Produced on a budget of about $8,000, the film collects three segments depicting Donovan's sexual adventures at a gay beach resort. It was the first gay porn film to include credits and to be reviewed by the film industry journal Variety, and one of the earliest porn films – after Andy Warhol's 1969 film Blue Movie, but preceding 1972's Deep Throat – to gain mainstream credibility. The 1971 film was directed by Wakefield Poole and stars Casey Donovan. Boys in the Sand is a landmark American gay pornographic film, released early in the Golden Age of Porn.
