I've read in several places that the Van CLeef character and the other tough were supposed to be gay. Although they are always together and in one scene they are in the same room together asleep, does that make them gay?
Dire_Straits
lover of all B&W; especially film-noir
There is one scene where we can see Mingo put his arm on Fante
sharehmmm ok...still not convinced by that, though. Not to say they weren't, mind you.
Dire_Straits
lover of all B&W; especially film-noir
It was sooo obvious. They are in the cellar and one says to the other "eat more sausage." The other says how hes tired of sasuage to which the other replies "but its all we got to eat". Then one says to the other "if we ever get out of here lets quit this life" and he puts his arm on the other guy, and the other says "but they'll look for us in every closet" = gay
shareDidn't one in the prison say to one of them something like "It's about a woman, so you don't know about this topic"?
sharePLUS in their death scene, after the boss has blown up the cellar they're hiding in, Van Cleef's character is lying dead while the other henchman, also dying, stretches his hand out to him and starts sobbing "No, don't go. Don't leave me." It's the sort of reaction that you'd expect from a man weeping over his dead lover.
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PLUS in their death scene, after the boss has blown up the cellar they're hiding in, Van Cleef's character is lying dead while the other henchman, also dying, stretches his hand out to him and starts sobbing "No, don't go. Don't leave me." It's the sort of reaction that you'd expect from a man weeping over his dead lover.
Yes snoopdavidniven, friendship is "gay", that's why so-called "straight" men (there's really no such thing) get so upset and uncomfortable at the depiction of intimate male-male relationships, with or without genital sexuality involved - the "hetero" fraternity is outed, their itchy little secret confronts them, and they can't stand it.
shareNot just that scene,but when Fante says " they(the police) will be looking for us in every closet. Come on, two men in the same bedroom when Mr. Brown calls Fante.
shareI also saw this film for the first time at Noir City. I’ve rented it again since. Their relationship becomes explicit after Mingo injures his hand when his gun goes off. At one point Fante asks him if he’s alright and calls him “honey”. I did a double take and asked the person next to me if he’d heard that too.
The audience did their knowing chuckles when the two are shown in the same bedroom, but that went right over my head. I just thought they’re two underpaid thugs who have to room together, so what?
But its explicit during the payoff scene when Mr. Brown hands them the box of “money”. Fante says “The police will be looking for us in every closet in town.” Mingo says “lets just go away together” with his hand on Fante’s arm. And later at the Police station after Mingo has seen that Fante is dead he cries “Fante don’t leave me”. He also agrees to sign a confession while telling the cops “I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Fante”.
Being homophobic, it seemed fairly obvious to me that they were gay. We homophobes can tell.
I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.
Yes, a true homophobe would understand the term "closet" as it's used in the film.
shareExactly, pal. In this day and age, a lot of homophobes have their own closet and don't allow their lifestyle to be known. LOL
I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.
I read about the gay relationship (in this film) in a magazine article back in the 1970's. Sorry to say, I don't recall the name of the publication, but it was back in the days when I managed theatres in NYC for Cinema-5 and I was reading just about every film & show-biz publication printed.
I hadn't seen the film again until about 4 months ago, when I purchased the DVD from DVD-Empire (online), for about $4.00, in a slim-line case ---and it's a beautiful print.
When I watched it, all the suggestions of the gay relationship were quite obvious to me. -- but then, I knew they were coming.
I understand that TCM will air this in about 3 weeks;
---(June 13, at 8:00pm Eastern).---
Anyone who hasn't seen it should keep that night free;
- or set your DVR (or VCR), to record it.
Aside from playing cat & mouse with the censors, this film is clever and edgy in many ways worth seeing.
--D--
Definitely one to see, and I'll eventally be watching it again.
I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.
I thought he called him "honey", but I wasn't sure I'd heard right.
shareHonestly, a lot of these dialog clips may not mean they are gay.
But, the bed thing, Mingo without a shirt, was pretty close.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Yeah, someone sleeping shirtless - that's irrefutable proof of a character being gay...
All in all, yeah, they're a couple, but this one and "eat more sausage" are pretty lame "proofs" they're gay.
Years ago, yes, the film makers could have meant that. You didn't see people undressed on screen in those days.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
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Also that scene where the one henchman is on his knees, lapping up beer from a spout? That made me laugh out loud.
shareIts almost funny how often a vintage film noir will throw in a "gay" villain, but the films couldn't overtly say so (due to the morality codes of the day and whatnot). Compared to some of the other movies of its era, The Big Combo is downright explicit about Manny and Fenti's homosexuality. For instance, Peter Lorre's character in The Maltese Falcon is supposedly gay because he carries a perfumed handkerchief--Bogart even slaps him because of this.
shareThere are a few classic crime stories where they throw in a homosexual relationship, I'm assuming, for shock value. Perhaps to further illustrate the depravity of the criminal lifestyle that it would include deviants like homosexuals. That's a pretty cheap shot, if it's true, but that's how it appeared to me. I don't know for a fact that they did this for these reasons, but, that's the impression I get. The Mingo and Fante relationship would seem to fit that bill. Of course, in the 1950s they couldn't explicitly say that they were homosexual in a movie. So, it's left up to us to interpret it as we see it. But, to my eye, that was a strong suggestion about those two.
I didn't catch anything that was blatant or direct, nor did I see anything that couldn't also be interpreted as their just having a friends or co-worker relationship. But, I was left with the impression that they probably were that way. When Mingo lost it, after Fante was killed, I had a very strong feeling that they were meant to be portrayed as homosexual lovers. But, Mingo was clearly dependent upon Fante, for guidance. Fante was the leader in their two-some. It was sort of like a Lenny and George relationship from Of Mice and Men.
Clearly, the dark ages. It would be decades before anything resembling a positive or normal portrayal of a homosexual character would be seen in a film.
It would be decades before anything resembling a positive or normal portrayal of a homosexual character would be seen in a film.
Quite true. Still, maybe I'm trapped in a present-day perspective, but Fante and Mingo's relationship seemed to humanize them a bit at the end, compared to Mr. Brown. They at least loved each other in the end more than power or money (and Diamond seemed to know this), so I felt rather sad about how they ended up in spite of everything. But it's not clear that Mr. Brown was willing to reach out to anyone except to control them, so he clearly winds up beneath his grunt henchmen in. That's a small step toward understanding rather than a big one, but it's how the script makes sense to me.
Come to think of it, this movie has a nice subtext on the varieties of male affection.
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"I said all along, 'There's a man who should be run out of town.' " -Out of the Past