There's been a lot of debate here about whether or not the Tom character and Laura's husband were gay etc.
In any event, it seems clear that the Laura character had an uncanny attraction to men who were 'different'.
Just be truthful and if you can fake that you've got it made. ;)
There's been a lot of debate here about whether or not the Tom character and Laura's husband were gay etc.
It turns out that he isn't gay, obviously, when he comes back and has a wife and kid, but I can easily see how viewers could think that.
No need to act superior.
Always the wedding officiant, never the bride.
Don't see any superiority acting here. The crush Tom had on Laura was plainly obvious from the beginning and he wasn't holding any hidden cards . If he had with different tastes or interests than the bolt head gang it didn't reflect on his sexuality at all. The 'critical' button stitching incident IMO derived strictly from his hanging around the lady.
Mr Reynolds, on the other hand, wasn´t a spectacularly normal hubbie: beautiful, smart and sensitive wife, no kids after more than enuff years of marriage, always surrounded by athletic young guys....
nothing else to say here
I grew up in the 1950's and back then, men who were gay did marry women and have a family so their jobs and community standing weren't jeopardized.
shareBack then, a lot of gay men (and women) didn't even realize they were gay. People didn't usually talk about that out in the open.
Tom shows no sign of being attracted to men. Was that something they didn't want to show back then (and so used sewing and cooking as a substitute for overt same-sex attraction) or did they want to show that Tom was actually straight? In other words, was everything to be taken at face value?
EtA: Just remembered, the play was written by a straight man, and it was semi-autobiographical.
No I don't think Tom was gay. He had a crush on Laura - that would indicate to me that he liked girls just fine.
Not every guy who isn't a 'jock' is gay. Just as not all guys who are 'jocks' are straight...
Now the husband, there's an interesting fellow. I think he was so emotionally constipated that it wouldn't have mattered what his persuasion was. I actually think he was probably straight, he was terribly jealous of Laura afterall. He probably needed a woman who wouldn't make too many emotional demands of him. Laura was not that woman.
Tap Tommy
I think the husband was homosexual.
He married to flesh out his resume and please his "buddies" at school. They had a party for him when he left for Italy and gavr him the cheesy fake diamond ring as if to say, "come home with a bride". In fact, he hates Tom because he hates his own homosexuality. In the play, Laura addresses their loveless sexual encounters.
I don't think Tom was gay. He liked women and was in love with Laura.
I'm the OP. I don't think the young man was gay, just the obvious observation that he was unusual, different from the others.
The husband also seemed most odd to me.
My original point was not that either of them was gay, but rather that both of them were a little strange. She liked odd guys I guess.
[To a method actor] Darling, we have a 3 day schedule. There's no time to do anything but to do it. ~ Ida Lupino
[deleted]
Yeah some young guys like older women, similar to young HS girls who dig guys in their 20's. I was kind of wondering if the hubby was a bit bi too, or just emotionally reserved. Straight guys sew and cook too, how else would they survive when they move away from their parents.
shareSome? Many. Guys like girls/women who seem out of reach. HS girls like young men 'cause they have cars and maybe money.
shareI don't get why some posters are supporting the assumptions and accusations of the other students and the coach against Tom. Didn't you understand the film? Obviously it's trying to say that just because your not a manly man who sexually harasses women does not equate with homosexuality.
shareShe liked them sensitive and she married Bill out of pity. Bill was more gay than Tom.
share