It's on TCM tonight


I never thought I'd EVER see this rare movie. Hope it's not as bad as I've heard. Can't wait!

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it`s just coming on now. We`ll see...

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Personally, I thought it was a hoot. A lot of fun, with a nice thread of melancholy throughout the play. I agree with the user comment who said "very little swishing". It's true, the two stars did not disgrace themselves or gays.

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"very little swishing. It's true, the two stars did not disgrace themselves or gays."

What movie were you watching? Rex Harrison swished from beginning to end. From his first nelly, hands-on-hips insults, to his dexterously applying mascara and adroitly tying his floral scarf in the bathroom mirror. Richard Burton's attempts at effeminacy were perhaps a bit less annoying, as he played his character with some feeling. Still the performances were over-the-top camp stuck in the most melancholy, hopelessly negative "gay film" ever made.

While it's true, of course that effeminate gays existed, not every gay male in 1969 flitted about like Quentin Crisp. Effeminacy aside, this film did even greater damage by perpetuating the stereotype that gay men are vicious and unfeeling - also incapable of functioning in a relationship. The "relationship" depicted in this film wasnt just bitter - it was toxic.

The stars (esp Harrison) *did* absolutely disgrace themselves. I watched this on TCM and the guest host Richard Barrios remarked that this film was SO BAD and so badly received at the time that it set back the cause of gay films by several years. And watching it, it's pretty easy to understand why.

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Well said. "Toxic," indeed; a reprehensible burlesque of homosexuality.

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Did anybody record it? I missed it please write!

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I didn't record it, but you can get a letterboxed, grade-A copy on DVD at Subterraean Cinema for $30. Try their website, they have a whole list of great movies unavailable any place else.

http://www.subcin.com/subvid.html

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