In 1927, a black & white non-talky film, Wings, was very popular. (Lindbergh had just flown the Atlantic.) It starred Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen plus Gary Cooper in a smallish but memorable role. It is set in WWI and basically focuses on the friendship of two fighter pilots. There is, of course, a death scene. During the death scene, the two heroes--Armstrong (Arlen) and Powell (Rogers)--exhibit tangible affection for each other. At this date of the early 21st century, it is difficult not to gild the scene with a homoerotic tone. It isn't simply the somewhat famous kiss (on the cheek) but the way the two men easily stroke each other's arms and neck and hair.
Ostensibly, they are competing over the affections of a hometown girl although on set, Cooper walked away with Bow's affections, at least temporarily, proving that nothing in Hollywood ever changes.
What about the homoerotic element? Here is where history and culture complicate matters. On the one hand, late Victorian/Edwardian culture didn't see anything odd or meaningful about men being extremely affectionate with each other. They mostly spent time with each other anyway. Clara Bow presumably said of Wings, "[It] is...a man's picture and I'm just the whipped cream on top of the pie." Smart lady.
On the other hand, late Victorian/Edwardian culture allowed for a great deal of behavior that either was clearly homosexual or bordered it, precisely because male affection was a norm. (Oscar Wilde created waves by bringing the lawsuit that ended in legal action that put him in jail. Otherwise, it is entirely possible that the public would have continued to ignore his peccadillos, like cheating on his wife with men.)
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| Not historical footage! |
Except they might have.
Or they just didn't care.
Wikipedia has no interest in the kissing scene though it does mention the unremarked-on (by critics) nudity. The movie was acclaimed for its aviation feats more than for its "oh, there's a plot?" plot.
More importantly, this is 1927. Pre-Hays Code Hollywood was far freer with its characters and made far more subtle and not so subtle references to sex than what came along. Josephine McKim swam nude in 1934 Tarzan, a film marketed to a general audience.
Pre-Hays Code Hollywood didn't care much about people getting offended (just getting people in the seats) and wouldn't have cared much now, not even about the constantly offended-by-everything Neo-Victorian left. Life is about risk, not about living in a whitewashed box.
That Hollywood lurks beneath Now Hollywood. Getting people in the seats thankfully wins in the long-run.
