MovieChat Forums > Written on the Wind (1956) Discussion > Question about Written on the Wind trivi...

Question about Written on the Wind trivia section (spoilers)


It says that ''Due to the Hay's Code, Kyle Hadley's homosexuality could not be mentioned directly in the movie.''
I didn't get the impression that he was gay.
Wasn't he just diagnosed with a low sperm count and therefore thought that he couldn't have children?

FYC: Three-time Academy Awards nominee Angela Lansbury for an Honorary Oscar

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The trivia is probably referring to the novel upon which it's based, unread by me, since literature and films don't have the same kind of censorship. It's likely that the film makers had to change Kyle from a homosexual to sexually inadequate for the film.

Love, love will tear us apart...again...

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But there are strong hints that Kyle has feelings for Mitch in the film. Especially when he rambles on his sleep.



"Ça va by me, madame...Ça va by me!" - The Red Shoes

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I had difficulty making out Kyle’s drunken ramblings. I would like to see this portion of the script. There is definitely much more going on here than what we were told. If anyone has read Robert Wilder’s novel and can explain please do.

Thanks in advance.

Denise

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In either case, the film has all the ambiguities within itself. All you have to do is see it twice and thrice, carefully.

"Ça va by me, madame...Ça va by me!" - The Red Shoes

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I've just read the Wilder novel - although the Stack/Hudson characters are very close friends, having been practically raised together, there are no homoerotic undertones to the relationship. And Kyle's low sperm count was an invention of the screenplay - in the novel he's simply too drunk most of the time.

"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."

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I read the book years ago, and as I remember the Kyle character was sexually inadequate and enamoured of the Mitch character.

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Posters on these messageboards are saying the book has nothing gay in it.

I think, however, that for the purposes of a good Doug Sirk melodrama, the choice was made by the production team to imply that Kyle was gay.

Having him be nothing but a slobbering drunk would have been boring, besides which I'm sure there were gay men associated with the film (other than Rock) who would have been familiar with such a situation.

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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"Having him be nothing but a slobbering drunk would have been boring"

This is pretty much exactly how I felt about his characterization in the novel. Basically, Kyle/Cory was a man without a purpose in life, as he actually had very little to do with running the business that supported his indulgent lifestyle.

"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."

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Having just seen the movie, I didn't really detect any homosexuality between Mitch and Kyle as this movie panned out. Perhaps just a bit of latency with Kyle having an overgrown boy's hero-worship of Mitch. And the thought of a possible Mitch's motive for wanting to share the same woman is perhaps just a little bit suspect. But that's all.

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