Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Play trailer

2:29

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018

1h 38m

Documentary

LGBTQ+

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

"Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" is the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a handsome ex-Marine who landed in Hollywood after World War II and became confidante, aide-de-camp and lover to many of Hollywood's greatest male--and female--stars. In the 1940s and '50s, Scotty ran a gas station in the shadow of the studio lots where he would connect his friends with actors and actresses who had to hide their true sexual identities for fear of police raids at gay bars, societal shunning and career suicide. An unsung Hollywood legend, Bowers would cater to the sexual appetites of celebrities--straight and gay--for decades. In 2012, he finally spilled his secrets in the New York Times best-selling memoir, "Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars", which revealed a dramatic, pre-Stonewall alternate history of Hollywood. While the studio PR machines were promoting their stars as wholesome and monogamous, Bowers was fulfilling the true desires of many of them. This cinéma vérité documentary by director Matt Tyrnauer ("Valentino: The Last Emperor") tells his story, as well as presents eye-opening takes on icons from the Hollywood Golden Age including Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner and many more.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood offers plenty of prurient thrills for film fans, but beyond the gossip lies a poignantly illuminating look at decades of sexual mores.

Read Critics Reviews

Chris Nashawaty

Entertainment Weekly

05/28/2020

B+

If you've already pored over Bowers' book, there's a bit of redundancy and repetitiveness to the gentleman hustler's revelations. But honestly, who tires of hearing gossip about A-list gang bangs, fetishes, and hook-ups?

Go to Full Review

David Fear

Rolling Stone

05/28/2020

2.5/5

We get a lot of opaque Scottys, all semi-attached to an alternate "history" that feels maddeningly incomplete and barely surface-scratched.

Go to Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

03/04/2020

A living rebuke to the imagined America of Hollywood's golden age.

Go to Full Review

Eric Langberg

Everything's Interesting

07/26/2022

It’s like a depressing sequel to his memoir, rather than an adaptation of it.

Go to Full Review

Tom O'Brien

Next Best Picture

06/14/2022

8/10

The film provides a fascinating glimpse into gay life in Hollywood in the pre-AIDS era and the challenges of actors maintaining a forced heterosexual image when in reality they weren't.

Go to Full Review

David Reddish

Queerty

03/20/2022

3.5/4

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood pays homage to both the man and his contribution, even as it hints at darker, painful elements of Scottys past. That dimension only makes the man and his story all the more intriguing.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

PridePosterStudios

@RT04271525 09/20/2023

Exploitative! Get a life, Scotty…

See more

Georgan G

@RT98616417 07/28/2023

Love the lesbian, gay & bisexual history in this documentary! Anyone who doesn't believe this story is very, very sheltered & conservative. I have no problem believing, being an elderly bisexual woman.

See more

Kevin L

@Lakeman 08/09/2021

Interesting stuff. I do hope we're well past much of this hiding bs now. And those broads on the view have little or no idea about bupkus. Scotty seems like a helluva guy, in the sense of a fascinating person who's lived a fascinating, though also quite sad/tragic, life. But also in the sense of him being a wonderfully sweet person. I didn't feel anything untoward or overly inappropriate was revealed in the movie. And besides, as he tells the one man who challenged him on the idea of 'outing' people in the book for being gay, "What's wrong with being gay?". Not my thing, but if it's yours, it's yours, and knock yourself out. 3 stars

See more

07/15/2020

so child sex abuse is OK, Scottie? I mean, what's OK for him ("baby"!) logically he finds fine for others. So if he didn't "procure" such--and my guess is he'd never turn down his $20 pimp money so will assume he did-- he at least never reported it & looked the other way. That's just a rational conclusion. As for the stars, so he's LOYAL to them during their lives (where the reality is likely it's only because they would sue his a@# for libel) but throws them under the bus when dead. No one has any right to out anyone else, that is THEIR life. Dead people have living family now too, so no thought about them, either. Yes, this is national enquirer x-rated version. About as trashy & unethical as it comes. Who can trust him as a source anyhow, this addled-brain filthy, hedonist? Mostly just sad, sad, sad!

See more

05/27/2020

Haphazard documentary, but salacious fun.

See more

s r

@ScottR 11/05/2019

It shattered some illusions I had of Hollywood stars. I was mostly bothered by the disgusting habits of the main character, but at least he owned it.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Matt Tyrnauer

Director

Scotty Bowers

Self

Peter Bart

Self

Stephen Fry

Self

Tony Charmoli

Self

Liz Smith

Self

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

92%

83%

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

Rebels on Pointe

100%

86%

Rebels on Pointe

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rebels on Pointe

Tab Hunter Confidential

89%

96%

Tab Hunter Confidential

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Tab Hunter Confidential

The Dog

93%

68%

The Dog

Watchlist

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street

100%

89%

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Mission: Impossible – Fallout Is Certified Fresh

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood: Trailer 1

2:29

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

"Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" is the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a handsome ex-Marine who landed in Hollywood after World War II and became confidante, aide-de-camp and lover to many of Hollywood's greatest male--and female--stars. In the 1940s and '50s, Scotty ran a gas station in the shadow of the studio lots where he would connect his friends with actors and actresses who had to hide their true sexual identities for fear of police raids at gay bars, societal shunning and career suicide. An unsung Hollywood legend, Bowers would cater to the sexual appetites of celebrities--straight and gay--for decades. In 2012, he finally spilled his secrets in the New York Times best-selling memoir, "Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars", which revealed a dramatic, pre-Stonewall alternate history of Hollywood. While the studio PR machines were promoting their stars as wholesome and monogamous, Bowers was fulfilling the true desires of many of them. This cinéma vérité documentary by director Matt Tyrnauer ("Valentino: The Last Emperor") tells his story, as well as presents eye-opening takes on icons from the Hollywood Golden Age including Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner and many more.

Director: Matt Tyrnauer
Producer: Matt Tyrnauer, Corey Reeser, Josh Braun
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Altimeter Films, Water's End Productions
Genre: Documentary, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $455.2K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)