Bijou
Theatrical release poster by Paul Jasmin[1]
Directed by	Wakefield Poole
Produced by	Marvin Shulman
Starring	Bill Harrison Cassandra Hart Lydia Black Peter Fisk Bill Cable
Production company	Poolemar
Release date	1972 (1972) [2]
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$22,000[1]

Bijou is a 1972 American gay pornographic film directed and edited by Wakefield Poole and starring Bill Harrison as a construction worker who witnesses a car accident and discovers an invitation to a club called Bijou in the purse of the victim.

Using some of the proceeds from his debut film Boys in the Sand, director Wakefield Poole bought a Beaulieu 16 mm camera for $10,000. Poole recorded screen tests of each actor he wanted to use, and had each of them "seduce the camera", undress, and masturbate to climax.^[3]

Poole shot the film over four days at his apartment. The interiors of the Bijou club were filmed in his living room; the crew covered the walls and floors with black felt and built a platform in the center of the room that was covered with black velvet.^[4] Poole edited the film over the summer of 1972.^[5]

Poole first screened Bijou during a weekend in August 1972.^[6] The film opened in October, with a 24-week run at the 55th Street Playhouse.^[7]

A contemporary review in Variety called the film "part ersatz Kubrick, part raunchy Disney".^[8][9] Al Goldstein, editor of Screw, praised the film's "sophisticated direction, magnificent photography and editing".^[8] Bijou was named "Best Picture of 1972" by Screw, though it shared the honor with the film Deep Throat.^[10] According to Poole, Goldstein considered Bijou to be superior to Deep Throat, but did not want to "honor faggotry over heterosexuality".^[10]

When asked by Women's Wear Daily what his favorite thing he did on his visit to New York was, French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent answered, "Seeing Bijou".^[10]

In May 2014, the film was released on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome.^[8]

• Poole, Wakefield (2011). Dirty Poole: A Sensual Memoir (new ed.). Lethe Press. ISBN 978-1590212295.

• Bijou at IMDb