For me, Vapors operates on several different levels· It purports to be an actual gay bathhouse of the mid sixties, but was actually filmed elsewhere· Still, it presents a snapshot of gay history, although I never remember bathhouse patrons as being quite so "swishy" (at least by the 70s not so much)· Vapors is also a fine example of the low budget underground films of the era, which, in spite of their rough-around-the-edges feel, were able to tell a powerful story· The sad story of the two gaymen seeking companionship, love and sexual satisfaction in the sleazy setting of the bathhouse rings very true.

'Although their robes say "St. Mark's Baths," Caffe Cino playwright Robert Patrick recalls "'Vapors' was not filmed in the St. Mark's Baths· William M. Hoffman says the upstairs scenes were shot in the building on Prince Street where both Billy and Andy lived, and Joel Thurm, who played the clerk, says, 'My stuff was done in a candy store on either 8th or 6th Avenue… the counter of the candy store was the 'reception' desk·' [Ref YouTube]