Johnny Guitar (1954) Queer Film B
A Western with two female leads is that rarest of cinematic jewels and, under Nicholas Ray’s direction, both Crawford and McCambridge play to the gallery.
Read More
Category: Amazon
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Queer Film A+
Wood, Dean and Mineo form a nuclear family under the shadow of Griffith Park Observatory in Nicholas Ray’s masterpiece “Rebel Without a Cause.
Read More
The Big Combo (1955) Queer Film B-
“The Big Combo” features a gay couple (played by Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef) whose chosen profession also adds to their fascination and their sexiness.
Read More
The Bad Seed (1956) Queer Film B+
Nancy Kelly is ON 100% of the time straddling the twin minefields of camp and drama yet managing to accomplish both simultaneously.
Read More
Tea and Sympathy (1956) Queer Film A-
“Tea and Sympathy” has aged well. What could not be said under the Hayes code lends it beauty and delicacy, especially in Deborah’s sublime performance.
Read More
Funny Face (1957) Queer Film A+
“Funny Face“, the 1957 musical romantic comedy directed by Stanley Donen, boasts Audrey Hepburn’s most charming screen performance.
Read More
The Strange One (1957) Queer Film B-
Gazzara is electrifying in the lead, exuding a raw, unsettling sensuality. It remains one of the great curiosities of his career that only in his very next film, Anatomy of a Murder (1959), did he manage to recapture this level of charisma.
Read More
Vertigo (1958) Hitchcock A+
“Vertigo” is anchored by the unforgettable performances of Stewart and Novak, Hitchcock’s masterful direction and Bernard Herrmann’s haunting score.
Read More
Touch of Evil (1958) Queer Film (A)
Yes, that is Mercedes McCambridge as an unnamed lesbian gang leader getting her kicks while watching Janet Leigh getting roughed up in “A Touch of Evil.”
Read More
Auntie Mame (1958) Queer Film B-
Director Morton DaCosta directs “Auntie Mame” as if he were still in the theatre. He did better on his penultimate visit to Hollywood (“The Music Man”).
Read More
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Queer Film B+
Richard Brooks’ respectable adaptation of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” opens with Paul Newman mourning the suicide of his best friend (read Lover), Skipper.
Read More
Suddenly Last Summer (1959) Queer Film C+
The movie is risible, its few pleasures come from Hepburn’s regal (but very nasty) mother who will do anything to protect her son’s memory.
Read More
Some Like it Hot (1959) Queer Film A+
“Some Like It Hot” was only the second mainstream Hollywood movie not to be submitted to the Hays Office. Worth seeing just for Lemmon’s performance alone.
Read More
Pillow Talk (1959) Queer Film (B)
Hudson’s characters has a gay alter ego named “Rex” and supporting actors Tony Randall and Nick Allen are constantly brushing off the gay ceiling.
Read More
Ben Hur (1959) Queer Film (B)
If you believe Gore Vidal it was all because of a lover’s spat. Wyler and Boyd were in on the ruse, and Boyd played his scenes that way, but Heston was not.
Read More
Compulsion (1959) Queer Film B-
“Compulsion.” Leopold and Loeb were lovers, and both Richard Murphy’s screenplay and Richard Fleischer’s direction lend the movie a queer subtext, evident in both dialogue and body language.
Read More
North by Northwest (1959) Queer Film. Hitchcock. A+
Eva Marie Saint gives Grace Kelly in “Rear Window” a run for her money as Hitchcock’s most elegant leading lady and the chemistry between the two leads is more palpable than in any Hollywood picture before or since.
Read More
Spartacus (1960) Queer Film (B)
The Kirk Douglas/Stanley Kubrick epic has not aged well but the supporting cast,, particularly Laurence Olivier and Peter Ustinov, make it worth seeing.
Read More
Psycho (1960) Queer Film. Hitchcock. A+
Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates made him immortal while, at the same, time, ending his career in Hollywood. A masterpiece.
Read More
Victim (1961) Queer Film B+
They say that this film did more to sway public and political opinion on homosexuality in England than any parliamentary discussion.
Read More
A Taste of Honey (1961) Queer Film B+
Although he was playing a teenager, gay actor Murray Melvin was almost thirty when he made “A Taste of Honey” with Rita Tushingham.
Read More
The Children’s Hour (1961) Queer Film (C)
Not having the courage of his convictions, what started out as bravery ended in cowardice and it’s a shame.
Read More
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Queer Film (A)
Lawrence’s intense relationships with men, particularly Sherif Ali (Omar Sheriff), are emotionally charged. The characters’ gazes linger on each other in numerous scenes, creating a sense of tension and intimacy.
Read More
Advice and Consent (1962) Queer Film A-
Preminger always liked to be cutting edge and he was with “Advise and Consent” a beautifully written, acted and directed movie.
Read More
Whatever Happened Baby Jane? (1962) Queer Film A+
Both of Hollywood’s grande dames Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are in top form with Davis getting the showier role as faded child star Baby Jane Hudson.
Read More
That Touch of Mink (1962) Queer Film C+
In between the Rock Hudson movies “Lover Come Back” (1961) and “Send Me no Flowers” (1964), Doris Day paired up with Cary Grant.
Read More
Billy Budd (1962) Queer Film (C)
Many, including gay composer Benjamin Britton and his famous opera, maintain that there is an undercurrent of homoeroticism between the three leads.
Read More
Walk on the Wild Side (1962) Queer Film. C-
Stanwyck and Capucine have a few good scenes together. However, Harvey is wan, and Fonda does not have enough to do. The movie is no fun.
Read More
The Haunting (1963) Queer Film A-
As a chic Greenwich village lesbian named Theo, whose couture is designed by Mary Quant, Claire Bloom is a knockout in Robert Wise’s 1963 movie “The Haunting”.
Read More
The Servant (1963) Queer Film (A)
A savage indictment of the waning British class system, it’s one of the most chilling films ever made. Winner of Best Screenplay of 1964 from the NYFCC.
Read More