to the days of porn stars who have only recently retired, but over 50 years, to silent shorts that may not be the cocksucking and ass-pounding delights we have in abundance today, but back then, it was the only porn, and bravely. When this footage was originally shot, there was no Internet, no phone sex. Hell, Cher hadn't even started performing yet. It's not porn like we know it today, but it's value isn't in comparison, rather in historical context.
"Slave Market": Shot in color, this first cut is quite an epic. It has full art direction, costumes, extras and even title cards! The slaves being auctioned off are a mixture of beefcake, twink, California sun gods and the like. Truly, something for everyone, and they don't seem to mind posing for their potential buyers. Of course, I wouldn't mind taking the slave master, buff oiled Andy Martin home either. One slave, brunet Ray Fowle, is purchased by comic Don McConnell and goes into a rather scary epileptic fit, so of course he's taken back. It all ends happily, because it seems the slave had planned this with another buyer, with whom he goes off arm in arm.
"Pose, Please!": So, Larry Marrinan is a cute guy painting in the California desert when smoking-hot John Tristram comes nearby, in just jeans. How could the reedy Larry not want to paint this gorgeous man with all those abs? Well, before he even sees him, he undresses himself and oils up, but once his model inspiration arrives, why would he want to ever paint anything else? For cash, John has no problem swapping the jeans for a G-string and doing perfectly in every single pose he strikes. There's a light-hearted ending to this vignette that looks too fun to be anything but absolutely real.
"Wizard of Azz": Yes, there is a dog in this feature, but only for a second. No, instead, we have handsome dark-haired Dean Howard who is reading "The Wizard of Oz," falls asleep and is transported by Ron Nichols in lots of jewelry to his lair. Ron even has the power to make the Dean's clothing disappear, and his weird google eyes have his boy totally hypnotized. This bizarre tale gets weirder and weirder until the wizard has given Dean an enormous penis via some elixir. This new penis doesn't fit into undies and the guy doesn't seem to like having such a big appendage. So, Ron makes it go away and releases Dean back into the real world. Um, why does Dean not want the huge penis? You didn't see the Tin Man turning away his heart, did you?
"Beat the Devil": This story plays out on what looks to be the bare stage of a high school auditorium that has just done "Picnic" (it's the 1950s, it's possible!). On comes dashing Gary Hammock with big greased 50s hair and the remnants of a toga-like costume. The devil (Joe Kiser) appears with a pitchfork and a G-string, tempting our hero to eat from a nearby tree. And then Gary dies! The devil hides when Jerry Bell comes upon the dead body, waving a cross over it to revive him and repel the devil. But, the devil jumps on the guys and a three-way wrestling match ensues. Good triumphs over evil, naturally.
"The Witch Boy": The stars here are Bob Adams and Charles Butler. One of them wears a big witch hat and mixes all sorts of potions to create another lean oiled man like himself. The two look fetching in G-strings. When the witch disappears for a while, the boy starts mixing liquids and then decides to pose in front of a mirror. Frankly, I wasn't completely sure of what was happening in this one. But, the story is unimportant. The cute guys are.
"Gift for Dimetrius": Jerry Lewis, but not the one you're thinking of, thank goodness, is a house slave, who is caught napping on the job by his master, John Krivos, a bearded husky guy with no patience. Though dad ain't so nice to Jerry, he has a wonderfully playful relationship with John's son, Boris Bemitroff, another stunning looker. They frolic in the pool before Jerry has to serve his masters some food. John, showing off a great bod, is awfully mean to him and that upsets Boris, who quiets him down. However, big bad John sees this, ties Jerry to a post and means to whip him, but Boris stands in the way and John is forced to give up and cry while his son and slave run off into the sun together.
"Sleeping Beauty and the Beast": Sleeping Beauty here is a nude blond Dick Voldeman and his Prince Charming a cute button-nosed nude brunet named John Travis. It takes a while for dimwitted Prince Charming to figure out a kiss will wake up his mate, but once he does, they aren't afraid to pose for each other. Prince Charming even does push-ups completely upside down. They seem happy until suddenly Dick's face turns into an ogre, but another kiss restores that in time for a happy ending.
"The Jewel Thief": If Chi Chi LaRue could get her hands on the eight hotties in this vignette, oh, the orgy she could create! But, instead, they sit, drink wine and look generally fantastic in the blazing sun. They are a familiar bunch, all very friendly, until one guy steals a piece of jewelry, hiding it in his G-string (there is nowhere else). He's of course the villain because his hair is made to look villainous. When the jewel is discovered missing, the villain hides it under another guy, who is then tied to a pole to be whipped. But, come on, you could have guessed that some of the other guys saw the bad guy steal it, so he is tied up and beaten by the rest of the guys (all wearing smiles).
"Aladdin": Though in black-and-white, this is another example of big-budget porn! The costumes here are quite lavish. Everything looks Arabian but the men. On we go with slaves and magic powers again, all of it quite remarkable filmmaking for what it is. A trance makes a bought slave do all sorts of gymnastic contortions, but the guy is wonderfully sexy in his writhing and posing. Once again, the plot, or story, or whatever, goes off track and once again, who cares?
"Billy Hawkins' Adventure": Billy is a dreamboat. His tight body is flawless and what is packed into a tight G-string seems equally impressive. With a "Stag" magazine for inspiration, Billy first mimics some of the poses he sees and then falls asleep for a familiar Bob Mizer dream. He ends up on an expensive set with a helmet and sword as toys (oh, before posing again) and then wakes up. He doesn't look upset and even goes back to sleep, probably hoping for another grand dream.
"Go Go Sailor": Because I'm writing this in the 21st Century, the title of this story naturally made me think of a buff guy on a bar dancing with a sailor's cap and scarf. Not quite. Instead, we're in the present (the 50s) for a change, with an actual sailor, albeit one with a gigantic dick obvious in his tight pants, who roams around town, no doubt stopping lots of traffic. This simple wavy-haired fellow even takes pleasure in blowing softly on a dandelion. Then, this turns into a camp spoof of anti-drug films. The sailor drinks and starts dancing (maybe I wasn't so wrong about the boy on the bar), writhing as his tight pants seem to get even tighter. Without anyone having to waive a $20 bill in his face, he pulls out his cock, which is as sizey as it seemed. More dancing. More nudity. More dancing. The lush eventually passes out and dreams. In the dream, another sailor finds him, and more importantly, his dirty man mags. Our sailor ropes his pal into dancing and stripping with him. Boogie on, boys! This is the first vignette in the series to show actual kissing! And fellatio, though it's hidden behind a hat. The sailor's giant orgasm looks great, but he's filmed only from the waist up. The perfect tease, in some respects, this was also Mizer really stretching boundaries. Oh, and stay tuned after you see "the end," because there's one extra bit of fun that must be seen.
"Li'l Bear's Hero": We're back on the "Picnic" set, this time Romanized a bit. On comes small-eyed oiled cutie Wayne Bedwell in a bit of regalia. One of his arms seems injured, but poof, another soldier (Reuben Lee Aulds) appears to show him how to pose and flex his muscles, eventually giving him some sort of therapy that gets that arm to work properly. This turns into a royal smackdown all over the rubber floor. After their match, Reuben disappears, but Wayne is smiling once again.
"Jay Howard and Ray Curtis": Out by the pool, a blond is reading, when a brunet comes out to join him. Since the blond is already naked, the brunet follows suit. The brunet is upset about something (this was before pube manicuring, maybe that's it?), and the blond tries his best to comfort him. Nothing comforts a Mizer model like a good wrestle, which this time contains a bit of necking.
"Lonely Artist": David Gore and Frank Gump are the models in for this bit of softcore fun. One, a thinnish guy wearing a hat with a feather (I'm not making this up), isn't happy with the art he's been turning out, so he raises his arms to the heavens and prays. This gives him the inspiration to draw a life-sized man, and a damn hunky one, wearing the requisite G-string. You can guess that the painting comes to life, though he's surprised by it. They have a drink to relax him and then the model does what models are supposed to do: pose a lot. Unfortunately, before the artist can get in another sketch, he disappears.
"Pharaoh's New Slave": On another glittering set, Pharaoh has his nails done by a slave as a bunch of others keep guard. An intruder is brought in and tossed to Pharaoh's feet (where an actual monkey happens to be sitting). This new slave apparently has to prove himself by -- let's say it together -- wrestling! He and one of the other slaves get into it and this one looks pretty brutal. The new guy loses, but for some reason, it's the old slave who is tossed out of the harem and the new guy accepted as one of the gang.
"Seeing Double": Remember Lucy and Harpo Marx in matching costumes doing each other's moves in that classic "I Love Lucy" episode? That happens here. The guys work well in tandem and they know all of the same posing and strutting moves. It's actually cute when they are not in sync, because it makes them laugh. And then they wrestle. It turns out these guys are, or so we're told, real-life twins!
There are four posing films also included. David O'Boyle (who looks kind of like a young Ryan Idol) is in the desert, with fluffy hair and lots of oil on his naked body. It's not about the dick here (not that it's a bad one), but about the posing and the glimmering in the sun. David has a lot of energy and does all kinds of exercises to show off. Then there is Keith Stephan, a muscle god with an intense face. His poses are competition-ready, and his looks are perfect for the screen. What a physique! A cute Jim Horn with a monkey is next. The blond eats a banana, trying to make the monkey jealous and when the primate with the long tail disappears, our blond gets to show off his twinky bod. This 1950s Noah then gets to feed a goat before napping. Lastly is David O'Boyle, lounging with a ton of oil. This swarthy brunet wakes up, does a lot of stretching to get all those muscles in working order again, and then keeps stretching. You can never stretch too much! After all of the stretching, he's ready for the big-time posing, which he does very well. He's a middle-weight, but that doesn't mean he can't show off with all the right moves.
DVD features: Chapters (playable in its entirety or by individual story); AMG history; previously unreleased silent footage (which today might be "behind the scenes" and is so interesting in its context); vintage model posing test shots and showering footage; galleries; trailers ("Hardcore Film Classics," "Retrosex Archive: Anal Erotic 19 and 20," "AMG: Resurrection," "Gemeos" and "Tropicus"); and no regional coding (playable worldwide).
A DVD Review by Brent Blue