The Gay Hall Of Shame

In the new film Boy Erased, Lucas Hedges plays a young man sent to a gay conversion therapist by his Baptist preacher father (Russell Crowe) and mother (Nicole Kidman). What director Joel Edgerton does so well, adapting the autobiographical book by Gerrard Conley, is not vilifying the parents, who really believe they are doing the right thing to help their son. But the conversion camp is a frightening inside glimpse of humiliation and abuse. They do their very best to make the teens feel bad about themselves. And put the fear of God into them about accepting their true nature. It’s infuriating and upsetting to watch. Almost as much as some of the films I’ve compiled here that reveled in stereotypes and also did their level best to show gay people in a negative light. (And I’m not talking about the usual suspects like The Boys In The Band, Cruising or The Killing Of Sister George). Perhaps we’ve come a long way since Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet, the groundbreaking and sobering study of how gay men and women are portrayed in film. But we have to remain vigilant, because things can back-slide just as fast. Here are some shameful examples of movies that should be inducted into a Gay Hall Of Shame.

The Pink Angels (1971) A gay motorcycle gang called the Cupcakes drinks champagne, throws picnics and dresses in drag at transvestite balls. Its members even pull pranks on rival gangs, like dabbing rouge on their cheeks and tying bows in their hair while they’re passed out. It’s all very lighthearted until the last few jaw-dropping seconds of the film, when a disgusted military man kills them all and hangs them from trees. Real funny.

Windows (1980) A particularly odious thriller directed by cinematographer Gordon Willis about a wealthy, predatory lesbian (Elizabeth Ashley) who hires a thug to attack and rape a pretty heterosexual (Talia Shire), erroneously thinking it will somehow bring them closer together. Ashley also gets off sexually while listening to a tape recording of the assault.

Siege (1983) During a police strike, a Nova Scotia gay bar is invaded by a gang calling themselves the New Order. They shoot and kill all but one lone gay man who escapes and hides in a nearby building. The gunmen follow, and the people who live there fight back while the “queer” hides, sniveling- in a closet, no less.

Ode To Billy Joe (1976) Why did Billy Joe McAllister jump off the Tallahatchie bridge? Because he was gay, that’s why. Cute Robby Benson plays the tormented Billy Joe, who, before taking the big leap, confesses to his girlfriend, “I ain’t right! I have been with a man…which is a sin against nature, a sin against God!”

The Choirboys (1977) In Robert Aldrich’s repugnant adaptation of a Joseph Wambaugh novel about a violently homophobic group of cops, a naked man is tied to a tree in a park while a mincing queen with a purse and pink poodle passes by, ogling him. A young rookie is found out to be secretly gay; when he is shot, another officer comments, “It’s only a fag.”

Partners (1982) To solve a series of gay murders, a homophobic cop (Ryan O’Neal) is paired with a gay detective (John Hurt), and they have to pretend to be lovers to infiltrate the gay scene. They drive a pink VW and Hurt plays the femme, ironing and wearing lilac, while O’Neal wears leather.

The Sergeant (1968) Rod Steiger plays a tortured, closeted military man who becomes fixated on a lanky, good-looking private (John Phillip Law). Finally, he drunkenly plants a big wet kiss on the terrified soldier, but he’s so overcome with shame he blows his brains out. The original ad read: “Just one weakness. Just one.”

The Gay Deceivers (1969) Two heterosexual men pretend to be queer to evade the draft in this appallingly unfunny comedy. They prance and mince around in a bungalow populated by queens, and soon even their girlfriends think they’re gay. Thank God for Michael Greer, who plays the campy landlord Malcolm.

The Detective (1968) Frank Sinatra plays a hard-boiled NYC detective investigating a gay murder. He’s actually a decent, fair-minded guy, as opposed to his cop colleagues, like Robert Duvall, who enjoys roughing up gays at the trucks, or Ralph Meeker, interrogating a suspect (Tony Musante), “Where did you put the knife, fag?” But what’s cringe-inducing is the film’s representation of the gay community. In one scene, a self-hating closet queen (William Windom) muses on gay life: “twisted faces, outcasts, lives lived in shadows, always prey to a million dangers.” Oh, Mary, calm down.

Staircase (1969) Rex Harrison and Richard Burton play two bickering, pathetic old lovers living in London in this groaner, directed by Stanley Donen (Singin’ In The Rain). They camp, bitch and moan, and attempt suicide, and one goes on trial for soliciting a police officer.

Black Shampoo (1976) Violent Blaxploitation film starring John Daniels as a stud hairdresser. His nelly co-workers are captured by thugs, tortured and called “fucking little faggots.” One has a hot curling iron shoved up his rectum.

The Fox (1967) Based on the D. H. Lawrence novella, this film depicts two lesbians (Sandy Dennis & Anne Heywood) living on a farm in Canada. They are disturbed by the presence of a drifter (Keir Dullea), who sets his sights on the butch Heywood. “You’ve never had a man,” he says. “I think that’s your problem. Isn’t it what you need?” Fortunately, a tree falls and kills Dennis to make things easier.