I've spent the last two years working on a holiday movie—Scrooge & Marley, a modern-day adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol (on DVD and Blu-ray and set to play the Gene Siskel Film Center Dec. 21, 22 and 27).
Although Scrooge & Marley is that rare film told completely from a gay perspective (Make the Yuletide Gay is another, and it's also available on Blu-ray), there have always been gay characters in Christmas movies—if one looks hard enough—and gay filmmakers involved in their creation. Two of these (It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas) return to the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., for their annual (the 29th!) stint at the historic theater Dec. 14-21. These and some of my other favorites (in random order):
—It's A Wonderful Life (1946): With that last scene—showing the entire town rallying to help out down on his luck George Bailey and his destitute family—just hand me the Kleenex right now. For gay audiences, the rumored relationship between Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver has certainly helped give us a warm feeling about this sentimental favorite.
—Meet Me in St. Louis (1944): It's the height of studio artistry—even the shadows thrown by the snowmen are painted on and Judy Garland was never supported better or looked more beautiful as she sings the wistful "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (with music from gay composer Hugh Martin) and "The Boy Next Door" (played by gay actor Tom Drake). In director Vincente Minnelli's capable hands, the nostalgia is palpable. Two recent biographies of Minnelli detail his gay relationships and conclude that he was at least bisexual.
—Remember the Night (1940): This wonderful and warm but little-known Barbara Stanwyck-Fred MacMurray vehicle, which Preston Sturges wrote and the expert Mitchell Leisen (who was gay) directed, came to DVD a few years back and has slowly risen in critical stature over the years. Stanwyck (rumored to be a lesbian in real life) is amazing, as usual, in a complex role; in addition, there's a wonderful, eccentric supporting cast in this heartwarming story of a jewel thief and the DA who falls for her. The sequence where Stanwyck returns home—years after having been hounded out of town years earlier after being accused of theft—and encounters her bitter, hateful mother resonates strongly with gay audience members who received similar treatment from less-than-supportive family members.
—The Bishop's Wife (1947): Cary Grant as an angel sent to Earth? Sign me up! I especially love the unintentionally hilarious ice-skating sequence in which Grant's double is patently obvious. The debate over Grant's sexuality rages on decades after his death, unlike the gay sexuality of co-star Monty Woolley (funny and touching as a Scrooge-like professor who tipples a bit too much and claims to hate the holidays).
—The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942): Bette Davis tones it down while gay actor Woolley hams it up, almost chewing the tinsel off the Christmas tree in this typical '40s-era comedy based on the hit play. One can almost see the stage manager cuing the actor's entrances and exits just out of camera range—part of the movie's nostalgic charm. Also, the gay subtext is as thick as a batch of divinity. (The character of Beverly Carlton, played by Reginald Gardiner, for example, was based on Noel Coward.)
—The Family Stone (2005): We're here, we're queer, it's Christmas—get used to it! This is gay writer-director Thomas Bezucha's instant new holiday classic: funny, heartwarming, tragic and with Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker and a multiracial gay couple—what self-respecting gay man can resist this onslaught?
—Come to the Stable (1949): Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are nuns in Bethlehem, Pa., who are inspired to beat the odds and build a hospital. Sisters are doin' it for themselves and the message, "Who needs a man?!" is clear as a Christmas bell in this little-known heart tugger.
—White Christmas (1954): Danny Gay, err, Kaye; George Clooney's aunt Rosemary; Vera Ellen, the world's first cinematic anorexic; all those eye-popping Technicolor musical numbers; and chorus boy cuties galore are just a few of the bonuses in this Irving Berlin songfest that was a huge hit. Plus, it has the most bizarre holiday lyric of all time (from "Snow"): "I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow…" and the drag number "Sisters" with Kaye and co-star Bing Crobsy mincing around in spangles and feathers make this an annual delight and perennial Sidetrack sing-a-long.
—Christmas Eve (1986): Ditto Loretta Young in a TV Christmas weepie in which the dying Young is determined to get her squabbling family back together one more time. The gorgeous "Christmas Love Song" played throughout (and later recorded by Barbra Streisand) is a melodic bonus, as is Patrick Cassidy (son of Shirley Jones and the late bisexual actor Jack Cassidy), who plays one of Young's grandkids. Cassidy, who memorably played a closeted soap actor in Longtime Companion, is straight but has been a friend of the LGBT community for decades.
—Home for the Holidays (1995): Single parent Holly Hunter, whose life is in crisis, returns home to her dysfunctional family that Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning head. Said family includes gay brother Robert Downey Jr. to celebrate Thanksgiving—a decade before dysfunctional family comedies were all the rage. Jodie Foster—who has yet to officially come out, although she publicly thanked Cydney Bernard, the woman believed to be her partner, when accepting an award in 2007—directed. (The media reported the two split up the following year.)
—Mame (1974): Although it's not really a full-on holiday-themed movie, Lucille Ball sings (dreadfully) the holiday classic "We Need a Little Christmas" while temporarily donning a hideous Santa Claus mask, playing the title character in this bloated camp classic that is equally reviled and adored. (I'm firmly in the latter group.) Based on bisexual author Patrick Dennis' best-selling novel Auntie Mame as well as the subsequent stage play, 1958 film and hit 1966 musical version (with songs by gay composer/lyricist Jerry Herman), Mame was a notorious flop and signaled the end of Ball's movie career. However, dressed in Theodora Van Runkle's to-die-for drag queen-like costumes and chumming it up with Bea Arthur as bitchy gal pal Vera Charles, Ball is a lot more fun than she's been given credit for—and so is the movie.
Of related interest: For the complete inside scoop on all kinds of holiday movies, look no further than out author Alonso Duralde's delightful Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas—the first in-depth guide to holiday films and a must read for Christmas movie junkies (like moi). www.alonsoduralde.com
(Note: Portions of some of my capsule reviews appeared in an earlier issue of Windy City Times.)
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitymediagroup.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter website.
