1972 MADE-FOR-TV-MOVIE HAD POSITVE GAY THEME, PRIME CAST
We should remember the 1972, groundbreaking made-for-TV movie "That Certain Summer." It starred Hal Holbrook as a middle-aged man who divorced his wife (Hope Lange) and left his Los Angeles home and successful contracting business to move to San Francisco to widen his horizons -- being gay. He has a lover there, played by a very young Martin Sheen.
At one point his teenage son (Scott Jacoby) comes to San Francisco to be with his dad for a week or so. Holbrook "sanitizes" the apartment, sending his lover to his sister's home and putting tell-tale things away.
Unfortunately, Holbrook and Sheen had already scheduled a party, with a wide variety of people. At the party Holbrook accidentally drops his wristwatch into the apartment's large fishtank. His son volunteers to retrieve it.
When he takes it from the water he happens to read the "loving" inscription on the back. It was a present from Sheen to Holbrook. The son suddenly (finally) puts two and two together and can't cope with what he realizes ... he runs out of the party and disappears into the streets of San Francisco.
Former wife (Lange) flies up from LA to help find the boy. There is a great scene where the lover and the former wife are having coffee. It is very frank and honest. Finally the boy is located and he and his mother return to LA.
In the closing scene, Holbrook is sitting half way up his apartment's interior stairs, crying. Sheen walks up, back to the camera, puts his hand on Holbrook's shoulder and says: "Come on up to bed."
About 10 years ago I interviewed a much-older Martin Sheen about his portrayal of Gen. Robert E. Lee in the monumental movie "Gettysburg." I mentioned to him how grateful I was to have seen a positive portrayal of gay men on network television. Sheen said, "you're not the first gay man to have told me that. I'm proud to have been part of the movie."
The movie won a Golden Globe award. The screenplay was written by Richard Levinson, best remembered as having written the majority of the "Columbo" series with Peter Falk. I can't tell if it's available on video, but it is certainly worth hunting up and should be reshown on TV.
TONY RANDALL PIONEERED AS LONELY OLDER GAY MAN ON SIT-COM
In 1981 the networks aired a series called "Love, Sidney." It was about an older, lonely gay man, former artist, who takes in a divorced woman (Swoozie Kurtz) and her young daughter. Randall was a positive character in the series, despite his never having been married.
No mentioned were made about his homosexuality, except for one tearfully poignant moment when he mentions how much he misses his dead lover.
It was a great series, produced by Warner Brothers. Most historians say it was the first major attempt to have a mature, gay leading character. The show was short-lived, but it was nominated for three Golden Globe awards.
SULLEN BOOK LOOKED AT PORTRAYAL OF GAYS IN MOVIE HISTORY
I would also recommend reading the book "The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies." It's written by Vito Russo. Many years ago it was the basis of an entire half-hour "Siskel and Ebert" program. The book outlines several hundred gay characters in the history of the cinema, graphically pointing out that more than 96 percent of the gay characters were the "bad guys" and either ended up being killed or killing themselves.
Just some thoughts of a couple of early instances.
Dennis
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