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When Jimmy recently mentioned how different gay life was in the sixties when I posted about Pride, it made me curious. How were gay stories told back then? Nowadays we have an avalanche of Pride merchandise and Pride 'support' in the most unexpected places. So much so that people forget that  homosexuality was only depatologized after 1973, so the sixties were still fertile ground for it to be treated as a disease/mental issue/yucky. The Hays code had taken a toll in what concerned having LGBTQ stories being told in movies, and there were not many examples of gay men on screen. So when I found about Reflections on a Golden Eye being available for streaming, I immediately jumped into it. 




It had Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. Hello? It's like clash of the titans. The movie was in a list of movies with 'gay' themes I found online. So I decided to watch it, but deep down I knew it was not going to end well, of course. Back then (and until recently) movies that dealt with homosexuality or any other 'perversion' always ended with the protagonist (the gay man or lesbian) killed or emasculated in some way. There were no happy endings for gay people back then. Even in the eighties and nineties, it was all about AIDS and being gay, gloomy and unhappy. 




If you have not seen it, rest assured there'll be spoilers ahead. Duh. So, let's get to it: It all takes place in a military base in the South (where else?), where Elizabeth, an army brat, marries Brandon's character. The thing is, their marriage is not as perfect as it seems. He, for all appearances, is the perfect military man: strong, self-assured, the epitome of gung-ho masculinity. But behind closed doors, we see that Elizabeth is the one with the pants. And she's quite enthusiastic about donning riding pants. Well, she really enjoys riding horses and her neighbor, who is also married. 

Elizabeth (super beautiful, damn!) catches the eye of the Private who takes care of her favorite horse. And boy, that man had issues. Super intense and ruggedly handsome, he happens to catch the eye of Brando's character (a Major, mind you, so the power dynamics are crazy). I was expecting more titillation, but this is a movie about human nature and the unexpected and wild nature of desire. I can imagine it caused quite the stir when it came out. Brando is the typical closeted homosexual of the times (looking longingly at photos of Greek gods and pumping iron in his free time), lusting after the handsome Private, whom he seeis riding a horse bareback. How's that for steamy in the sixties? 


But I think the movie is more about the untamed nature of desire and how it drives us. Coveting what we don't have is something we all can relate to. Elizabeth's character wants the passion that her husband cannot give her. Her lover desires the passion Elizabeth brings and that his wife seems unable to provide, given that she's clinically depressed. The man's wife wants the flights of fancy her filipino servant (paid companion?) indulges in (he's the gay Yin to Brando's Yang bluster and totally stereotypical). The Private wants the woman that belongs to the Major. Brando wants the Private, who stands for everything he feels he lacks. It's a full circle of frustration and pent up desire that ends up with dead people, of course. 

I am happy that we are in 2021 and that I can watch movies like God's Own Country or watch series like Love, Victor, where gay love stories do not end in death. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautifully shot movie and the themes are very intriguing, but I'm glad we're living in a time where LGBTQ+ stories can be told without having to resort to tired stereotypes or well, death.

If you have time (and if you have a streaming service, YouTube, a DVD player or watch movies On Demand) try to watch Reflections in a Golden Eye if you haven't yet. It's very Tennessee Williams without the camp. I'm sure it was not a box office smash, even though the leads were huge movie stars. Bet 1967 was not ready for it.

Happy Pride!

XOXO

P.S. I went to the tiniest Pride celebration ever over the weekend and it was a blast. It was literally in the parking lot of a Lutheran church (Huntley told me about it!) and I got to make soap bubbles with a giant plastic bubbler and eat cookies and get color bracelets and pose with Miss Foozie, the hysterical Drag performer who was in charge of the Bingo. It was much more fun than I thought I'd have in a church's parking lot. The people were super nice and I got to show my support for the community. After all, these ARE the suburbs and you don't see that many Pride flags in June. I may even go to one of their meetings. I hope the smell of brimstone is not too overpowering.

Comments

  1. This looks like a very complicated, conflicted movie. And the way the trailer keeps mentioning the stars and the title, at first I thought it was a parody. I may have to add it to my queue.

    I’m glad you had a chance to go to that Pride celebration and the rains allowed for it. When I read the article about it, it sounded like it could be fun and was in your neck of the woods. 🏳️‍🌈

    XOXO 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

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    1. Well, I watched it because it was gay but also because it was Brando and Taylor. I imagine they had to tout their stars. It was very complex, very of the times.
      And the little Pride celebration was adorable. I may even go to their PFLAG meeting!

      XOXO

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  2. Holy crap! Stellar cast and directed by Huston. This takes "Cat on Hot Tin Roof" a step father, and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" is another tame story in comparison when it comes to who wears the pants. Needless to say, it was not a smash hit. Racy, too, what with Taylor taking off the bra, though, in those days, they wore flesh-colored strapless underneath the white. I'll bet most movie theaters were afraid to screen it - they didn't even need the Hays Office to step in on this one. Then, again, the 60s were all about pushing the envelope.
    What a great find (and I should've known about this one years ago). Thanks! XOXO

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    1. I imagine it was a big deal back then. I can imagine not all movie theaters would show a movie with a gay text.
      When she took off the bra, I was like, WHOA. She was stunning, too.
      I was pleasantly surprised, to tell you the truth.

      XOXO

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  3. I'll bet that if you asked a historian, The largest cultural shift (at least in the 20th century) took place from 1963 to 1969. Everyone was fighting for a cause which all centered around the same thing. Human Rights . For some odd reason, I equate the period with smells . Afro Sheen, the smell of gun smoke, the smell of blood and finally, Evening in Paris perfume for Stonewall.

    The people of the US were taken to the front lines of Vietnam every night on the 6 o'clock news watching there children die and being mangled. We are censored from the horrors of war today.

    Wilton Manors was gay in those days too. But like your movie, they were all married with children in order to live a normal life and to avoid electro-shock therapy. Living through those times is why I believe in segregation between st8ts and gays (and I consider myself very lucky). Perhaps I have a lot of residual hate (rage) still inside me from being passed over for a job or promotion because I sucked dick. But you are the sum of your life experiences.

    Another thing about your theme today,....How many US enlisted soldiers today, experienced, or remembered 911 and that nightmare? Not many I'm sure.

    **steps off soapbox**

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    1. Oh, Jimmy.
      I love it when you step on your soapbox!
      The sixties were quite the decade. And I can believe what you say about Vietnam. The average age was nineteen. My friend's dad went to Vietnam. He never recovered.
      And I feel your rage. It was not easy.

      XOXO

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    2. I'm sure the "lay psychologist" are having fun with this!

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    3. Hahahaha
      Oh, honey. Come sit by me. We'll watch them faint.

      XOXO

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  4. I remember that Brando film vividly; very steamy for it's time.

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    1. Oh, definitely steamy. The subtext is in plain view.
      I think Brando should have taken more roles. He just became a recluse after he did The Godfather and the Island of Doctor Moreau. I think he was dreamy.

      XOXO

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  5. I have to give it a try when time permits, although I am far from a Marlon Brando fan. I have yet see a movie I liked him in And I love Liz Taylor, but she always seemed so typed casted as a tortured woman. But this being lesser known, maybe they went beyond their wheel house?

    Miss Foozie?!?!?!?!?! I had no idea she was still doing drag! That bitch was crazy and zany.

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    1. It's a good Sunday afternoon movie. Preferable with a cocktail.
      I am going to try to find more Liz Taylor movies. She was stunning.
      And Miss Foozie was a riot! OMG that wig! Super witty, too.

      XOXO

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    2. I love Liz Taylor...so damn stunning. My favorite movie of hers was Butterfield 8. Yet again though...a tortured soul.....

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    3. *runs to look for Butterfield 8*

      XOXO

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  6. I saw this movie like a million years ago and barely remember it except that Brando was good in it. Time to see if I can find it on Netflix or somewhere and watch it again!

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    1. Haha
      Brando was very good, very tortured, very handsome.
      I think you would be able to find it On Demand or maybe on DVD.
      It was worth the watch.

      XOXO

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  7. I remember watching it and being bored to tears... nothing really happens, just talk.

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    1. Well, it was the late sixties, so not much of the subtext was going to be brought to the forefront. I found the setting fascinating. For men in their sixties and seventies, having been gay and having been in the army should have been quite the torture. Poor souls.

      XOXO

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    2. Character studies turn out that way, Dave.... Nothing really happens in "Call Me By Your Name," either. 😊

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    3. I thought so, too!
      I guess that's why I got so invested in their being so tortured by desire!

      XOXO

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  8. Small pride is still pride... I love going to the neighborhood do's. So much more interesting and grassroot than the big event downtown. Good for you. Reflection of A Golden Eye. Brando had good reason for wanting to do it... so did Taylor. Carson McCullers was a drinking and writing bud of Tennessee Williams! The two actually rented a summer cabin once and drank themselves blind pretending to write. Thanks for dusting this one off. Kizzes.

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    1. Oh, it was so cute and friendly.
      Also, strong support for families and Trans youth. Super quaint.
      And the movie was quite the surprise. It's not surprising though that the author of the book were Williams' pal. That bourbon-soaked southern narratives are quite the read.

      XOXO

      Delete

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