Six mainstream American films with an openly gay lead character.
photo credit: Phil Bray
The Killing of Sister George (1968): Historically the homosexuality of movie characters has only been subtly hinted at; even in 1961's lesbian-centric The Children's Hour, that love dared not speak its name. So while Beryl Reid's George--the temperamental, middle-aged lesbian soap opera star of Robert Aldrich's curious follow-up to The Dirty Dozen--never says, "I'm out and I'm proud," at least her sexuality is never in doubt. Reid drunkenly gropes nuns and shares a shadowy kiss with younger lover Susannah York, while the film's climax features breast-baring horseplay between York and third-biller Coral Browne.
Staircase (1969): The late '60s saw an explosion of sexuality on film, though gays still tended to be treated as broad stereotypes. Case in point: This obscure, unfortunate Stanley Donen outing, which paired Richard Burton and Rex Harrison as the queeniest, campiest gay couple this side of bad sketch comedy.
Boys in the Band (1970): William Friedkin became the scourge of the gay community with 1980's highly questionable Cruising. But a decade earlier he brought Mart Crowley's off-Broadway hit about a miserable party mostly populated by gay men. Given that each character is a "type," it can't help but be dated, but at least it happened.
Philadelphia (1993): Yes, a major Hollywood star scored an Oscar for playing a gay man. But how many times do Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas visibly kiss? Guess.
The Birdcage (1995): A remake of the French farce La Cage Aux Folles, this film is headed by two gay protagonists, but their romance is strictly hypothetical and purely celibate--the kind of "safe" gay as seen in Will & Grace.
Milk (2008): Brokeback Mountain may wind up the bigger taboo-breaker, but its leads were still wrestling-with-their-sexuality types who remained in the closet. Meanwhile, Gus Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic has Spicoli playing tonsil hockey with Daniel Desario. Now that's progress!
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