This 1979 film about love lost between two men is an outstanding example of gay erotica from the golden age of the '70s. It stars the then golden boy of gay erotica-Al Parker--when he was at his prime and most beautiful. He portrays an all-America boy whose partner has lost interest and is playing the field with other men. The film is a startling mirror to what was happening in American culture at the time. A growing number of homosexuals had just thrown aside the censures and manacles of homophobia and joined the 'Gay Revolution.' This movement c ame along at the same time the Supreme Court ruled on pornography--thus opening the floodgates to the public who were now able to see explicit sex on the screen and in books. For several years, mirroring the straight porno movies, films geared for gay audiences took a giant leap forward and began to offer beautifully produced fantasies, starring a new army of boys who enjoyed performing for the cameras. Al Parker was the star prince of these performers. His handsome face and body, soulful dark eyes and energetic enjoyment of sex came through to his fans. What makes 'Inches" stand out are several of the outstanding imaginative dream sequences into which Al wanders. In one scene, his old boyfriend is seen performing oral sex on a number of men who wear strange, grinning masks. The sound track is also another great attraction of "Inches." We hear disco hits from that era--"Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer--and towards the end, a guitar-infused sound with violins that enhances the physical affair between Al and a man who has become his new sex partner. "Inches" is a fascinating mirror to that tumultuous era when gay men had created their own movie star system. But alas--movies as innovative and beautifully produced like "inches" and those entertainments from William Higgins, John Travis and Matt Sterling would soon become a thing of the past. What we have now are lifeless figures interacting with little interest in sorry excuses for movies. "Inches" stands out for me because I attended the New York premiere in 1979 where Al Parker appeared to greet the thousand or more fans who packed the swanky 55th Street Playhouse. There were spotlights and limousines and a marvelous buffet in the red-carpeted lobby. I thought: little does the straight world know that gay men are enjoying their own type of first-night fun.