Hollywood has always been happy to see the boy get the girl in the end. It has been slower to accept the reality of the boy getting the boy, or the girl getting the girl.
The film industry, like society, has been a little slow in accepting the reality of homosexuality. Where filmmakers found comfort in Rock Hudson cavorting with Doris Day, they found the idea of Rock Hudson cavorting with James Dean - which might have been his druthers - less appealing.
Still, the references and asides were there. Some (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), have been overt, while others (Top Gun perhaps?) were subtle.
Below are a few fine films, each a barometer of its time, that approached, and clearly commented on, the subject of homosexuality:
SPARTACUS (1960): When released, the gay subtext in Stanley Kubrick's gladitorial masterpiece was fairly understated.
The studio, by all reports, wasn't comfortable with Mr. Kubrick's frank handling of a Roman politico's sexuality. When the film was restored (beautifully) in the early 1990s, however, a telling bathhouse scene, known as the "oysters or snails" sequence, was restored, eliminating any question.
THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (1961): When Lillian Hellman's play about two boarding school teachers accused by pupils of having a lesbian relationship was adapted for the screen in 1936, much of the homosexual subplot was excised by the then-powerful Hays Office, which safeguarded cinematic morality. This version sees that material restored, although it still is played as the worst accusation possibly leveled at the two educators.
The film features standout performances by Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner in a rare dramatic role.
THE BOYS IN THE BAND (1970): One of the first films to attempt to feature gay men in an honest light, Boys (based on a stage play of the same name) centers on a gay party and the conflicts and connections that happen therein.
Filmed before the era of homosexual empowerment, Boys still treats its characters' sexual preferences as a disorder. Still, it was a courageous piece at the time and an interesting time capsule today.
PHILADELPHIA (1993): Although AIDS was originally tagged as the "gay plague," there are few people who have not been touched, in one way or another, by the epidemic.
This film, which focuses on the devastating effect it had on the gay community, stars Tom Hanks as a lawyer stricken with the disease and Denzel Washington as the attorney he hires in a suit against the law firm that fired him. Mr. Hanks won his first Oscar for his performance.
THE CELLULOID CLOSET (1995): A list of movies about homosexuality would be lacking without the inclusion of this documentary about depictions of homosexuality in movies. Entertaining and enlightening, it's guaranteed to change the way you look at movies.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
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