Bonus Video! The gayest moments in Rock Hudson/Doris Day rom-coms
As I'm sure you're aware, Rock Hudson is probably best known for the romantic comedies he made in the 1950s and 1960s with Doris Day (and a bunch of other actresses). But something kind of peculiar about these movies, which are all about heterosexual romance, is how often they slip queer subtext into the stories. And sometimes it's not even that subtextual! This week we're looking at some of the gayest moments of his many rom-coms, from shared a bed with a man to pregnancy misunderstandings to the time his therapist literally told him to stop hiding in the closet.
Backup link in case the video doesn't play: https://youtu.be/InVmJRjqMIM
Comments (12)
So my mom worked in a University overseeing graduate students in the 90's, and one time she and one of her long term TAs were arguing whether some couple in the news at the time was real or just celeb gossip. The TA (arguing for the relationship being real) said in all seriousness "It's one of those Rock Hudson/Doris Day things" and my mom just died. She had to stop and explain A)Rock deceived Doris in every movie, and B) he was gay.
Haha oh lord, that's amazing. Just goes to show how people really do see what they want to see!
Your comment about Rock’s character literally being in the closet made me wonder when “in the closet” became a widely used expression. I haven’t found a specific instance where it became popular but seem to remember it started being used more commonly 40 years ago.
According to George Chauncey, the phrase was juuuuust starting to appear around the time this movie came out. I think it’s likely to have been familiar to the gays who worked on the film, but not the straights.
I’d love to see a special of yours about Joan Crawford and her relationship to queer cinema, in her life and work!
She's on my list to cover at some point!
Also check out the clip on IMDB of 'The Carol Burnett Show' episode 'When My Baby Laughs at Me' for a gag of Rock in a football locker room.
I’m… not sure I get the joke? Is it that the other guys won’t shower with Joe Namath anymore because he did a commercial for hose???
There's a 1992 documentary by Mark Rappaport on this subject called "Rock Hudson's Home Movies."
Post your phonesona below: mine is the pink razr
Old timey candlestick-style phone
It's been a while since I've seen Pillow Talk, but I feel like they do a lot of giving Rock's Texan character the not-gay. To the point that I remember feeling bad knowing that Rock was irl gay.