Wonderland Burlesque's Let's Go To The Movies: All That Is Gay Edition- Part 6 of 6

 

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's Go To The Movies

All That Is Gay Edition- Part 6 of 6

As explained previously, last month was Gay Pride Month - and I had planned to do these post to honor that celebration - but due to timing, and the previous series of posts running long, I'm not getting to these until now. Oh, well... it's not like gay pride is only for one month. No, it's a lifelong thing. So, let's keep celebrating.

For the final post of  Wonderland Burlesque's All That Is Gay Edition, we take a look at a few films going gay the Hollywood way. Yes, some of these films are gay in name only, but... there are exceptions!

Let's take a look...

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Let Us Be Gay

(1930)

(A dowdy housewife dotes on her self-centered husband, but when his mistress shows up at their home one day to break up their marriage, she asks for a divorce. Her husband tells her he'd become bored with her lackluster appearance, their children and himself. Spurred on by this revelation, the housewife re-invents herself and becomes a favorite of the chic in-crowd, dressing like a fashion model and having the time of her life. Three years later, she's invited to a party at the home of a wealthy matron. There, she runs into her ex-husband who is busy romancing the hostesses' granddaughter. It's the matron's wish that the housewife steal back her husband so her granddaughter breaks it off with the ex-husband. When the two see each other again, an old flame reignites and romantic complications ensue.)

(This pre-Code MGM romantic comedy-drama was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and stars Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, Rod La Rocque, Gilbert Emery and future gossip columnist - who had something on Randolph Hearst - Hedda Hopper.)

 (Norma Shearer found out she was pregnant just before production began. So, the filmmakers worked  quickly and completed shooting in a mere 26 days. Towards the end of the shoot, Shearer had to keep her stomach hidden behind carefully placed furniture and extra fabric in her designer gowns.)

(Tallulah Bankhead originated the role of the dowdy-housewife-turned-society-darling in the 1929 play by Rachel Crothers. It opened on Broadway at the Little Theatre, 240 W. 44th St., on February 19, 1929 and ran for 353 performances until December, 1929. Filming for the Norma Shearer version took place concurrently when Tallulah Bankhead took the show to London, where the play ran for 128 performances at the Lyric Theater.)

(This would not be the only role Bankhead originated on stage which she would lose to a Hollywood star. The most famous instance? Lillian Hellman's Little Foxes. Bankhead received rave reviews for her star turn on Broadway only for Bette Davis to snatch up the film version - and an Oscar nomination.)

 (This film features the next two actresses to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards: Norma Shearer would win  in 1930 for The Divorcee (1930), while Marie Dressler would win the year after for Min and Bill.)

Marie Dressler and Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer

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Gay Love

(1934)

(A pair of sisters who are music-hall performers are in love with the same man. When he choses one over the other and proposes marriage, the jilted sister walks out on the act and quits the show. The other sister soon then runs into an old-flame, while her new fiancée begins to think he chose the wrong sister. Soon new relationships are formed as romantic complications abound.)

(This British musical comedy film was directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and stars Florence Desmond, Sophie Tucker and Sydney Fairbrother.)

(Sophie Tucker just happened to be in England in 1934 for a Command Performance for King George V and Queen Mary. The filmmakers asked her to appear in this film, starring Florence Desmond. When she agreed, she was written into the script. Tucker sings four songs:  My Extraordinary Man, Louisville Lady, Imagine My Embarrassment, and Hotcha Joe. Still at the peak of her considerable vocal powers, this serves as a marvelous film record of Tucker in her prime. Her performance is basically uncensored; something that would never have been allowed in a Hollywood film of this same period.)

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The Gay Adventure

(1949)

AKA: The Golden Arrow

(When three men - a Frenchman, an American, and an Englishman - spy a very glamorous blonde boarding the very train they're traveling on, each begins to daydream. The audience is then treated to each man's romantic fantasy, as they travel from Paris to London.)

(This British comedy was directed by Gordon Parry and stars Burgess Meredith, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Paula Valenska. Shot at Teddington Studios. Released in the UK as The Golden Arrow, the name of the train the men are traveling on. For it's American release in 1953, it was retitled as The Gay Adventure.)

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The Gay Dog

(1954)

(A man loves his racing greyhound, however, while out of town, he finds a dog with a better chance to win. While he bets all on his new dog, his friends and neighbors all put their money on the family's original dog.)

(Based on a play by Joseph Colton, this British comedy was directed by Maurice Elvey and stars Wilfred Pickles, Petula Clark and Megs Jenkins. Pickles and Jenkins reprise their roles from the play version, which enjoyed a run at London's Piccadilly Theatre for 276 performances from June 1952 to February 1953.)

(This is also a remake of the 1952 BBCTV film of the same name, which also featured Pickles and  Jenkins in the roles they originated on stage.)

(Filmed at Southall Studios, it features Petula Clark singing A Long Way to Go, which was written by Joe Henderson and Leslie Clark - Petula's father!)

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Gay Liberation

(1971)

(Directed by Ronald Chase, this is a short film documentary about the first Gay Pride March in San Francisco in 1971, one year after the Stonewall Riots. It's actually footage edited from the full-length documentary 1970's  Hollywood Gay Pride Parade 1970. This film was lost for 50 years before it was found and restored by SF Art & Film.)

(To learn more about the participants and how the first Gay Pride Parade in New York, read: Under The Rainbow by Arnie Krankowitz.)

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Gay USA

(1978)

(This ambitious documentary was shot during a single day by 25 different cameramen across the United States as coordinated by director Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. The footage documents the 1977 Gay Pride parades in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Diego, Houston, and Chicago.)

(This documentary captures the emotional turmoil found as the gay rights movement began facing its first organized backlash in the form of Anita Bryant and her campaign to repeal anti-discrimination protection laws in Dade County. Participants as well as critical spectators are interviewed, with both points of view being presented.)

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And that's all for now.

Tune in next week.

Same time, same channel!

Sophie Tucker

1934

A Long Way To Go - Petula Clark

from the 1954 film, The Gay Dog