Donna Deitch’s independent movie Desert Hearts, based loosely on Jane Rule’s 1960s novel Desert of the Heart, was very much a ground-breaker for its time. This probably explains why Deitch faced so many obstacles in getting it made.

After spending four years trying to raise funds for the film, Deitch eventually had to resort to selling her house. But even when she had the funds she then struggled to find any actors who would play the two principal characters – because they were lesbians.

Thankfully she persisted and finally recruited Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau to play the ill-matched couple. Despite warnings from their respective agents that their careers would be ruined, both women were fully committed to the film – even when it required them to enact a pretty explicit sex scene. And upon its release it became a major hit on the arthouse movie circuit, rewarding Deitch’s financial gamble with a $2.4 million box office in the US alone. (Apparently it came within a whisker of matching Rocky II’s box office at one point).

Part of its success has been attributed to the fact that it was the first lesbian movie that didn’t end in misery, tragedy or one of the women taking up with a man. This had been the theme for decades and had continued into the 80s with the likes of Personal Best and Lianna.

The upbeat ending notwithstanding, marketers still found it necessary to include one of the male characters in the movie poster, despite the fact that he plays a relatively marginal role in the actual movie. Clearly they felt that a movie that was seen to focus largely on lesbians wouldn’t appeal to a broad enough demographic (except those sad straight men who wanted to watch a bit of lesbian sex).