The Leather Boys

The Leather Boys
DVD cover
Directed bySidney J. Furie
Written byGillian Freeman
Produced byRaymond Stross
Starring
CinematographyGerald Gibbs
Edited byReginald Beck
Music byBill McGuffie
Distributed byBritish Lion-Columbia
Release date
  • January 1964 (1964-01)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£106,271[1][2][3]

The Leather Boys is a 1964 British drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Rita Tushingham, Colin Campbell, and Dudley Sutton. The story is set in the very early 60s Ton-Up boys' era, just before the rocker subculture in London and features a gay motorcyclist.[4]

The film is notable as an early example of a film that violated the Hollywood production code, yet was still shown in the United States, as well as being an important film in the genre of queer cinema.[5] An example of British kitchen sink realism, its treatment of homosexuality was considered daring at the time of its release.

  1. ^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
  2. ^ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p250
  3. ^ Hill, William John (1985). CLASS, SEXUALITY AND THE*BRITISH CINEMA 1956-63 (PDF) (Thesis). University of York. p. 62.
  4. ^ "The Leather Boys". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  5. ^ Raymond Murray, Images in the dark: an encyclopedia of gay and lesbian film and video, TLA Publications, 1994, ISBN 1-880707-01-2, p.414