Beefcake Babylon coming to drkrm

Event Date & Time: gallery showing of posters from sword-and-sandal pics
Location: drkrm – 2121 N. San Fernando Rd, Suite 3, Los Angeles
In Person: David Del Valle, Mickey Hargitay (schedule permitting)
My old friend, the inestimable David Del Valle, has organized another gallery showing of posters, stills, and other artwork from old movies, this one called “Beefcake Babylon: The Iconography of Sword & Sandal Epics.” Like the previous show, “Haunted Hacienda: The Art of the Mexican Horror Film,” this will take place at drkrm, a gallery in Los Angeles (and I still don’t know why they spell their name will all lower-case letters).

There is an opening night reception on July 14th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. David will be there, and he says muscleman Mickey Hargitay, star of THE CRIMSON EXECUTIONER, may attend, schedule permitting. (For those of you who don’t remember, Hargitay was married to blond bombshell Jayne Mansfeld; his daughter currently stars on LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT).

Being focused mostly on Italian gladiator flicks from the 1960s, featuring strongmen wearing loincloths, this exhibition will no doubt resonate with a strong “Hollywood Closet” vibe — not that there’s anything wrong with that! But even if that’s not your cup of tea, you may still find it interesting, from a camp point of view if nothing else.

I was actually sitting on the fence about whether to cover this event in Hollywood Gothique, because muscleman epics really are not what we cover here. However, David assures me that the artwork on display will emphasize the fantasy and supernatural entires in the genre, such as the over-the-top religious epic SODOM AND GOMORAH, GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES, and Mario Bava’s colorful HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD.

The show runs from July 14th through September 23th; hours are 11:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday. Bring your checkbook in case you find a poster of Steve Reeves or Reg Park you want to take home and hang on your wall (really livesn up a room!).

For more information, you can call drkrm at (323) 223-6867. or check out their website www.drkrm.com.

NOTE: The dates for this exhibition were originally announced as August 12th-September 9. But I’ve spoken with David and checked on the drkrom website to confirm that the opening night reception is indeed this Friday, July 14.