Review by C.J. Bunce
Beginning with a 19th century silent short film and continuing through a list of LGBTQ+ actors and film crew in the 2020s, TCM’s latest look behind the movies delves into the role and impact of gay characters, actors, filmmakers, stories, and icons on American cinema. Film critic Alonso Duralde’s Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverence in Film (available now here at Amazon) is both exhaustive and brief even at 320 pages, a dive into films and actors with ties to the gay community or gay themes that may surprise you.
Surprisingly this book is as much about coverage of gender identity in film as it is about actual LGBTQ+ film artists. This ranges from women wearing pants to men acting like “sissies” (as asserted in one chapter), and cross-dressing usually as a comedy trope in early cinema. The most surprising curiosity to the lay reader may be the idea of the “Walter Brennan Syndrome”–was the doting male sidekick of the strong lead male character a way of subverting norms and including something of LGBTQ+ identity in pre-1960s films?
A key recurring filmmaker discussed is Alfred Hitchcock, who included major gay themes throughout key movies of his career. Movies discussed range from his The Lady Vanishes to Suspicion, Rebecca to Rope, North by Northwest to Strangers on a Train, and Shadow of a Doubt to Psycho.
The author includes both good and bad representations, contrasting Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. Even movies that historically tried to make a positive statement are critiqued in light of the passage of time and changes in cultural norms and acceptance. Films discussed include Salome, Some Like it Hot, Cat People, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Laura, Midnight Cowboy, and even The Wizard of Oz, and why that movie and Judy Garland became LGBTQ+ icons.
Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Anna May Wong, Katharine Hepburn, and Jodie Foster, and Rock Hudson, Cesar Romero, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Anthony Perkins, and Ian McKellen–all come into Duralde’s broad discussion.
The LGBTQ+ community and their supporters will find many new movies to take a look at, or review again, all presented by decade, including major figures, important films, and a list of minor films and artists for further study.
The biggest issue with the book may be in its use of innuendo and gossip at conceivably “outing” LGBTQ+ actors and filmmakers throughout history who may not have been gay. Film noir icon Lizabeth Scott is mentioned in both press materials for the book and has a few paragraphs of discussion, yet she is quoted as saying she was not a lesbian. She’s really only included to make the point that even straight people can be affected by heteronormative laws and unfair cultural expectations. Vincent Price may similarly fit that scenario. Following the book’s inclusion of gay icons, it may make sense they are part of the discussion, yet Duralde could have been clearer at times–some uncertainty can be found throughout the book as to whether he’s discussing an LGBTQ+ creator or someone who has inspired the community.
Is anyone incorrectly listed in this book, especially those who are deceased and cannot speak for themselves–someone like Kevin Kline’s character, inaccurately outed in the movie In and Out? For example, Duralde doesn’t take head-on the concept of straight actors not revealing their sexual orientations in part to preserve their disparate fanbases. Although the author explains his reasoning, his lack of citations and his willingness to rely on hearsay and outright gossip distracts somewhat from what is primarily a worthy overview of the subject.
The difficulty of the subject matter is the decades of Hollywood’s code system (and hidden norms thereafter) and Hollywood’s relationship with communities across the nation hiding actors’ private lives behind faked heterosexual marriages and the like. Was the actress behind Ma Kettle openly gay at the end of her life, or did she just live with another woman? (Does it matter, and to whom might it matter?) One of the book’s goals seems to be presenting certain collected data from primary and secondary sources and then allowing audiences to revisit these creators’ films to see if something important was left behind or unsaid. It’s an interesting balance in attempting to present an admittedly controversial area of film study, but the author manages to handle it well for the most part.
The book also covers in detail movies and creators that go beyond the historical Turner Classic Movies fare–from the 1960s to films released into 2023, including Skyfall, Disney’s Lightyear and Strange World, Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines, the multiple Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, and popular genre actors including Kristen Stewart, Elliot Page, Matt Bomer, Kate McKinnon, Aubrey Plaza, Lee Pace, and Tessa Thompson.
An eye-opening look at the breadth and scope of famous actors and creators behind the camera you may or may not have known were gay and those films and icons that have uplifted the LGBTQ+ community for more than a century, check out TCM’s new Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverence in Film, available now here at Amazon.
Don’t miss the other volumes from TCM’s film library reviewed here at borg: 52 Must-See Movies That Matter, 52 More Must-See Movies That Matter, Must-See Sci-Fi, Dynamic Dames, Forbidden Hollywood, Viva Hollywood, Fright Favorites, Summer Movies: 30 Sun-Drenched Classics, TCM’s Hollywood Victory, TCM’s Danger on the Silver Screen, TCM’s Rock on Film, TCM’s Essential Directors, TCM’s Christmas at the Movies, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, TCM’s 50 Oscar Nights, But Have You Read the Book?, Eddie Muller’s Noir Bar, Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed, Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir, Forbidden Cocktails, and TCM’s 20th Century Fox: Darryl F. Zanuck and the Creation of the Modern Film Studio.
