Allan Moyle's 1980 teenage girl rock 'n roll adventure, Times Square, developed status as a lesbian cult film with showings at lesbian and gay film festivals in New York and San Francisco in the early and mid 1980s and continues to be a queer favorite today.<br /><br />Long-standing rumors about lesbian content removed from Times Square have provided ample fodder for lesbian readings of the teen girl buddy movie. Indeed, a look at Jacob Brackman's original unpublished script of May, 1979 (on file at the University of Southern California Script Library) reveals many erotically charged scenes between the protagonists, Nicky (Robin Johnson) and Pammy (Trini Alvarado). Some of these scenes were removed from the script prior to shooting, some of them were shot and then excised from the final cut of the film. A fragment of one such excised scene appears in the film's preview trailer-it is a one-second, barely perceivable, clip of Nicky and Pammy playing together in the river. <br /><br />The basic plot of the film is conveyed in its publicity blurb: "In the heart of Times Square, a poor girl becomes famous, a rich girl becomes courageous, and both become friends." Pammy is the quiet and sheltered daughter of a prominent politician, Nicky is a streetwise troublemaker. Admitted to a hospital for the same psychiatric tests, the girls share a room and get to know each other. They escape from the hospital, create a home for themselves in a dockside warehouse and live their lives together against the gritty urban backdrop of Times Square. There's tons of erotic tension between the girls, and, most importantly-they love each other and they're not interested in boys. As their romance begins, Pammy's first feelings for Nicky are expressed in a poem she writes in her journal (which Nicky steals): "your ribs are my ladder Nicky, I'm so amazed, I'm so amazed." <br /><br />In their poetry, music and other idiosyncratic forms of artistic self-expression, the girls perform for each other, and together, throughout the film. Each gives loving support to the other in their artistic pursuits as they encourage one another to grow and develop self-confidence. <br /><br />While there's no explicit lesbian content in the film, the romantic tone of Nicky and Pammy's interactions is undeniable. The original script had several scenes and plot elements that developed the sexual tension between Nicky and Pammy, including a scene of their first meeting in the hospital, in which they have to undress in front of each other; two scenes where they take off their shirts and play together in their underwear in the river (the clip of which remains in the film's trailer); a wrestling scene; a scene of the first night that they sleep (sleep, not f***) together and a scene of Pammy dancing topless at the Cleo Club. Most of the scenes removed from the script/film are scenes involving erotic tension or physical contact between the girls. <br /><br />Times Square is also one of the most remarkable rock 'n roll soundtrack movies ever made (artists include Patti Smith Group, Pretenders, Talking Heads and Roxy Music), and the soundtrack often provides romantic commentary on the developing relationship between the girls. "You Can't Hurry Love" accompanies their escape from the hospital, and when Johnny (Tim Curry) the disc jockey learns that "you two sweethearts have a favorite song" he plays it for them. The song is dike-rocker Suzi Quatro's "Rock Hard." In their own music, the girls range from the personal to the political. "Damn Dog" features Nicky's plea to Pammy, "I can lick your face/I can bite it too/My teeth got rabies/Gonna give 'em to you/I'm a damn dog." While their performance of "Sleaze Sister Voodoo," decries the hypocrisy and prejudice of the establishment as they proclaim some really great lines that are prohibited by this website.<br /><br />Although the removal of so much material from the original script gives the film a fragmented feel and sometimes sloppy continuity, the bond between the girls is always clear, and always has some lesbian resonance to it. As such, Times Square is a marvelous experience not only for lesbian youth, but for any girl who's ever had a crush on a girl or who's wanted to see girls on film without boys in the middle.