Tony Powell, a shaggy-haired star of 1970s UK futbol, disappeared from the public eye 40 years ago amid a swirl of salacious British tabloid rumors. “It was like he was wiped off the face of the earth,” says his sister; amateur sleuths declared him untraceable. Filmmakers Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman found him, about to be evicted from a rundown West Hollywood motel, a gay man with a story to tell (once he has a drink or three).

Tony’s story delivers a rollercoaster of reactions. To his L.A. friends, he’s a loyal protector. To those he abandoned, he’s a stranger wrapped in mystery. Though Tony proves to be a tough nut to crack at times, The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel — an energetically edited documentary with a cheeky, sometimes dark sense of humor — turns out to be an unexpectedly emotional story of family reconciliation and a sharp portrait of the cost of homophobia on our gay elders.