-—\_‘_ ,2 :-—--———-———?~—_‘_.___‘ Didn’t that begin to unravel with the end of the studio system and the beginning of modern American moviemaking? Yes. By the late 1960s and 1970s we began seeing some alternative Visions of America and the world on the screen. But interestingly, the images of gay A life during these decades were almost entirely pathological and derogatory. Part of the reason for that, I argue, was the lack of an overt gay presence in filmmaking in immediate post-studio Hollywood. The studios, while offi- cially denying the existence of gay life onscreen, had still been havens for undisguised gay creative talent offscreen. So the images that came out of the studios, even if ostensibly heterosexual, could often be seen as queer-affirm- ing and inclusive. What were some of these ways that gay people in Hollywood subtly - and sometimes not so subtly- subverted the Hollywood-American hetero- sexual myth? What reaction did this engender? I Take a look at nearly any of the musicals of MGM's legendary Freed unit. These are filled with a gay sensibility or alternative worldview. Films like Meet Me in St. Louis or Easter Parade or Kismet or The Pirate or An American in ' Paris. The Freed films were nearly all produced by Roger Edens, an undis- guised gay man. Many were directed by Charles Walters, who was also I undisguised his gayness. There were so many gay people, so much queer talent in the Freed unit — composers, arrangers, writers, designers. Even Vincente Minnelli, who was pretty circumspect and hidden in his gayness, brought a particular queer poetry to his work. The Freed films are filled with alternative worldviews. I believe ‘that it's important to take a second look at the films of directors like George Cukor, Mitdtell Leisen, Dorothy Arzner, and James Whale, seeing them as products of artsits who were gay. Not only gay, of course, for each artist brought a whole life of experience and influ- ences to their work. I don't mean to be reductive in my analysis. But under- standing the way Cukor or Arzner lived in the world does allow us to see their work in particular ways. Arzner never settles for the typical loVe-and- marriage course for her female protagonists. VVhen her characters have to choose between career or marriage, they usually opt for their former. Gay directors brought their sensibilities into their films in so many ways. Mitchell Leisen eroticized the male form—— something rare for those days. James Whale completely challenged the codes of convention. Just look at ”Bride of Frankenstein” — he throws out every cherished heterosexual code. This is ‘ "true for writers, too: DeWitt Bodeen’s ”Cat People,” for example, can be read as a parable of queer desire and alienation. ' ; You have Ea‘ finely-tuned eye‘for the breadth of lesbian and gay experi- ence in Hollywood. You pay attention not only to the stars, but also to the award—winning monthly gay and lesbian cultural newsmagazine, airs on 130 public television stations nationwide, and in Canada. IN THE LI-FE Vermont Public Television Movers & Shakers Check Local Listings for Dates and Times NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE VT STATE St. lohnsbury WVTB Channel 20 HOUSE ‘Rutland WVER Channel 28 Burlington WETK Channel 33 Windsor WVTA Channel 41 Manchester W36AX Channel 36 Bennington W53AS Channel 53 Barre Channel 7 Wednesday 7 pm and Thursday 9 am & 12 pm Burlington Channel-15 and 17 Check local listings AI2TS december 2001 O|Tl‘1 - 21 designers, press agents, screen writers, set decorators etc. What?" did you discover by taking thi wide view? That you must never generalizeq Just as gays had near-hegemony wardrobe and set decoration, they; were de facto prohibited from job as carneramen or in the other tech- nical fields. Of course, there may well have been gays in those pos tions, but not overt gays, and it’ only the overt gays ‘who ar revealed to us through history. discovered that certain fields were considered ”male” —— like cine rnatography — and so both wome and overt gay men were kept ou This changed when the studi structure was broken apart, and by the late 1960s we see gay men and women both gay and straight popping up in fields previously denied them. I was also struck by how‘ many gays and lesbians were publicists during Hollywood's golden age. It makes sense: gays have experience with telling the truth without telling all of it. It's actually a fascinating irony that the myth and magic of Hollywood has, in large part, been spun by gay men and lesbians themselves. The book must have been a daunting research challenge. How did you manage to uncover these hidden histories? ‘ Writing gay histories requires reevaluating old’ rules of evidence. I -went I through thousands of obituaries in Variety to ‘come up with a preliminary list of names — the ones who left ”no survivors,” the ”1ifelong bachelors,” and so on. Then I embarked on a massive series of interviews with survivors of the era. I also went through records not usually used in film history research. Census records told me who was living with who, probate records revealed who estates and gifts were left to. I was fortunate to find a few unpublished manuscripts and considerable old correspondence. I know a lot of these fig- ures — most of whom are deceased — would not have felt comfortable talk- ing about their gay lives"on the record, but in many cases their surviving partners were younger than they were and so had ”moved.with the times,” so to speak. They were usually glad to share their recollections. They felt the >38 Monday through Friday 2 pm and 7 pm Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, Woodford, Hoosick Falls, NY Call 802-442-8868 for air days/times CA—TV Brattleboro Channel 8 Norwich Check local listings Richmond Channel 3 Monday 8 pm Rutland Channel 15 Check local listings St.Albans Channel10 Check local listings St. Iohnsbury Channel 7 Check local listings Waltsfield Channel 44 Call 802-257-0888 for air days/ times BCTV Enosburg, Berkshire, Richford Channel 15 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 8 pm WENO Middlebury, East Middlebury, Weybridge Calle802-388-3062 for air days/ In this encore edition, the seg- ment A Friend and Hero pro- files the late Father Mychal judge, NYFD Chaplain. Gay and lesbian parents attendpa. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) event in Family Matters. Edward Aldrich and his partner Robert Rourke share the challenges of being gay and hearing impaired in Deaf and Outspoken. 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