A Good Solid Story - A Good Solid Film

Hey folks,

There is a thread on this board that states the film is gay and that its two protagonists exhibit a gay "subtext." When this film came out in 1957, I saw it as a young teenager at my local theater. About ten years later while working in the audio/visual department in college, I was actually paid to show the film to other students, faculty, and guests as part of the college entertainment program. I was married at the time, and I took my mother-in-law to see the film.

After all the films I would show, there was always a lot of discussion about the films - much as there is here on the IMDb forums. I can assure you I never heard any discussion about any gay subtext in this film. It was the 1960s, and most of the talk was about the black/white relationships depicted in the film and man's inhumanity to man.

The characters are solidly played. You get to hate Jack Warden's character and the bigoted ideas he represents, and the story takes you by the back of the neck as it points you toward the bigotry and makes you question why it would be tolerated. You feel Cassavetes' pain and impotence as he holds his dying friend.

Yes, this is a good story with a moral message, but it is drama all the way. I guess I have seen this film four or five times over the years, and it is a very good film that relies on human drama rather than sex or hackneyed chase scenes to grab the audience.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile