My Fair Lady (1964) Queer Film. Cukor’s Late-Career Triumph A+
The couple are phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Hugh Pickering. The two actors are perfect together, practically finishing one another’s sentences
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Category: Ratings: Movies and Television
Seven Days in May (1964) Rod Sterling A+
A peak entry in the American political thriller genre, the film boasts four of the greatest performances of the sixties.
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Inside Daisy Clover (1965) Queer Film C+
Robert Redford insisted that his character in the novel be changed from homosexual to bisexual. It was a brave role to take at the time, but it got him noticed.
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King Rat (1965) Queer Film (A)
An actor of unusual sensitivity, James Fox is an easy actor to queer-code, and he is mentioned twice in this essay and once in the next. No matter, his scenes with Segal have a beauty about them, a longing that every gay man can recognize.
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The Loved One (1965) Queer Film A-
Great fun was had by all adapting Evelyn Waugh’s 1948 short satirical novel about the funeral business in Los Angeles.
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Darling (1965) Queer Film B-
“Darling” stars the impossibly beautiful Julie Christie, even if far more people saw in her as Laura in David Lean’s “Doctor Zhivago”.
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My Hustler (1965) Queer Film B+
“My Hustler” is a hugely different film from Warhol’s previous offerings with a solid narrative and surprisingly good performances.
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The Pawnbroker (1965) Queer Film A-
Rod Steiger is exceptional in what is, arguably, his greatest performance. He received the first of his two Best Actor Oscar nominations for this movie but lost out to Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou. He won two years later for In the Heat of the Night (1967).
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Persona (1966) Queer Film A+
Two of the world’s greatest actresses under the gaze of one of the greatest movie directors the world has ever known.
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The Group (1966) Queer Film. A Lost Opportunity. (C)
Sidney Lumet’s movie is like a microcosm of his career – he bites off more than he can chew. The film meanders incessantly, with only Joan Hackett’s Dottie (at the beginning), Elizabeth Hartman’s Priss (in the middle), and Shirley Knight’s Polly (at the end) getting the respect they deserve. The other five actresses and their characters get no respect or insight whatsoever. It’s a lost opportunity. With the dreadfully wooden Candice Bergen as lesbian Lakey.
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Valley of the Dolls (1967) Queer Film. High Camp at a Midnight Screening.
A movie to be seen AT A MIDNIGHT SCREENING WITH A GAY CROWD, – a GROUP experience. Do not see this movie on your own.
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The Producers (1967) Queer Film B+
Not nearly as shocking today as it was in 1967, The Producers remains wildly entertaining. A huge part of its staying power comes from Roger De Bris and his exquisitely mannered assistant Carmen Ghia, played by the great Christopher Hewett and Andreas Voutsinas, respectively.
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The Fox (1967) Queer Film B+
“The Fox” does interesting things with color saturation (Bill Fraker is the cinematographer), and the haunting Lalo Schifrin score has entered the jazz canon. Bypassing the Hays Office, the film was released independently in the United States, without a Code seal of approval.
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Portrait of Jason (1967) Queer Film. Captivating Look at Hustler Jason Holliday. (A)
A true breakthrough and a film that has improved with age. Documentary filmmaker Shirley Clarke interviews gay African American hustler and aspiring cabaret performer Jason Holliday in his apartment at the Hotel Chelsea.
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Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) Queer Film A+
Marlon Brando does something extraordinary with his closeted gay character. Major Penderton is one of his truly great interpretations, right up there with his Stanley Kowalski. Elizabeth Taylor gives one of her best and most relaxed performances in years. She was just beginning to pile on the weight at this time, and she uses her body fearlessly, like a weapon.
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The Swimmer (1968) Eleanor Perry (B)
With a near-great performance by Burt Lancaster as the title character who “swims his way home” through his “river” of backyard swimming pools… Based on the short story by John Cheever. Adapted to the screen by Eleanor Perry and directed by her husband, Frank Perry.
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No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) Queer Film B-
“Dorian,” serial killer Gill’s (Rod Steiger) gay hairdresser persona, says that being a homo does not make you a terrible person, as he fondles the neck of Miss Belle Poppie.
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The Detective (1968) Queer Film D+
Boasting a dreadful script by Abby – Judgment at Nuremberg – Mann, the mediocre direction by Gordon Douglas puts the kibosh on everything. Sinatra gives the role as much integrity as the material allows.
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The Boston Strangler (1968) Queer Film C-
Although The Boston Strangler belongs to that liminal grey area of queer cinema, it is, nevertheless, unmistakably saturated with the gay slurs, stereotypes, and panic that Hollywood deployed whenever police procedurals dipped into the “demimonde.” In fact, Edward Anhalt’s screenplay—astonishingly, from the Oscar‑winning writer of Becket—is so casually homophobic it becomes a kind of time capsule of contempt.
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The Killing of Sister George (1968) Queer Film (B)
Beryl Reid is marvelous as “George”. That’s not her name. It’s the name of the character she plays in a beloved long-running BBC series.
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Rachel, Rachel (1968) Queer Film B-
Highly regarded at the time of its release (NYFCC awards going to Newman as Best Director and Woodward as Best Actress), it seems a bit underwhelming today.
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Queer Film A+
In Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, HAL 9000 is the psychotic gay computer abord Discovery One. HAL is in love with Dave and quickly dispatches with copilot Frank.
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The Sergeant (1968) Queer Film C+
The subject matter, its release during the Christmas season, and a couple of scathing, homophobic reviews by some major critics sealed its fate. It deserved better.
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if….. (1968) Queer Film A-
Alternating between color and black‑and‑white, the film achieves a dreamlike quality that contrasts with the horrors unfolding onscreen. Yet Anderson also threads in humor and tenderness, most notably in the sweet, understated love story between Wallace and Bobby, who share kisses and occasionally a bed.
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Les Biches (1968) Queer Film A-
Chabrol’s direction is icy, geometric, and controlled. The villa becomes a psychological maze; the color palette (especially the whites and blues) reinforces the emotional chill. Stéphane Audran’s performance is a masterclass in elegant menace.
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Teorema (1968) Queer Film (C)
Teorem was Pasolini’s only movie to address homosexuality directly. Even then, it’s all pretty clinical.
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The Lion in Winter (1968) Queer Film B-
The dialogue and the performers carry it, although it is basically a filmed play with little directorial input.
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The Damned (1969) Queer Film B-
Luchino Viconti’s “The Damned” centers on the Essenbecks (read Krupp family) on the night of the Reichstag fire in early 1933.
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Staircase (1969) Queer Film. Bring on the Queens! C-
Harrison’s performance is all affectation and condescension. Burton does better. He spends the entire movie wearing a turban, which is funny.
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Midnight Cowboy (1969) Queer Film (A)
John Schlesinger’s American debut is only X-rated movie to win Best Picture. It boasts two great performances courtesy of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffmann.
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