EXCLUSIVE: In 1951, a man named Donald Webster Cory published The Homosexual in America, “one of the first nonfiction accounts of gay life in the United States,” and a surprise bestseller. But who was the author really and why, after writing a book of such profound importance to gay people, did he turn his back on the movement for equality he helped trigger?
Those fascinating questions are explored in Odd Man In, a short documentary directed by Matt Nadel and executive produced by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Oscar winner Caroline Waterlow. Ferguson calls Nadel’s cinematic portrait of the author “complex and compassionate.”
Odd Man In holds its world premiere Thursday at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York. We have your exclusive first look at the film in the trailer above.
In his book, Cory (who identified as gay) argued that “gay people are neither sick nor sinful, but an oppressed minority that must fight for equal rights,” notes a synopsis of the film. “His book helped ignite the early gay rights movement, inspiring a generation with its radical message of self-acceptance. Adoring readers and activists called Cory the father of their movement.
“But in the mid-1960s, Cory’s views took a dramatic turn, putting him at odds with the movement he had helped build. Repudiated by his former allies, he was relegated to a historical footnote.”
The synopsis continues, “On the 75th anniversary of Cory’s groundbreaking book, Odd Man In reconstructs the late writer’s life through the eyes of two men whose lives were shaped by Cory, as they attempt to make sense of his fall from grace.”
Those two men are Elliot Friedland, a former student of Cory’s (who knew the author by another name), and Cory’s son, Fred Sagarin. Odd Man In will air at a future date on the PBS series Independent Lens.
“We need bold documentaries like Odd Man In to illuminate our past so we can better navigate our present,” observed EP Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family; EP of Welcome to Chechnya), who voices the author’s words in the film. “Matt Nadel’s complex, compassionate portrait of Donald Webster Cory, a brilliant, elusive, and embattled father of the early gay rights movement, finds the humanity in a flawed yet consequential figure lost to history. I’m so proud to be part of this film, and grateful that platforms like PBS and Independent Lens still exist to connect viewers with important stories like this one.”
Caroline Waterlow won her Academy Award for producing O.J.: Made in America. She earned a Primetime Emmy nomination as executive producer of the documentary series STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A.
“Movements for change are made up of messy, complicated people,” Waterlow said. “Donald Webster Cory was one such person: a flawed, contradictory figure who nevertheless ignited a movement and changed the course of LGBTQ+ rights in the US. With so much of American history being erased, it’s vital that we revisit the roots of our social progress with curiosity and empathy. I was honored to join the talented team behind Odd Man In to share Cory’s story with the world.”
Nadel made the Oscar shortlist with his 2024 documentary Cashing Out. His additional directing credits include I Have A Job That Shouldn’t Exist (2025), The Stage Is Ours (2023), CANS Can’t Stand (2022), and 120 Years (2018).
“Odd Man In is a portrait of the brilliant, vulnerable, contradictory, and—for many of his contemporaries—infuriating man who Donald Webster Cory was,” Nadel writes in a director’s statement. “The film asks what we owe this trailblazer-turned-traitor who laid the groundwork for the modern queer movement and then turned his back on it.
“When a historical figure’s beliefs become incompatible with the movement they helped build, there can be a temptation to erase them from history or simplify their legacy. With this film, I sought to work against that impulse, not because I wanted to rehabilitate Cory’s image, but because I wanted to understand him in his context. Why was Cory able to imagine a more liberated queer future but unable to live it himself? And if he was once hailed as the father of the queer movement, even if he was later condemned as its senile grandfather, why don’t today’s audiences know about him?”
After its Woodstock premiere, Odd Man In heads to the New Orleans Film Festival for a screening on October 24.
The documentary is produced by Nadel, Luke Hodges, and Peter Lansworth. In addition to Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Caroline Waterlow, executive producers include Carrie Lozano, Lois Vossen, RoydChung, Nick Martini, and Davey Spens. Peter Lansworth edited the film; cinematography is by Steve McCord. Tom Foskett-Barnes composed the original score.
Watch the trailer for Odd Man In above.