The Last American Gay Bar
Documentary Series - Video
20 minutes
The Last American Gay Bar
The story of Iowa's legendary Blazing Saddle the community that built it.
Episode One
As three gay men come of age and explore their sexuality in 1960s Iowa, the United States goes to war with Vietnam. The young men enlist or are drafted, forced to live in the closet as they face their own mortality. The Stonewall Riots bring gay rights into mainstream conversation, and the men come home to a changed nation.
Episode Two
The war is over and Stonewall has changed the gay community forever, but most gay Iowans are still living in the closet. Cruising and elicit hookups are the only ways LGBTQ+ people can meet – and adult bookstores and gay bars are the only places they feel safe being themselves. But a gruesome murder threatens to change all that.
Episode Three
Iowa’s LGBTQ+ community experiences violence, making safe spaces like gay bars even more important. Bob “Mongo” Eikleberry opens The Blazing Saddle, which quickly becomes a haven and an institution in Des Moines. With Reagan-era morals keeping gay men in the shadows, a new “gay cancer” brings even more negative attention to the community.
Episode One
As three gay men come of age and explore their sexuality in 1960s Iowa, the United States goes to war with Vietnam. The young men enlist or are drafted, forced to live in the closet as they face their own mortality. The Stonewall Riots bring gay rights into mainstream conversation, and the men come home to a changed nation.
Episode Two
The war is over and Stonewall has changed the gay community forever, but most gay Iowans are still living in the closet. Cruising and elicit hookups are the only ways LGBTQ+ people can meet – and adult bookstores and gay bars are the only places they feel safe being themselves. But a gruesome murder threatens to change all that.
Episode Three
Iowa’s LGBTQ+ community experiences violence, making safe spaces like gay bars even more important. Bob “Mongo” Eikleberry opens The Blazing Saddle, which quickly becomes a haven and an institution in Des Moines. With Reagan-era morals keeping gay men in the shadows, a new “gay cancer” brings even more negative attention to the community.
