Oh, how this man got around! Director/Producer and Documentarian Matt Tyrnauer ("Valentino: The Last Emperor" 2008) brings George Albert "Scotty" Bowers' memoir "Full Service" to the bring screen. Scotty (today) is an elderly gentleman whose home, car, deeded properties and garages are filled with piles and piles of Hollywood memorabilia, junk mail and immaterial finds. However, according to Scotty, while working at Hollywood gas station (between 1940 -1980) Walter Pidgeon ("Mrs. Miniver"), drove up, invited to swim in his pool, where he later landed in his bed and as they say, "the rest is history". As the go-to-guy/pimp of sorts to the then Hollywood closeted elite, he enlisted his fellow soldiers looking for a quick $20, and soon his escort service to the stars (ranging from Clark Gable, Kate Hepburn, Spenser Tracey, Cole Porter, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, J. Edgar Hoover, to a three ways with Ava Gardner and Lana Turner and more) was born. With so many of his "tell all" tales about celebrities now passed, no one's around to counter his claims. Regardless, director Tyrnauer presents Scotty has an intriguing and interesting character, while looking back at old Hollywood's stigma associated with being "out," and he at least briefly allows the ladies of "The View" to question is claims. For a man (Scotty) who never told his current wife about his past, and who today appears to be a certified pack rat, one has to take his memoir and this film
for what it is: a good read and an entertaining documentary.
This film was screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival #PSIFF2018.
This film was screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival #PSIFF2018.