The "Sissy" Stereotype in Classic Hollywood
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- In a time when homosexuality was illegal, 1930s Classic Hollywood films commonly had so-called “sissy” characters. Clearly coded as gay, their effeminate demeanor was presented for laughs and ridicule. While these characters were meant to be mocked, they triumphed in their own way. They were bold in expressing their identity, were typically engaged in careers they were passionate about, and lived how they pleased, without caring what anyone thought of them.
Timestamped list of films below.
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Films and Actors (when known) in Order of Appearance
Opening
Soda Squirt (1933)
Wonder Bar (1934)
After First Title Card/00:00:28
Call Her Savage (1932)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Franklin Pangborn in International House (1933)
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Hell’s Highway (1932)
After Second Title Card/00:01:27
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Drew Demorest in The Broadway Melody (1929)
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Franklin Pangborn in Only Yesterday (1933)
00:02:03
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Drew Demorest in The Broadway Melody (1929)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Drew Demorest in The Broadway Melody (1929)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
00:03:02
Coming Out Party (1934)
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Coming Out Party (1934)
Franklin Pangborn in International House (1933)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Franklin Pangborn in Professional Sweetheart (1933)
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
00:04:04
Bobby Watson in Manhattan Parade (1931)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Soda Squirt (1933)
Harold Minjir in The Public Enemy (1931)
Our Modern Maidens (1929)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
00:05:04
Harold Minjir in The Public Enemy (1931)
Tyrell Davis in Our Betters (1933)
Call Her Savage (1932)
Soda Squirt (1933) - Фільми й анімація
As far as homophobic stereotypes go, these seem rather tame compared to later depictions in the allegedly enlightened 80’s-00’s.
In the 00's it was downright demonic, specially in comedy
Why is it homophobic?
@@twsbibanghorn7343it's meant to be to the ratings boards and people looking face value at it in reality it was probably repping the director or a ton of closeted actors in the films
who calls the 80s - 00s enlightened lol
Ironic considering how many macho actors were actually gay
Yes…
h'eh , h'eh the few real straights in follywood were a real minority
That was the point. Hollywood providing MISDIRECTION to protect the real gays and their activity. Can’t identify what you do know what you’re looking at.
Not so many.
I think they're called 'tops'.
After they strengthened the Production Code in 1934, those types of characters were pretty much banned from the movies.
They were still there, it's just that the characterizations were not as centralized.
I wouldn’t say “strengthen”. It was a form of censorship that I believed undermined the film industry in some ways.
@@chigal0926 In quite a lot of ways. Your video included clips from "Call Her Savage," "International House" and "Wonder Bar," three of the masterpieces of the so-called "pre-Code" era.
@chigal0926 Yeah, I'm not sure there actually was a code before 1934. Some silent movies would have been controversial if made, well not now, but certainly up to 20 years ago.
And then came Queer Coding, and the public image of the mincing evil queen still follows us around to this day so much that it’s identified with and carried on by those who need to be something.
Confusing times: Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) was gay. But Jonathan Harris (Lost In Space) was straight.
Harris spoke with the old aristocratic NYC and Hudson Valley transatlantic style, like FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. He exaggerated it horrendously for Dr. Smith, making Smith one of the creepiest characters ever.
It was very verboten for actual masculine gay men to appear on the screens in those days, only the exaggerated effeminate ones were shown, as the post says, to be ridiculed and laughed at.
Interesting how things were inverted later: Rock Hudson was told to walk less effeminately or he couldn’t get work.
@@brianarbenz7206Because of the Hayes code that put the kibbutz on all the gaiety!
@@danityvanityinsanity You meant kibosh... I love it!
@@brianarbenz7206Apparently he was a nervous wreck through worrying that he'd be "discovered". The studio found that a newspaper were preparing to print an exposé, so they did a dral where they threw Tab Hunter to the wolves instead.
@@brianarbenz7206 Rock Hudson walking effeminately....? Really? First time I heard that. He always looked very masculine in his demeanor.
You can hear the director in the background saying "Not swishy enough."
So what's changed, girlfriend?
One thing, though: the queen of movie sissy stereotypes, the great Franklin Pangborn, actually fought in a war, which is more than John Wayne or Ronald Reagan can say.
Battle of Argonne (WW I)
I recognize Mr Pangborn, but, unfortunately, none of the other LGBTQ actors. Can anyone provide information as to the others' identity?
Actor and film details by time stamp are in the description
John Wayne's super macho patriot act was nauseating and hypocritical; he did not enlist because of his affair with Dietrich (yet in the 1970s was critical of draft dodgers) and he was afraid being gone from Hollywood would damage his acting career. Well, he was probably right about that - he was not a very talented actor ( to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, "He ran the gamut of emotions from A to B."). My belief is that his super conservative patriot act was mainly an attempt to keep desperately hang on to fame.
@@jeraldbaxter3532 Actually, Wayne couldn't serve because he was A) Overage and B) Had suffered a serious back injury while playing football. Facts are tough. They're even tougher when you're stupid.
WOW 30s gays must have been superqueens.
Dolly Parton did little song about it: Baby I'm Burnin!
ROFLMAO
In old movies if flowers or perfume is associated with a man, that meant that character was gay.
In the movie the Maltese falcon, thePeter Laurie character, Mr. Cairo, left a business card which Humphrey Bogart Secretary said it smelled like perfume. That meant he was gay. If I’m not mistaken, the novel the Maltese falcon, Mr Cairo was blatantly homosexual
The thing that impressed me about the book was how closely it matched the film (unlike modern adaptations). There was a bit where Spade mused about Cairo's background and used language that would be considered somewhat derogatory these days (I can't remember what word exactly, possibly "pansy") but it wasn't a long passage and much of it was in Spade's head so would have required narration which comes off as clumsy if overused. It didn't change the story or the character of Joel Cairo much and was probably put in the novel as sensational fanservice and removed from the movie for the same reason.
haven't read _TMF_ since that detective fiction class in 197something, and back then i probably missed the "clues". time for a re-read.
@@deboralee1623 In the book, Spade noticed Cairo's chypre fragrance. I the movie, it was changed to gardenia. I suppose John Huston decided (probably correctly) the audience would recognize the flower more readily. What Spade's ID of chypre tells us in the book is, Spade isn't quite the average Joe he wants to pretend he is. He's exceptionally observant, and has a sophisticated knowledge of fragrances.
You're quite right. After the Hayes Code of 1934, Hollywood had to be much more subtle in implying homosexuality or the movie would not pass.
@@iainsanA lot of movies had to depart from their source novels quite drastically after the code for all sorts of reasons. The climactic twist in "Rebecca" was watered down for the movie, making it less shocking that in the book.
There's a Western from the 50s where a gets off a stagecoach as a deputy watches. Someone later asks him who the woman was, where she went: the deputy replies "What woman?" The other man laughs, and they all carry on talking.
Just goes to show us that we've always been here.
Something worth mentioning: a lot of these stereotypes were heavily influenced by Oscar Wilde. His apogee and fall in the 1890s was in living memory in the 1920s and 1930s and was the most famous homosexual scandal of the era - at a time when it was rarely discussed openly - and so his imagine and personality formed the template for these characters.
I remember the grief they gave Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde in the 60s.
And they were always my faves on Hollywood Squares and Matchgame!
Richard Dawson was everyone else's pick, but I never quite trusted him. I'm not sure why!
@@whereisyourhumanity7557Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynch were witty, but never really gave the impression that they were impressed by themselves, whereas Richard Dawson thought he was a suave and handsome Romeo, but the truth was, he was not as charming and attractive as he thought. His awkward kissing the women contestants on "Family Feud" was cringeworthy.
@@jeraldbaxter3532 If you actually watched Family Feud regularly, you would know that Dawson never kissed anyone who didn't want to be kissed. In fact, almost all of the women contestants actively invited kisses from him, often requesting extras for friends or family. In point of fact, he consulted with the contestants before the show, and never kissed anyone without their expressed permission. BTW, it was Paul Lynde, not Lynch.
my post is off-topic, but what the heck.
as i misremember, _Sesame Street_ aired an episode of _Family Food_. in it, Dawson kissed all the female contestants, but not the male one...until he said something along the lines of, "Say, Richard, what about me?"
the Muppet contestant received his kiss, then it was "tiiime to play the FOOD!"
Stop the I’m a victim. You did what you did to survive. Please. You find a place In The world. It culled the herd
I wouldn't say "sissy" so much as they are "Sassy", "over-the-top" or "Feminine." This is hilarious! Also, the cartoon comes from the 1930-1932 series "Flip the Frog."
And if you want to laugh and ridicule straight people, watch old reruns of The Newlywed Game.
Or really, any family sitcom made in the 1980s and 1990s. Married...With Children and The Simpsons are perennial favorites.
Tyrell Davis is recorded as being married to one Lota B. Cheek. Now there’s a story I’d want to hear
There is so many closeted men in Hollywood. Still to this day.
I’ve always loved Ernest. “Passion!”
This is fascinating stuff, thanks for posting. Interestingly, even straight (as far as I know) actors like George Raft could be subject to merciless ridicule by audiences for perceived "effeminate" traits. According to the journalist Joseph Mitchell (I highly recommend the collection "Up in the Old Hotel" if you like old New York stories) the Bowery winos would absolutely start howling anti-gay slurs at the screen whenever Raft would do one of his signature dance routines.
Carole Lombard said George Raft was the best lover in Hollywood. Clark Gable the worst.
Would be funny to ironically make a reinterperation of this character archtype in 21 century story
There's a great documentary about the Swedish side of this era called Prejudice & Pride - Swedish Film Queer, which I can recommend watching. It starts with Mauritz Stiller 1916 film Vingarne and goes forward to our day and age.
To me one of the best (if unintentional) was Dr. Praetorius in “Bride of Frankenstein” portrayed by the inimitable Ernst Thesiger. If 1930s shade was embodied in one character, it was in that role.
Funnily enough, I have heard theories that Praetorious was intentionally coded as gay. The director for The Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale was gay in real life. I don’t think that Whale ever confirmed whether or not Praetorius was deliberately coded as gay but a lot of fans have speculated! 😅
My favorite was at 0:51! 😂 That scene was from International House starring WC Fields.
These characters are really flaming steretypes compared to most characters I've seen called "queercoded." It's pretty startling to see them in films of this period. The only one of the films I've seen excerpted here is The Public Enemy.
'The Bellboy', 1918 w /Fatty and Buster. Ahead of their time I guess.
What, no Bert Lahr?!?!? ...seen him in other movies besides playing the "Cowardly Lion"(come to think of it, the lion was effeminate too).
I was focusing on the Pre-Code era, but that's a good one!
@@watchingclassicmovies ...I know of 4 movies he did before 1934 (pre-code) and I have him in, "Flying High"(1933) on DVD. Bert Lahr's "Cowardly Lion" influences another feline, that pink-colored cartoon character, "Snagglepuss."
“I’m jutht a dandy-lion!”
This is a fantastic compilation of clips. My only suggestion would be that because the sound quality varies on these clips (such as the singing chambermaids from Call Her Savage) it would be great if the dialogue was captioned.
There are automatic captions if you switch on the CC feature. Sometimes they aren't very accurate, but they turned out pretty well for this video
Another great video!
LOVE the actor at 0:57 ( he re-appears here several times). I see his name was Bobby Watson & this film was called "Manhattan Parade."
The point is the ‘sissy’ type does exist in real life - even in this day and age - what the films do is perhaps exaggerate it slightly, for comic effect, invariably - it would be hard to do it for purposes of tragedy or high drama.
Funny - Reminds me of major corporations I’ve worked for. Lol!!!
🤣
To be typecast as an actor - sometimes it's successful.
How did these get passed the Hayes' Office?
The Hayes Code was not put into place until 1934. So a lot of these films predate 1934. If you are a fan of TMC, sometimes they will often show pre-code films featuring sissy or queer characters in great films from Germany, the UK, and the US.
I have always said the gayest line to ever get past.the Hayes Office was at the end of Some Like It Hot. Jack Lemmon, still in drag: “You know I’m a fella, right?” “Well, nobody’s perfect!”
@@charleholst3881 There's a Lou Holtz film where he says that he went to the ballet & a man walked on stage - Holtz then does a very strange seeies of steps, and says "Well there was a man's name in the program anyhow..."
You forgot to show the great crossdresing of Laurel & Hardy
These are hilarious. It would have been nice if each movie had been named.
The one I did recognize was International House starring WC Fields.
These demeaning gay caricatures remind me of how black actors show up in films of the period, these stereotypes are very revealing about American prejudice.
It's worse now if they openly support mutilating children. Walt Disney named names over less than this.
The thing is...I'm Gay & I find these stereotypes funny.
I'm bi and these actually offend me less than the preachy woke shit I see now, these are the gays I wanna see, cute, effeminate, not complete and total preverts.
@@ericalbany same here :3
They are very revealing about their time, and to insist tha NOTHING has changed AT ALL is a flatout lie. No we're not "there yet" but we're sure as hell not "back there either.
Can you list these movies to their clips? I would like to see them all
There's a timestamped list of movies in the description
Now, now don't let's be silly 😏
Isnt the actor at :57 (and other clips) the same one who played the bus pest in "It Happened One Night"? If so, I had no idea he had a period playing "sissies"
That's Bobby Watson; you're thinking of Roscoe Karns in It Happened One Night. They do look similar!
0:28 1930s femboys be like:
Off-topic, but where tf did "be like" start and why do people across all demographics use it?
@@akrenwinkle I have no idea.
Damn, they all have perfect DSL 😂😂
It’s not a stereotype if it’s true.
Didn't end with the Hays Code. Curt Bois as "Butch" in "Hollywood Hotel "1937 is a gem
I still prefer this over the modern gayness.
What does that mean?
@@jasonchambers4495 you know what I mean.
@@AbrasiousProductions I don't think we do. Define "modern gayness".
@@AbrasiousProductions I honestly don’t. You mean, like film and movies? In which case the portrayal is far more varied than it used to be, and certainly isn’t much of a monolith.
Anyone know the name of the actor who plays Ernest? Ive seen him in a few things but I cant quite remember.
Tyrell Davis. There's a timestamped list of the actors/films in the description if you're wondering about anyone else!
00:47 What did Mae West say? Captioning was no help.
The Cherry Sisters. She was referring to a sister act in vaudeville that was notoriously bad
@@watchingclassicmovies Thanks. On that note... I've noticed that many on these boards think Mae was supportive of gays, but I haven't come across any evidence. One famous anecdote about Mae (maybe true, maybe not) was her scolding policemen who were arresting gay men. "Remember, when you're hittin' them, you're hittin' a woman." Many likely thought then- and probably now- that gay men had a female mind in a male body, and lesbians had a male mind in a female body." These ancient absurdities don't exactly show support.
Is this all before the hays code because it seemed anything went before then.
Yes! This particular stereotype wasn't as obvious after code enforcement
The text goes way too fast in this video.
Thanks for the feedback!
It's a little ironic to think that this was supposed to be something "acid" humorous and we see with disdain how they portrayed this stereotype at that time. Buuut on the other hand, even today in the middle of 2024, there are people who are gay and act in the same way like in the video to be "funny" using the same humoe (I can name several who literally act the same way in the video). In a way they are acting the same as how they were portrayed, so how can humor that was supposed to be "prejudiced" exactly portray the way of certain guys act in the same way in real life ?
0:16 holy shit I can’t believe that they could be that overt about it in the 30’s.
Too butch for MY taste, honey! LOL!
What, no Edward Everett Horton??
It was called being a dandy back then.
Reminds me of Peewee Herman a bit
El problema es que hoy el movimiento queer fortalece todavia mas el estereotipo esperpéntico contra el cual, se supone, se luchaba.
OMG what has just happened here? Two hours ago I was watching a Steve Urkel reel then something about Palestine….. two hours later I end up here…. My head hurts, I feel dizzy… what happened in between I just can’t remember
🤣
These are parodies.
Early inclusivity, I say
let us not forget jesse woolworths son jimmy donahue but he wasn't a movie star, just as famous
Representation matters!
The limp wrist
And now for something completely different.....
Nothing Change 😵💫Still the Same 😬
Women don’t act that way
I was sorry you left out the sissy's transformation into a monster in the Soda Squirts cartoon, as it's the best part. The whole film is on UA-cam.
Wuhu!
In most of the clips, no queer was harmed😊
Who is Mr Skinner omg, hes so fine
C. Henry Gordon, "Hell's Highway"
Over the top annoying, that hasn’t changed.
Play nice!
0:57 is Ben Shapiro?😂
Gorgeous George=📺
Stewie
Fun
This is how men really are if they’re allowed to be!😃👍✨💖✨
Well that is the way Gays are today..no difference. Kinda sad really. Men without masculinity. I am old school Gay.....from the Rock Hudson days.
As a gay friend of mine once said to me, "I was born with balls. I'll act like I have them, not like a woman." Sounds like the two of you think much alike. As I said in a post above, "effeminate flamer" doesn't equal "homosexual" and never has. One is a choice of who you give your affections to, just as everyone does. The other is an act.
Everyone has preferences. Sometimes it's a mix of both. We shouldn't downplay others because they don't share what we like.
*See also Joe E. Brown's 'The Tenderfoot'. Performers dressed as fancy cowboys from a stage show enter a diner....*
*"They may be cowboys but they ain't from Texas!" (1932, just before the Hayes Code Restrictions)*
ua-cam.com/video/rh5De00xzdw/v-deo.html
Yeah..But no one knows what they really did ! 😵
ha ha ha😄