About THE FILM

Seth Randal’s gripping documentary The Fall of ‘55 provides unique insights into the pre-Stonewall gay experience as well as 1950s’ America’s struggle with the issue of homosexuality and the prevailing myth that it was a cancer that could be spread to the youth. Interesting parallels are also drawn with the era of McCarthyism, during which fear and paranoia supplanted rational thought, and the federal government began its own purge of gays.

The film raises many questions that prove difficult even today: With the accusers ranging in age from 14 to 21, at what age did their accusations of sexual corruption become simple hypocrisy? What kinds of behavior were immoral? How far should the community have gone to protect the youth? Who were the victims, and who were the exploited? In Boise, eight decades later, opinions are still deeply divided.

Since its initial release in 2006, The Fall of ’55 has been declared “the definitive work” of the 1955 “boys of Boise” scandal, and “a significant contribution to gay history.” It has appeared on screen in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, and is used as a teaching tool by universities around the U.S. and beyond. The film has been discussed by media outlets including Associated Press, National Public Radio, KCBS Radio, Variety and The New York Times.

The Fall of ’55 also inspired “The Show on the Roof,” a musical by Tom Ford and Alex Syiek for Boise Contemporary theater, as well as the memoir “San Francisco: Open Your Golden Gate,” by Larry Oberg.