The Gay Deceivers was homophobic, juvenile, and, somehow, ahead of s time.
Contents:
- 50 YEARS LATER, THE FILM GAY DECEIVERS IS STILL VERY GAY, VERY BAD
- THE GAY DECEIVERS 1969
- THE GAY DECEIVERS1969
- THE GAY DECEIVERS
- THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969) - FULL TRANSCRIPT
- FLOYD, THE GAY DECEIVER
- THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969) - BEE YOU WATCHED STARCRASH
- "KEEP GAY"
50 YEARS LATER, THE FILM GAY DECEIVERS IS STILL VERY GAY, VERY BAD
* the gay deceivers flower scene *
The last year of the 1960s also broke ground when me to film, wh a movie about a d gay iendship between a htler and a grifter (Midnight Cowboy) wng the Bt Picture Osr the followg year.
Centered on two bonehead straight guys (played by Kev Coughl and Larry Casey) who pretend to be gay to avoid the draft, The Gay Deceivers was a precursor to shows like Bosom Buddi and Three's Company and movi like Mrs.
Doubtfire and I Now Prounounce You Chuck and the jok are broad and stupid, the puns obv (a character brgs a u basket to the tular ceivers), the women eher cluels, lechero, or ceful (but always sexy and ually half-naked), and the antigay slurs ubiquo, the movie has several fun flash of gay culture that mastream Ameri was not at all ed the ceivers rent an L. Apartment lord over by a swishy landlord named Mallm (Michael Greer), 's adorned wh homoerotic art that is still rigur Palm Sprgs and Provcetown.
THE GAY DECEIVERS 1969
A great memorable quote om the The Gay Deceivers movie on - Mallm: I may not know my flowers, but I know a bch when I see one! * the gay deceivers flower scene *
In one scene, a gay man miserat to Casey's character of Ellt how straight people believe gays are animals and how unfair is that they are routely fired om their jobs. Of urse, that potential is wasted when Ellt punch the man for g on to the gay men are universally portrayed as sex-obssed, most e off as likable (albe silly).
Greer, an openly gay ic at the time, reportedly worked wh director Bce Ksler to make the movie more sympathetic to the gay characters.
THE GAY DECEIVERS1969
Two men mt pose as gay lovers to avoid gettg drafted. * the gay deceivers flower scene *
"While this movie tragilly reflects s era's mastream attus toward queer people, what mak The Gay Deceivers worth watchg for a ntemporary LGBTQ dience is the great Michael Greer as landlord Mallm DeJohn, " says Alonso Dural, a film cric for TheWrap and -host of the podst Lolm Knife. The rt of the movie is an object lson of tablishment homophobia actn, but Greer's performance allows a ltle rebelln and realy to elbow s way . Whout spoilg too much, the screenwrers and Ksler imply that not all gay people are swishy, snarky, and fashnable; anyone your orb uld be queer.
THE GAY DECEIVERS
Two men try to avoid ary service by pretendg to be gay, but they mt act the part when the recg officer don't buy . * the gay deceivers flower scene *
Sce Danny is nvced that he and Ellt mt appear to live together as homosexuals to nfirm the Army's judgment, they rent a one-bedroom apartment an area popular wh the gay set.
Eventually, Ellt's married and unmarried girl iends, Danny's father, and even Karen herself bee nvced that the men are actually homosexual. Sure, a bunch of the characters do but the movie do we have here is a edy about two (very handsome) guys who pretend to be boyiends to dodge the draft and end up havg to move together and actually live like gays so that Uncle Sam don't fd out their dirty ltle secret (the dirty ltle secret beg that they're borg straight people) the entire urse of the movie I was tryg really hard to figure out what the pot of the…. Succeeds not bee of s silly storyle or eher of s two leads, but bee of the openly gay Michael Greer's hand rhapg the script and givg a performance that's illy swishy, yet not gradg.
Obvly the gays were waaay over the top (everyone say thank you michael greer) but was surprisg to see that they weren’t portrayed as evil or bad this one, but warm and iendly (md you ’s the 60’s and homosexualy was still seen as a mental illns).
THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969) - FULL TRANSCRIPT
The Gay Deceivers (1969) Michael Greer as Mallm * the gay deceivers flower scene *
I thought I was gonna hate-watch this bee would be super homophobic and I'd have to wre a big thg about how straight ppl suck but like damn this movie is a good time, like the openg creds of them answerg qutns back and forth was hysteril nglThis is the sort of movie that was probably ma for straighti but is absolutely the sort of ntent that gay bch would love bc I know I doLike yeah 's obvly not tellectual cema but sometim you jt have to be a dramatic gay man the 1960's and scream 'LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY PEONIES' bee be gay do crim y'know?? Topics vered clu Flatrock Distillery, Ted Nugent’s plan to avoid Vietnam, Ellt’s stat as a gigolo, Michael Greer’s role savg this movie, the weird llapsg of cross-drsg and pedophilia to homosexualy, the stat of gay marriage at this pot, the Woodman article {“Why Don’t Your Take Your Drs Off and Fight Like A Man”), the mostly sympathetic portrayal of gay folk, Ellt’s experience of gay stigma, excsive reactn shots when Ellt is watchg Mallm the kchen, the edy misfir, gayns and edians, the film’s eper acknowledgement of gay stigma, the nflictg endgs, Mallm’s happy endg, the viral flower scene and Mallm’s over the top flamboyance, Craig is the hidn hero of this movie, our love of asts, FDR’s portrayal Annie, Neil Patrick Harris playg a super-straight character, more on Michael Greer, our mourng of the passg of the wdbreaker, the namg nventns of gay bars, Vanrpool as the ial for society, Colonel Dixon, Proct vs. Dockg, the heavy feelg of paranoia, Ellt’s abily to perform, the role of this movie as a time psule siar to Cisg (directed by William Friedk, not Palma), the role of Judy Garland as a mp in, our expectatn that Ellt would disver that he’s gay at the end, Ellt’s exploratn of empathy, the dumbns of the fal twist and Vietnam as a substantial killer of fun, and the g’s name is Blah.
Complitns arise when two straight iends (Kev Coughl, Larry Casey) go all out their scheme to avoid the draft by posg as homosexuals. Acrdg to gay film historian Vo Rso his book The Celluloid Closet, -star Michael Greer, who played the flamboyantly gay Mallm and who was himself gay, tried to work wh the screenwrer and director to mimize the negativy of the characterizatn and prent Mallm a posive light.
FLOYD, THE GAY DECEIVER
Read The Gay Deceivers Movie Script. Created om srt subtl. * the gay deceivers flower scene *
Now by today's standards the film is ridiculoly mpy and stereotypil, but was still a very bold parture for s film begs wh two iends (Kev Coughl and Larry Casey) pretendg to be gay orr to avoid beg drafted and sent to Vietnam. I am sure some will blanch at the antics of the gay characters and the language ed to scribe gays--but nsirg the time, was still a rather bold film. The big difference between this film and on like "Chuck & Larry" or "Partners" is that this one treats the actual gays livg their natural habat wh a lot of rpect, albe wh some stereotyp (the pk, the nus, the asts).
THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969) - BEE YOU WATCHED STARCRASH
The Gay Deceivers (1969) st and crew creds, cludg actors, actrs, directors, wrers and more. * the gay deceivers flower scene *
Sad the fact that some draft-age mal would make believe they were gay to avoid gog to slightly before the Gay Liberatn movement, this film giv a surprisgly sensive view of the gay liftyle and gay muny of this era. Micheal Greer giv an amy award wng performance (he wasn't even nomated)as the gay landlord, Mal DeJohn; one of the screens funnit, yet sensive performanc.
The stars of the show, Kev Coughl as Danny and Lawrence Casey as Ellt give h, tense, and emotnal edged performanc as men livg wh the fear of the war lurkg over their wonrful supportg rol by Sebastian Brook and veteran character actor Jack Gay Deceivers ptur a time Amerin history that has been fotten. Other nifty aspects about this film: the the 60s views of a gay bar (wh the Tom of Fland-que drawgs along the walls), the views of L. When "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" me out the summer of 2007, jogged my memory about a movie lled "The Gay Deceivers" that was out when I was junr high and which I was too young to see.
It was ma about the time of my sexual awakeng, and some of the stereotyp picted unrsred for me why I had grown up wh so much ternalized homophobia. I lghed, then I turned to my partner of fifteen years and said, "I suppose as a gay man I ought to be offend, but 's jt so silly! It has bee part of my ternal landspe, and I tend to pare every edic treatment of gays on film to my memory of The Gay Deceivers.
"KEEP GAY"
Floyd, the Gay Deceiver: Directed by Bob Sweeney. Wh Andy Griffh, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, Franc Bavier. In pen-pal rrponnc wh a wealthy widow, Floyd has prented himself as equally well off. Her sudn cisn to vis Mayberry leav him a tizzy and beggg for Andy's help matag the se." data-id="ma * the gay deceivers flower scene *
It is rather sad to thk that the bt and probably most hont edy about gay life Ameri was ma so long ago, and a time when homosexualy was still rarely hted at ma-stream cema. Michael Greer's portrayal of the guys' landlord, Mallm, jt seems crazy today, but everyone else the movie, whether straight or gay, male or female, old or young, civilian or ary, is siarly broadbshed.
Greer, who also played Queenie 'Fortune and Men's Ey', was, rare for the time, an out gay actor and his honty and his activism should be acknowledged.
Incintally, Keh How 'Broadstg It' says that this was the first film ever to be turned down by the BBC on the grounds that was offensive to homosexuals, but no more tails than that. The Gay Deceivers fed to two events that happened 1969, the Vietnam War and people's reluctance to serve same and the Stonewall Rebelln. It turns out that the lonel at the draft board Jack Starrett is not believg them one b, so Coughl arrang for them to move to a most exclive neighborhood where they are adopted by gay uple Michael Greer and Sebastian Brook.
Great memorable quot and script exchang om the The Gay Deceivers movie on * the gay deceivers flower scene *
He do brg some ser note to the proceedgs by lecturg Coughl on jt what the nsequenc were back the day for clarg onelf gay officially to a ernment agency, pecially the Selective might not e to that bee Jack Starrett knows gay when he se .