Manhattan's Film Forum will end its presentation of the 1970 film version of Mart Crowley's landmark 1968 play, The Boys in the Band, on March 25. The film features the play's original New York cast, including Cliff Gorman, Leonard Frey, Laurence Luckinbill (Clarence Darrow Tonight), Keith Prentice, Kenneth Nelson, Peter White, Frederick Combs, Ruben Greene and Peter LaTourneaux.

William Friedkin -- who was yet to make his mark with "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection" -- directed the film.

The play is about a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party and spend the evening savaging each other with darkly comic recriminations. The pre-Stonewall drama was one of the first stage works to directly address gay life. Likewise, the film of Boys was a landmark in gay cinema.

The Boys in the Band received its first major New York revival in 1996 at the WPA Theatre. The acclaimed production, directed by Kenneth Elliott, starred David Drake, David Greenspan, James Lecesne and Sean McDermott.

Film Forum can be reached at (212) 727-8110. --By Robert Simonson