MovieChat Forums > The Thin Man (1934) Discussion > First use of the word 'gay' in cinema

First use of the word 'gay' in cinema


Not sure how this has been missed in such a famous film, but I can't find any reference acknowledging the fact that The Thin Man contains a very early use of the word gay meaning homosexual - some years earlier than Cary Grant's use of the word in Bringing up Baby (1938).

It's at the party when the well-lubricated William Powell bumps into a man, walzes a twirl with him and says "Thanks, I'm gay for this one" - then pulls a very camp face. About 37 minutes in.

The term, I gather, was in use among initiates since the 1920s - its first literary appearance may well be in The Great Gatsby when Jordan (a barely-veiled lesbian) says pointedly to Nick and Gatsby at their first meeting "Having a gay time now?" (a line that has been omitted from recent movie versions that apparently didn't understand the novel's deeper meaning).

Anyway, The Thin Man seems to represent the first use of the word 'gay' to indicate 'homosexual' in the movies - at least the first unambiguous use.

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The caption says Nick says "Engaged" in that sentence

Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation (Eat, Pray, Love)

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also disagree that the character of Jordan Baker was meant to be regarded as a lesbian, "barely veiled" or otherwise. I think that's reading into things a bit much. What would the purpose have been? Nick and Jordan had a relationship, at least in the novel. There were some words describing Jordan in androgynous terms but I think the intent there was to show her as the New Woman of the era; ie, not interested in doing the proper Victorian lady routine that girls had heretofore been brought up to do...they smoked, drank, dressed in what their mothers unddoubtedly thought was an unfeminine way, played sports if they wanted to (golf, in Jordan's case) and did what they damn well wanted to. I'm sure all kinds of subtexts can and are read into the book (just read about a professor who claims that a turn of the century North Dakota farmboy named James Gatz (read: Jay Gatsby) was really African American), but that doesn't mean that's what the author intended or ever even crossed his mind. It's trendy to read older works through a modern lens, and it can add depth that can work as an advantage in, say, staging a play, by adding a dimension that might make things more "timely," but I don't think it's right to put meaning into an author's words that weren't intended, and there is nothing in Fitzgerald's notes, notebooks, drafts, or numerous letters to his editors that suggest this was on his mind.

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Agreed. I never saw any indication that Jordan Baker was lesbian. No idea where people came up with that idea.

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No idea where people came up with that idea.


I'm guessing it's the sort of androgynous description of her character, mostly. That and it's trendy to say.

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I don't know about the use in Gatsby, but the line in TheThin Man (at 37:00 into the film) is undoubtedly "I'm engaged for this one," not "I'm gay for this one." It is a joking reference to a dance card reservation, Nick humorously comparing their accidental twirl to a dance.

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I think you ate correct. It begs the question though and I wonder if anyone knows, what movie is it then that first uses "gay" in a modern way?

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Yeah, so I'll just delete this thread.


Perhaps the OP just wants to reach out for some sense of community.

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OP is reading too much into a word whose meaning has changed over time. Examples:

1943 Disney movie "Three Gay Caballeros" (Name has been changed since then) Donad, Mickey and a parrot named Jose visit Rio.

1890's = refered to as "The Gay Nineties". No sexual meaning, just pointing out late Victorian excess. No hidden agenda. (Really!)

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The Gay Divorcee was released the same year as this.

Besides, we all know what they meant by gay back then.

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Gay was not used to indicate homosexuality. . . .

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Gay was not used to indicate homosexuality. . . .not in The Thin Man.

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The word "Gay" was often used back then as an oblique reference to a man's perceived homosexuality, solely because ordinary people noticed that homosexual men had a tendency to behave frivolously and excessively cheerful in society, (gaily), to the point where they came across like high-spirited women. If a man displayed a noticeable demeanour of liveliness and vivacity and an excessive tendency to giggle and run at the mouth, people suspected that he might possibly be a homosexual, since that was considered typical behaviour of those types of men.

But in polite society, people usually avoided coming right out and saying, "He's homosexual", because it might be taken as an insult. Instead, they would hint and speculate among themselves, and offer comments like, "Umm, well, you know, he does act rather, er, gay, doesn't he", and titter. Others would immediately know what was meant by that, as "excessive gaiety" was a common characteristic of homosexual men. It still is, among some of them.

Over time, the word "gay" was used as a safe code word for talking about homosexuals in public, and after even more time, it was actually adopted by them as a preferred alternative to homosexual, or homo, or faggot, or any of the other terms then in use.

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It sounded a bit like "gay", but no. I'll quote another poster who had the right answer:

"The line in TheThin Man (at 37:00 into the film) is undoubtedly "I'm engaged for this one," not "I'm gay for this one." It is a joking reference to a dance card reservation, Nick humorously comparing their accidental twirl to a dance."

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