Before “Philadelphia,” “My Own Private Idaho” or “The Crying Game,” (let alone “Brokeback Mountain,” which broke all commerical queer film barriers) there was at least 80 years’ worth of queer cinema being written and produced – though some of it, looking back with 21st century eyes, seems dated and staid: mincing queens, dyke vamps, snarling old male predators and the like.

But the documentary “Celluloid Closet” makes a strong case for the historical importance of even these earliest “queer films,” and this Thursday, July 24 (8 pm onward) the Q Center (69 SE Taylor) will screen the film as part of its ongoing “Queer Film School” series. Bring your own buttered popcorn and diet coke.