Queen Elizabeth's is expected to wed the first same-sex royal weddg this summer — but he is far om the first gay Brish royal, acrdg to historians.
Contents:
- 10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS
- ‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
- GAY BRA GLOSSARY
- GAY DATG UNED KGDOM
10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS
From Victim to Weekend, we remember some of the bt Brish gay films. * british gay guys *
Weekend (2011)Few untri n rival the UK when to makg great and diverse gay films. This may e as a surprise om a untry where male homosexualy was illegal until as recently as 1967, and where gay marriage ntu to ffle right-wgers, swivel-eyed or otherwise.
Yet spe their often taboo nature, films wh gay characters have been around sce the silent era. So what key Brish gay films are out there?
We’ve narrowed down the list to films easily available on DVD, although honourable mentn mt go to the über-rare Two Gentlemen Sharg (1969), a swgg slice of the 60s that hted at terracial homosexualy. Sign up to BFI Flare emailsGet the latt #BFIFlare news and ticket release list should really be a Top 11 – the omissn of Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), the first Brish film to feature a gay kiss, is borrle excable.
‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
* british gay guys *
Tom Shkolnik’s betifully observed The Comedian (2012), which a possibly gay, possibly bi thirtysomethg (Edward Hogg) tri to make as a standup the pal, also narrowly missed cln.
Borrle (1930)What’s the gayt Brish silent? A few d homosexuals n be found Aled Hchck’s early work (check out the swishy drsmaker 1925’s The Pleasure Garn), while Ivor Novello’s films play up the flamboyant star’s androgyny, playg very odd, allegedly heterosexual men The Lodger (1926) and The Man whout Dire (1923). But gayt of all remas Borrle, a hotbed of sexual passns set around an terracial love triangle.
GAY BRA GLOSSARY
Gay Bra Glossary: see an A-Z glossary of words and phras relatg to gay life Bra om Ace to Wolfenn Report. * british gay guys *
The ma tr may be straight, but the mera’s love of Pl Robon’s torso – the film was directed and produced by gay men – hts at an even more taboo love story.
One of the first spottgs of the GBF (Gay Bt Friend), a creature maligned and adored equal measure. Although ma at a time when homosexualy was unmentnable on screen, Hale’s gtur and waspish livery clearly the character as not the marryg kd. Victim (1961)Dirk Bogar, an actor who never acknowledged the mours of his homosexualy durg his lifetime, took a real reer risk playg a lawyer who, followg a strg of blackmail attempts agast gay men, begs to realise his own sexualy.
Ma when gay sex was illegal the UK, uld have been a reer-er, but stead saw him progrs om matee idol rol to meatier arthoe fare. Victim was released four years after the publitn of the Wolfenn report, a paper which remend that male homosexualy no longer be regard as a crimal offence.
GAY DATG UNED KGDOM
It took another 10 years before partial crimalisatn took effect wh the Sexual Offenc act 1967, which allowed homosexual acts, private, between two men over the age of 21 – many feel Basil Dearn’s film helped liberalise attus and pave the way towards tolerance towards gay people. The Leather Boys (1964)The Brish ‘kchen sk’ dramas, foced around workg-class liv, that prevailed the late 50s and early 60s ocsnally ntaed sympathetic gay characters, such as Murray Melv’s stunt A Taste of Honey (1961) and Cicely Courtneidge’s ageg actor The L-shaped Room (1962).
A newlywed (Col Campbell) havg marriage problems fds pe through mararie wh a biker gang – and don’t realise that his dynamic and fatly misogynist bt iend (Dudley Sutton) is gay.