His effete henchman character reminds me of Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef in 1955's The Big Combo.
shareIn most film noir, in the relatively few they appeared in, gay characters were mostly played between the lines, but Coco is pretty flamboyant for a fifties movie, flirting pretty heavily with Belafonte.
shareJust saw the movie again on TCM last night. I have a VHS copy. I believe the Coco character is gay. The characterizations that Robert Wise captured in under 2 hours of film is pure genius. Coco's dress, speaking, style, and mannerisms show the depth that Wise achieved that for me, is one of the most compelling and memorable cast of characters ever assembled in film. The Pawn Broker also filmed in NYC and in black & white) features gay characters; one of them a hired henchman.
shareCoco? Isn't it obvious? It may have been Bright's decision to play him as a homosexual. Belafonte in an extensive intreview touches on the fact that having an out gay character was pretty bold for the times. Was it the whole crew including the director's decision? Whatever- But I'm still troubled by the club manager not having any credit or info. He sort of reminded me of a Fritz Weaver type. When Bacco throws the manager's gift to his daughter (a fake pearl necklace) I continue to wince. Kudos to Belafonte for playing a jerk off black guy not some exalted black martyr.
shareeffete does not mean effeminate
shareNoticed you are a fan of ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW in your list of film reviews/critiques. I too was fascinated at Begley's character. I have the DVD and watch parts on dark days. Kudos to Belafonte for not sanitizing his character who was a real jerk/loser type. Johnny's wife did have the daughter's best interest at heart and if that meant sucking up to the white power elite then so be it. Johnny had too many persecution issues to know how to play the game. He wasn't going to play any white man's game -Yeah, sure, except being a sucker for a white loan shark's pitch. Who in the *beep* played the ponies in those days except wanna be "players"? Ryan did his thing well of course. Nolte was one his way to being a Ryan type but has now imploded. Nolte and the entire crew of AFFLICTION delivered a powerful film. Same with ON DANGEROUS GROUND where Herrmann's score elevated the film to top notch. Thanks for your comments. John Poole
I believe Belafonte in later interviews said the character of Coco was purposefully written as gay. Of course that could be just an unearned pat on the team's back for being "ahead" of the times. It could have been Bright's idea. Certainly Coco is an effiminate name.
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