'Gay Hollywood': TCM Spotlights Important Queer Films & Stars for Pride Month

Photos courtesy of Turner

Hollywood has always been simultaneously gay-friendly and homophobic, with depictions of queer characters prohibited from the screen thanks to the Hays Code of the '30s through the '60s, then struggling to catch up with the times well into the present.

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Still, many queer people found fame, fortune, and success both in front of and behind the camera, though they did so often by paying the price of living in The Celluloid Closet, as detailed in Vito Russo's landmark book and film of the same name.

Every Thursday in June, TCM will spotlight Gay Hollywood with entertainment journalist Dave Karger (left) and author and historian William Mann. FilmStruck will also present a Gay and Lesbian Cinema showcase, hosted by film critic Alonso Duralde. We caught up with Karger to discuss the love of classic films and Hollywood's first out male star, William Haines.

OUT: When did you get into classic films? And what drew you to them?

Dave Karger: I studied film as a college student at Duke University and fell in love with movies like Laura and On the Waterfront. When I moved to New York after graduation I hung around with a group of guys who were a few years older and they turned me on to some of the camp classics like Valley of the Dolls and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. I love the sense of comfort that a great classic film like The Heiress or The Razor's Edge provides.

What film star did you or do you identify with the most, and why?

I'd have to say Montgomery Clift because he seemed like a gentle soul who had many important and lasting friendships. And also because you all had me dress up as him for your OUT100 issue two years ago!

Bill Haines was such an interesting and important figure, but so little is known about him. Do you know if there have been any attempts to give him the biopic treatment? Who do you think would be a good choice to play him?

My TCM guest for this Gay Hollywood series is a terrific film historian named William Mann and he literally wrote the book on Billy Haines which is called Wisecracker. I think that biography would make for a fantastic movie and I could easily see Paul Rudd playing him. They share the same puckish charm

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Were you introduced to any films you had never heard of or seen through this process?

I wasn't familiar at all with The Loved One which is a crazy comedy from the '60s we're showing at the end of the month. It could be the gayest movie of all time. It's based on an Evelyn Waugh novel, has a screenplay by Christopher Isherwood, costars John Gielgud, and features cameos from Tab Hunter and Liberace. It's totally bonkers.

Favorite film?

From the world of classics it's All About Evewhich is simply brilliant. And from the modern era I'm a huge fan of Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. It's a unique portrait of friendship and Bill Murray is just priceless.