Gay much??
-
pogostiks — 18 years ago(March 07, 2008 02:33 PM)
Oh for the love of absolutely ridiculous comments. Obviously from people who were not born when this film was made.
No - there is nothing gay about Curtis in this film.
What you have to realize is that in the 50's homosexuality was so closeted that the majority of movie-goers wouldn't have imagined any of this as gay. Most people had never consciously met a gay man, they only had swishy stereotypical ideas of homosexuality (which would not fit either Curtis or Poitier in this film) and the joke about Poitier making a good grandmother was simply a joke acknowledging that Poiter had been kind and tender towards him (as a friend).
In the fifties, people were much less "sophisticated" than they are now. In fact, the word "gay" didn't even exist in its present sense. This lack of sophistication is probably why many people think that this film has not aged well. They see the story as too overtly battering the audience over the head with the idea that a black man is the same as you or me. But in that time, it was NECESSARY to beat people over the head - because they refused or simply couldn't see this as obvious.
Same for homosexuality. If a film in the 50's even suggested the idea of homosexuality, it was always as either a total perversion or something to be ridiculed - specifically by presenting gays as raging queens.
In other words, you have to put things into their proper context. -
Ironman54 — 10 years ago(October 17, 2015 07:17 AM)
"you"ll make a fine old lady for someone".Thats a strange thing for one guy to say to another?"
OK, old post but, to correct it for 'history' sake: No, it was not - it was a common
joke/line between guys back in the day. More commonly, the line was 'you'll make someone a great WIFE someday ".
Yeah, it implied that a guy was showing his'feminine side', something a male wasn't supposed to do (cry, get emotional watching a movie etc). Just a way of busting another guys chops, period.