Main Cast: Paul America, Ed Hood, Ed Wiener, The Sugar Plum Fairy, John McDermott, Jeanne Vieve, Joseph Campbell
Release Year: 1965
Country: US
Run Time: 66 minutes
Plot
The action in the first reel takes place at a bungalow on the beach at Fire Island. Ed Hood (the John) plays a bitchy, aging queen has ordered a blonde male hustler, Paul (Paul America) from a service called "Dial-a-Hustler." He is watching the hustler from the back porch of the bungalow, where he is joined by self-described "fag hag" Genevieve (Genevieve Charbon), who wants to steal Paul away from the John just to see him suffer. Another, older hustler (Joe Campbell, also known as "The Sugar Plum Fairy"), shows up, claiming already to have "had" Paul, much to the consternation of the John, who proposes a bet to see who will win Paul's heart and soul in the end. The entire second reel takes place in a bathroom which is filmed from the hallway outside an open door. Sugar Plum and Paul are showering, shaving, and cleaning up as they have a long conversation about the pros and cons of hustling. Sugar Plum is about to make the move on Paul when he is interrupted by Genevieve, who promises Paul a good time if she will go off with him. Genevieve is followed by the John, who offers Paul money, cars, and girls in exchange for companionship. A woman (Dorothy Dean) with lipstick and glasses, not previously seen in the film, stops by to suggest that hustling might not be the best career choice for Paul and that he should probably seek an education instead. The question is left hanging as the film runs out of Andy Warhol's camera. ~ David Lewis, All Movie Guide
Review
My Hustler is one of the first feature films to focus primarily on gay characters in a typically "gay" situation. The first reel is made up of three separate shots and includes some ragged swish pans; although that doesn't sound like much, it was the most camera movement that had been employed in an Andy Warhol film to that time. It was also one of the first Warhol films to be made on location rather than at The Factory -- My Hustler was filmed on Fire Island over Labor Day Weekend in 1965. By conventional standards, My Hustler is not a terribly good film; it is long and ponderous, and the acting by the newcomers (Paul America and the never-seen-again Genevieve Charbon) is particularly weak. But in the context of Warhol's own milieu, it has several extraordinary features. My Hustler is a bit more personal than was Warhol's wont; the offer that the John makes to Paul seems uncomfortably close to Warhol's own way of dealing with men in relationships. In terms of content, My Hustler looks forward to the type of films Rainer Werner Fassbinder made in the 1970s, such as Fox and His Friends, though, comparatively, it is technically primitive, awkward, and minimal in style. But unlike other Warhol films, My Hustler represents a complete story cycle in which the "point" of the plot is revealed only in the last few seconds of the movie. My Hustler is definitely adult in content, and, though not explicit, features brief nudity and some foul language. ~ David Lewis, All Movie Guide
Cast
Paul America - Paul
Ed Hood - The John
Ed Wiener - Bald man
The Sugar Plum Fairy - Second Hustler
John McDermott - Servant
Jeanne Vieve - Beach girl
Joseph Campbell - Sugar Plum Fairy
Genevieve Charbon - Genevieve; Dorothy Dean - Woman with lipstick
