There is a strongly homoerotic subtext in the scene where the young white man, dressed in only the skimpiest of loincloths gets injected by Fu Manchu with a serum that will turn him into the evil Doctor's abject slave. He struggles hopelessly in his bonds muscles straining and slender frame writhing in anticipation. Very hot and unmistakeable if you are gay.
This movie was made in the early 1930s just before the Hays movie code organization got real teeth.
I'm a straight female who happens to find "slashy" moments intriguing. Actually, I'm watching that scene right now, and... You're right! It's VERY hot! Of course, earlier, Fu Manchu ran those fingernails allllll over his body! *giggle* I mean *blush*!
~~MystMoonstruck~~
"He is not entirely unhandsome~is he, my father?"
"...a man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest."
- Paul Simon ("The Boxer")
99.9 percent of the time I agree with you assessment, but this was kind of blatant.
"Hot sun, cool breeze, white horse on the sea, and a big shot of vitamin B in me!"share
That only applies to the abstract.
shareOkay, so it wasn't just me. I thought so too. And kinda hot too. I couldn't help but to think that if the movie were to be remade, it would be the girl on the table in restraints...but wearing the same outfit. Ironic - hypothetically speaking - that the edgier version would be the older version.
"Hot sun, cool breeze, white horse on the sea, and a big shot of vitamin B in me!"share
I'm guessing that there was a time when you could get within 10 cm of another person of the same sex without being accused of having sexual desires towards that person.
On the other hand, Freud said sex is manifest in everything we do.
My answer,... yes,...and no.
There's also something quite erotic about Charles Starrett's flogging scene, but one could hardly call it subtext since it's so overt. Myrna Loy, playing Fu Manchu's evil daughter, becomes so excited at seeing the bare-chested Starrett writhe in pain that she appears to have a spontaneous orgasm! Alas, some of this scene was trimmed in the VHS release.
shareMoFM has been released uncut as part of the Hollywood Legends of Horror vol 1 and I watched it last night. First time I've seen it since seeing an edited version on TV back in the 70's. Wonderful stuff! Amazing what they could do on screen before the Hays Code kicked in. The 'homoerotic' aspects of Fu running his nails over Starrett's semi naked body prior to turning him into his slave stick out like a sore thumb today but in the 30's I think the idea of someone as sinister as Fu mearly touching a white person (of either sex) while they were restrained would have seemed far more 'disgusting' to the audience of the time than 'erotic'
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lol, re the last remark: It's almost like straight guys can't enjoy a film that has homoerotic scenes, as if they would somehow be guilty of enjoying gay titillation. It's ok, Jerry, calm down, you can enjoy the gay subtext and NOT be gay!
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a "perverted minority of viewers"??? F/g, q/eer? Oh no, YOU'RE not homophobic, not at ALL!!
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Yes, thank you.
shareJerry--I somewhat agree with you. I don't think "Mask" was made with any homoerotic subtext BUT it is there in the scene with Fu and the hot guy strapped down. You don't have to see it (or agree with it) but it is there. Also everybody has their own opinion of movies and they're not right or wrong. They have every right to disagree but you went WAY overboard with your comments. I think u have a problem with any gay subtext in any movie.
shareI don't know if it was intended to be gay, but it certainly comes off in this day and age as such.
It's hot. Charles Starrett clad in that tight loincloth, all tied up. THEN he's made Manchu's SLAVE! I know what I would ask him to do first - and second - and third...
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
I'm curious what Starrett himself thought of the scene. He's no longer with us so we'll never know but did HE get the gay subtext? Seeing as he was str8 he probably had more fun being "whipped" while Loy watched it and cheered on the guys whipping him:)
shareAt least you can see Starrett's belly button in his "beefcake" scenes. The male navel was about to all-but-disappear from Hollywood movies. And note how Starrett's legs are spread slightly but teasingly apart when he's bound atop Fu Manchu's table.
shareAnd what a GREAT BELLY BUTTON!!! Would love to have known him.
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
When it comes to the abuse inflicted upon him by the daughter, there's a definite sadomasochistic edge to the scene. She whips him, then has him brought to her bedchamber. It's scarcely even up for debate.
As for the scene where he's made a slave, I'm a bit undecided. On one hand, I don't think it's quite definitive enough to say that the subtext is intended. On the other hand, I don't know that it is possible to have someone bound to a table in minimal attire without it taking on an inherently erotic tone. If Karen Morley had been strapped to the table in the same outfit (plus a matching top), it would leave nothing to the imagination as to the director's intent. Additionally, there are several shots which seem to profile his body, especially low level shots which place the crotch in the shot with the legs spread apart.
I'd say that there's a 60/40 chance that it's there. Even if you have a creepy villain feeling him over, it's still an attractive young man bound to a table in his underwear and being felt over. I'm straight, but some of the shots really seemed to have the intention of highlighting how well-kept his body was.
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"In literature, it's called plagiarism. In the movies, it's homage" ~ Roger Ebert
There was a book years ago I would occasionally run across Sadism in The Cinema or some such title. It read too much like a textbook but it very graphically detailed in its stills. No films were identified.
I read all of the FuManch books, and they read like Saturday matinee serials. Talk about bondage, violence against women, etc. Flash Gordon was nighly erotic with Ming lusting after Dale and Aurora lusting after Flash. Of course, you also self the electricity torture of Flash in one scene while he remains clothed.
Then you have Donald Kerr's limp wristed gag in Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. That one went past me for years.
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