LOCAL '70S PORN FILM `THE LAST BATH' RESURFACES
By William Arnold P-I Film Critic
Saturday, November 27, 1993
Twenty years ago, at the height of porno-chic in America, a group of adventurous young Seattle filmmakers got together to make their own hard-core feature called ``The Last Bath.“
The film was not just another sleazy porno film, but a drama that - despite its graphic sex scenes - had a rather sophisticated story line, numerous special visual effects and much Seattle location photography.
It starred a young man who in real life was a member of one of Seattle's oldest and wealthiest families, it had a gala premiere at the Apple Theater on Capitol Hill, and its opening was reviewed, somewhat favorably, in at least one of the daily newspapers.
The film died at the box office, and all prints of the film soon disappeared.
The movie gradually became a kind of legend in the ``legitimate” Seattle movie scene, mainly because so many of the movie's participants went on to local prominence.
Now, after all these years and in a very different era, a print of ``The Last Bath“ has turned up in a private collection and is being given a seven-day revival through Dec. 2 at the Pike St. Cinema.
The most interesting thing about this phenomenon (and this sounds like a great plot for a movie-of-the-week) is that, according to the theater's Dennis Nyback, no one connected with ``The Last Bath” now wants his or her association known to the world - and several of them have been subtly pressuring him not to show the film at all.
According to Nyback, the director of the upscale porno film is now perhaps Seattle's best-known independent movie director, its editor is a regular contributor to the Seattle Times, one of its stars is married to a noted University of Washington professor and its assistant director is an executive with a local movie chain.
Nyback says he will respect the filmmakers' anonymity, but it seems odd to him that everyone would be ``so afraid of an association with this film. It's like (sex) has become the ultimate taboo in our culture again. Like it's worse than murder or something.“
He adds, ``The film is not that more graphic than other films of the `Deep Throat' period - `Last Tango' for instance. And it's really not very good as pornography, which is why it failed. These guys had no idea what the porn audience wanted.
``And if it fails as porn, it's actually otherwise a pretty good film. It has an interesting story line, some really imaginative special effects, an exceptionally good soundtrack . . . and even an exciting action scene - they threw a dummy off the University Bridge and filmed it.”
Nyback thinks the film is even more interesting today as history. ``The filmmakers shot on location in Pioneer Square, along Aurora Avenue, Lake Union, and other neighborhoods - all of which have drastically changed. Whatever else it is, `The Last Bath' is a very good photographic record of what Seattle looked like in the early '70s.“