Meat Market Arrest (Pat Rocco documentary) – USA, 1970

In January 1970, filmmaker and activist Pat Rocco went to a gay nightclub on W. El Segundo Blvd. in the Gardena neighborhood of Los Angeles called Meat Market. They were advertising a nude dancing performance, which had become the focus of some controversy and led to arrests of the dancers and the manager. In the short documentary, Rocco arrives just as one of the arrests is taking place, capturing footage of the police leading the dancers, Michael Craig and Bob Philpot, out of the nightclub. His intention was to film the dance as evidence for a court case involving the dancer Bob Philpot—regarded as the first male nude go-go dancer—who had been previously arrested on obscenity charges. Rocco speaks with Walter Culpepper, a Los Angeles lawyer who represents the dancers charged and explains the nature of the charges. Under a ruling by the California Supreme Court in 1968, nude dancing was not automatically deemed obscene, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department believed that the dancers violated the rule that the performance could not be sexual in nature. Patrons of Meat Market are interviewed and describe the dance performance as more artistic than sexual in nature. Footage also includes plainclothes officers questioning patrons. Shortly thereafter, the manager, Walter Ratay, is arrested off-camera. Rocco and his crew return a few days after the arrests to interview Bob Philpot and capture his performance at the bar while it is closed. Although the dancers were fined $150 and placed under probation for a year, the ruling was reversed in May 1971 in the appellate court. By that time, Meat Market had been closed for nearly a year.—Elaine Nicholson Director/host: Pat Rocco. Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project. Funding provided by The Myra Reinhard Family Foundation. Laboratory services by Cinesolutions, Inc.