Are Tierney and Cook's characters gay lovers?

The DVD commentary suggested the same conclusion Tommy-Udo came to about Sam and Marty. In prison, little Marty survived by attaching himself to pitbull Sam.

The one bed between them at the hotel suggest they kept up the prison bitch part of the relationship going. Other than blood relatives or lifelong friends, I can't image two straight guys being so comfy lounging on the same bed together, chatting. I'd guess Sam is bisexual and Marty is gay.

Marty didn't mention having a lady friend the whole movie. But he sure as hell had a problem with seeing Helen just finish smooching his man. The scene where he asks Sam to layoff chasing Helen definitely trips the gaydar.

"Saaam. Oooooh Saaaaam. Take it easy. We'll work it out somehow." Urgently whispered by Marty as he rubs Sam's arm. Before following him up the shadowed stairs.

This movie had about all the vices except for drug addiction and prostitution.

No two persons ever watch the same movie.

I get the idea, but sometimes I just take it as it comes.

There’s every possibility that these are just two down on their luck ex-cons shaving expenses by sharing whatever they can bear to.

Yet, once Sam gets close to big money he doesn’t seem any more rational than he was before getting married. His impulsive nature presents a major problem for all involved.

Were Marty gay it wouldn’t follow that Sam would feel threatened by his being alone with Helen. Expressing jealousy rather than fear of being exposed.

For his part, Marty, adhering to a sort of convicts code, has no intention of ratting Sam out, but he does share Sam’s dream of being in close proximity to lots of money. Giving him two reasons to want to protect Sam. Seeking to keep Sam and Helen apart could just as easily be read as an effort to keep them from risking discovery by Georgia. Which has the potential to distance Sam, himself and Helen from the money.

However, as has been stated, Hollywood tended to sneak in vague clues to evade appearing to openly flout the Hayes Code. So, though never shown, it may be intended that we understand them to have had a sexual relationship at some point.


“Your thinking is untidy, like most so-called thinking today.” (Murder, My Sweet)

As a fan of noir I have noticed this pattern quite a bit. The Big Combo,for instance even has stronger gay overtones between the characters of Earl HollimaN and Lee Van Cleef.Born to Kill come in second (that I have seen thus far). Several years ago Holliman said the characters were indeed gay.Censorship was a big thing through the 30's and early 60's. Homosexuality was a definite taboo. Most noir films were low-brow entertainment and fell into the B category of cinema. I am under the impression that the censors tended to over look or give less scrutiny to these features thus giving a little more lee way to the directors. It is not just the gay overtones that Born to Kill get's away with but the violence as well. Tireney beating to death a woman that spurned (and caught him after he brutally killed her boy friend. The lack of any moral backbone of the characters would have raised the ire of censors back in the 40's. If this were an A film the Slezak character would have to face some sort of punishment. He was a sleazy investigator who would do anything for money even blackmail. The fact that he just walks away in the end is appaling and would no5t have worked in an A picure.

It's all fun and games 'till somebody gets hurt!

It is because of twisted people like you that friends of the same sex can no longer live together without it being speculated that they are in a gay relationship. In the past close friends often shared a room or even a bed without even thinking about sex. People like you make everything dirty. Try to get it out of your mind, if that is possible.

They kind of remind me of Ren and Stimpy.

I did not draw that inference. Sam and Marty were probably both ex cons who had served time together. After they got out they teamed up to exploit
whatever criminal opportunities they could find. Sam was the muscle and Marty the brains. Together they could make some scores but alone neither was going to get very far.

Someone in the movie stated that Sam (Tierney) had no criminal record. So, he had never been in prison.