Tea and Sympathy-1956

Tea and Sympathy adapted from the stage play, OP.

Her husband in the play is implied to be a closet case, isn't he?

My mother told me how she watched this film and was touched but when I told her I was gay she was not. I should have told her I was a folk singer instead.

Darryl Hickman was hot in this. Love watching him walk.

I have a friend who's a folksinger.

Darryl Hickman 's walk scene is kind of a covert homoerotic scene.

John Kerr won a Tony for his performance in the original Broadway production.

Kerr did lots of episodic tv in the 60s. He really always played the same character it seemed. Perhaps he was more "alive" on stage. He did some directing but eventually went into law. He knew he wasn't going to be able to play the sensitive male ingenue forever and that adult character roles would be equally boring.

I have sympathy, but I'll have tea if I must.

John Kerr was in that great Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode with the 'Stella, you're such a pretty nurse' line. It was titled "The Unlocked Window" or "The Open Window"? Whatever it was called, it scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. John Kerr was the bedridden hunk who the nurses tended.

He was also Lt. Cable in the film of South Pacific.

In the play, there’s no question that the husband is a closer case. He’s portrayed as hyper masculine. I can’t remember how the character was portrayed in the movie.

Leif Erickson, father of recently deceased John, played Kerr’s husband, and there is a scene where she refers to his continual involvement with the boys, including camping trips, etc., while pretty much ignoring her.

The movie adds a flashback structure not in the play, with John Kerr returning for Alumni Day some years later, and finding Erickson living alone in the same house, having never remarried. The implication is there.

r13 Leif EricKson (real name William Wycliffe Anderson) was not related to John Ericson (whose real name was Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes.)

There were no homosexuals in the 1950s.

To be nonnonplussed is to be all the plussed AF.

It should be burnt. It's one of the most homophobic movies ever made... and I'm surprised with the behind-the-scenes gay influencers in Hollywood it was made at all.

The 1950s were virulently homophobic. If you didn't settle down with a frau and have 3 kids, you were a pervert.

Leif was presumably named after the Norse explorer because of his Scandinavian looks though he was born in California. His first wife Frances Farmer also had Scandinavian looks though she was from Seattle. Leif had a beautiful melodious voice in contrast to his big build.

Leif Erickson was married to Frances Farmer.

I've only seen it once, but what blew my mind was that every male in the film seemed to be a homosexual EXCEPT THE BOY. They were ALL giving off signals, possibilities, closeted vibes....has anyone else reacted this way?

[quote] But all we get are Kerr's shoulders to lend on.

I love lending on his shoulders! It makes it easier to charge higher interest rates.

R21 I think in hindsight we can see it that way because of their signs and signifiers. I know many men who still act like that. It's more a signal of immature boy than gay man.

R20, I fucked her.

"there is a scene where she refers to his continual involvement with the boys, including camping trips, etc."

He sounds like a PERV

R8, I think John Kerr guest starred on "The F.B.I." series more than anyone else.

BTW, Why has that series been hidden away?

During the Broadway run, Joan Fontaine and Anthony Perkins took over the roles played by Deborah Kerr and John Kerr.

Ingrid Bergman starred in the Paris production.

"It's one of the most homophobic movies ever made... and I'm surprised with the behind-the-scenes gay influencers in Hollywood it was made at all."

It's not even close to being one of the most homophobic movies ever

That movie would have been so much better with Fontaine and Perkins. John Kerr had zero charisma and Deborah Kerr was miscast.

John Kerr was an excellent actor. He deserved an Oscar for his performance. He played the part with such sensitivity and emotion. Many gay men identified with his character, myself included. I could feel the social ostracism, of being different, of being tormented by my peers. Deborah Kerr was superb. Every time I see the film, I’m so enraptured with emotion. I simply fall in love with “Tom” the character.

I think Deborah Kerr is better than Fontaine would have been

R31, I agree.

Leif Erickson's character seemed to be the leader of a cult in which noogies, shoulder-rubbing, pantsing, friendly-slapping and smacking, fondling, wrestling, and intimate body contact of all kinds was celebrated between young strapping muscular men.

And poor dweeby shy John Kerr couldn't gain admission.

Ambivalent Gay MascBro Classic!

[quote]I've only seen it once, but what blew my mind was that every male in the film seemed to be a homosexual EXCEPT THE BOY.

How very dare you! I managed to knock up a fifty-something Arlene Francis, so I'm no pansy!

You have to think that Vincente had a strong say in the costuming. Deborah's first dress matches her hair color!

Not my favorite Minnelli, but still good. Years from now when you remember this movie, and you will... be kind.

Are we supposed to hate all the male characters, except for Tom? Because Tom’s dad and the coach / husband sucked. What’s this crap, a little fight, getting beat up and getting a crew cut will make a man out of you? Did people actually believe this?

Poor Debra Kerr’s character... gets no love from hubby.

Seems to me that the movie is more about deconstructing hyper-masculinity than anything else.

R38, I agree. This Is the era when all the lead characters in Minnelli movies were creative types. Again, John Kerr as an artist in The Cobweb, Sinatra as a writer in Some Came Running (how this is communicated in the film is hilarious), Kirk Douglas X3 with Bad and the Beautiful, Lust for Life, and Two Weeks in Another Town. These hyper masc creative types are still around. I usually refer to them as Damaged Men.

This movie runs the gamut from excruciating to heartbreaking.

R40, Much like my relationship with Joan.

Elle reeked of cigarettes. No wonder Tom found her distasteful.