MovieChat Forums > All That Heaven Allows (1955) Discussion > Seeing this with 'Rock is gay' shades on...

Seeing this with 'Rock is gay' shades on adds some humor

posted 14 years ago by Felonious-Punk
22 replies | jump to latest

Beautiful movie. I also like the dimension of the actor playing the tree-grower being gay. It added humor to the scene in the old mill where Jane Wyman says "Someday you'll meet a girl", and Rock Hudson says "I've met a lot of girls", "But you just haven't met the right one yet, or maybe you aren't susceptible." He responds "No, I wouldn't say that." LOL But I would.

The closest movies to my heart: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=46910443

[–] angelsecret197 14 years ago

I also find it funny when they're in the car and Ron says something about how Mick learned how to be a man. Then Cary says "so you want me to be a man?" Then he says "only in that one way" I laughed.

"Life is a sexually transmitted disease."

[–] Felonious-Punk 14 years ago

Oh yeah, that's a great part!

The closest movies to my heart: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=46910443

[–] ida96 9 years ago

I noticed those moments as well. It's not a good enough movie, acting-wise, to distract you from adding your own subtext.

[–] twilliams2978 13 years ago

Guess it proves that Rock was a better actor than critics gave him credit for.

Tony

[–] aorourke55 13 years ago

This kind of thing always surprises me.

"So you want me to be a man?" sounds so odd to happen by coincidence but I would think the stigma back then would have made them afraid to mention it deliberately.

[–] DANEMOD 11 years ago

I don't think it's a coincidence; I think the line is in there to ANSWER the rumors about Hudson that were already very widespread in 1955. 1955 was also the year Rock married Phyllis Gates, a studio-suggested ploy that was also supposed to put an end to the rumors - and didn't.

Contrary to what a lot of people think today, 1955 was not an era where such things simply didn't occur to people. They did, and if an actor was exposed to the public as being gay, it usually meant the end of his career. A very few obvious gay men had careers as supporting actors then, but they were nearly always used as comic relief.

[–] aorourke55 11 years ago

Thanks for the explanation, that does make sense

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

What, no mention of the ubiquitous lumberjack shirts? And his reedy singing voice certainly suggested a lack of bass.

[–] Jay_Machado 10 years ago

Ron Kirby was a proto-Seattle Grunger, brah. 

[–] Felonious-Punk 13 years ago

Because this movie and many of Hudson's movies include a lot of over-the-top heterosexual macho male dialogue, as if just by looking at Rock the audience was supposed to know.

The closest movies to my heart: http://www.imdb.com/list/2dvIwYpAmd4/

[–] the sphynx 12 years ago

Yes, it does. How about Ron and Mick going to the cellar for a while to get the wine--did anyone else speculate why it was taking them so long? :) (Other than the chance for more character-revealing dialogue about Thoreau etc, I mean.)

[–] ksf-2 11 years ago

Check out "A Very Special Favor"...

As his psychiatrist, Leslie Caron's character actually says: "Hiding in the closet isn't going to cure you!"

[–] timhoward1111 11 years ago

I like most movies, but thought this one was pretty hokey. I too could not help but think Rock being gay. But, in 1955 he was a stone ground hunk and babes would be all over him. Maybe the movie is too dated for me, its still hokey. Of course, even back in 1955, Rock had every right to be gay.

As he way lying on the sofa and waking up from his coma, note how every hair was in place, smooth shaven and not a scratch on him, hokey!

[–] EliotTempleton 10 years ago

All I can say is that the OP is a nitwit. Rock Hudson was an actor who played roles, all of which happened to be hetero, as was the custom of the day. Why do you find that his off-screen life adds "humor"? Anthony Hopkins has proven that one doesn't have to be a psychopathic maniac to play one, and as Lily Tomlin replied to a reporter, who snidely asked her if it was "a stretch" to play a suburban housewife in Nashville, she said, "You don't have to be hetero to play one."

[–] Felonious-Punk 10 years ago

What's with the venom? Ask again with some manners and maybe you'll get a real answer. Of course, that is if that's what you're here for. Or maybe you're just here to insult.

My attempt to list the best movies of all-time: http://www.themoviecanon.blogspot.com

[–] EliotTempleton 10 years ago

My venom was caused by the foolishness of your remarks.

[–] Felonious-Punk 10 years ago

I give up. You don't get the joke and instead you're insulted by my pointing out that it's a pretty funny one. Good luck in that lightless world. :-)

My attempt to list the best movies of all-time: http://www.themoviecanon.blogspot.com

[–] KarlSwan 9 years ago

I'm gay man myself and I'm still laughing at your joke! In fact: I thought the same!
This soap opera was killing me (of laughter) and I couldn't take it seriously! I watched it because I had already seen: "There's Always Tomorrow" which I like! but this one was so overdone that I was making jokes inside my head out of it!

[–] Forlorn_Rage 9 years ago

Really? I actually thought this movie seemed rather toned down compared to the other movie and the color cinematography was absolutely sublime. I guess I need to see this movie again to make a fair comparison.

[–] stmarseille14-1 9 years ago

or your own issues.

[–] ida96 9 years ago

It's also true that we poor humans often can't completely distinguish the actor from the parts he plays. Thus we end up liking an actor who plays good guys, and hating ones who play villains. This is a vast over-simplification, but it does play into our perceptions of the actor and the role.

Some actors -- Sean Hayes, for instance -- keep their private lives out of the media because they feel that the less their audience knows about them personally, the more effective they can be as an actor.