Did anyone notice the irony of Rock Hudson's implication that his rival (who was actually himself) might be gay--attached to his mother, liked to exchange recipes and gossip? Doris Day was outraged at his innuendo. It freaked me out!
shareYes, people have been pointing out the irony of this ever since Rock Hudson's homosexuality became public in the 1980s. If you will check out the other comments and messages on the message boards, others have brought this up. Personally, these scenes always made me cringe, knowing RH himself was gay and forced to make these put-downs as part of his work. No wonder he stayed in the closet until he had no other choice!
shareYou should check out Rock Hudson's Home Movies.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105268/
It's a flawed but interesting look back at the relationship between RH's sexuality and his film roles.
Funpig
Throw the baby out with the bathwater and then all you have is a wet critically injured baby.
The mere mention of homosexuality in this movie was quite revolutionary. I find the reference to the character being gay only mildly negative. It's implied only to convince the female character that her love interest is not interested in her.
Also the fact that she knows exactly what is being referred to without him actually saying it outright is extraordinary. The audience certainly knew what was being referred to. This would mean that homosexuality was more common in 1959 than history would lead us to believe.
I'm sorry, but that is too funny for words!!! More common than history would have you believe?
Beside that, Doris's character was an interior decorator and yes, I do mean to imply that someone who worked in that field would know of the existence of gay people. And probably worked alongside them and appreciated their talents in that field. The marketing of art (and most particularly film) is geared to what the creator (and sponsors) want people to believe.
I find it extraordinary and very sad that in this time in history, I can't name one openly young gay male actor in Hollywood. I don't know the Broadway and other theatre stars well enough to say that about the stage as well.
But I suspect I do know the reason and that is because it is perceived that the American public wouldn't accept them.
Pillow Talk was considered to be very daring for it's time. It was what was quaintly termed 'sophisticated'.
It's not extraordinary that a woman working in the design field would be familiar with a gay man. What is extraordinary is that the very subtle reference to homosexuality in this film was understood by 1959 audiences.
History would have us believe that homosexuals didn't exist in the 50's. We know that this is completely untrue. They did in fact exist and Americans living in major cities would indeed encounter them on a daily basis.
Here is a list of 100 openly gay actors. Some I'm sure you will recognize:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ClwkBTwU5ZQ/
Still not sure why you found my comment funny....Oh, well!
In 1959 any audience of adults and even teenagers would have got the implication easily. People weren't naive then.
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