Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 July 4

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July 4

What is the first movie to mention the word homosexual?

What is the first movie to mention the word homosexual? Neptunekh2 (talk) 01:00, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Victim (1961), starring Dirk Bogarde. Tevildo (talk) 01:04, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

I assume you meant an English language entertainment film. I believe Nazi propaganda films mentioned them as one class of people who were "undermining the Aryan race", and I bet mental health documentaries used the word earlier in English. StuRat (talk) 01:15, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

The terms "homosexuell" and "gleichgeschlechtlich" (literal German translation) were used in German before the Nazis. Different from the Others (Anders als die andern) was an early cinematic example, including a notable apperance of Magnus Hirschfeld. I can't find the original German wording of one of his quotes given in the article:

"You must not condemn your son because he is a homosexual, he is not to blame for his orientation. It is not wrong, nor should it be a crime. Indeed, it is not even an illness, merely a variation, and one that is common to all of nature."

Possibly he even uses the word "homosexuell". Will search for clips to verify later (no audio, currently). ---Sluzzelin talk 03:51, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Update: He does use the word "homosexuell" (not in spoken words — duh me — but on the original title cards, as quoted in this original summary, possibly written by Hirschfeld himself). So the Greek loanword, in its German variety, had already been used in a film from 1919. ---Sluzzelin talk 05:54, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

I've added this information to the Victim article. Tevildo (talk) 08:07, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Of course, even prior to using the word homosexual, there have been obviously homosexual characters protrayed in film, see The Maltese Falcon where Joel Cairo and Kaspar Gutman (Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet respecitvely) are clearly and rather unambiguously protrayed as a homosexual couple. --Jayron32 04:05, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Yes, of course, but the question is about when it first became acceptable to use the word openly in films. StuRat (talk) 07:04, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Not quite the answer maybe, but check out this clip from 1938's Bringing Up Baby at about 1:30 ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:05, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Interesting. Is "gay" used in the modern sense? After all, Mr Grant is wearing female attire at the time... Tevildo (talk) 21:46, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

"Gay" crops up in the queerest of places in an anachronistic way. My absolute favourite is Franz Lehár's song "Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss" from his 1925 operetta Paganini, made famous by Richard Tauber. It contains the peerless line:

• Am I ashamed to follow Nature's way? Shall I be blamed if God has made me gay?

But it has nothing to do with homosexuality. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 22:00, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

cf: Sonnet 20? --Shirt58 (talk) 10:31, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

In The Maltese Falcon, the character of Wilmer Cook is referred to as a "gunsel", which means a young man kept for an older man's pleasure. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 17:37, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

James Ellroy uses the term "gunsel" a lot, but to only to refer to a young gangster - gunsel explains both of these usages. --Shirt58 (talk) 10:10, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Has there been a movie this year that has a actor over the age of 65 in a lead role?

Has there been a movie this year that has a actor over the age of 65 in a lead role? Neptunekh2 (talk) 01:46, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

81 year old Ed Asner plays Warren Buffet in the TV movie "Too Big to Fail". Not sure if it's a lead role, though. StuRat (talk) 02:00, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Moreover: Rutger Hauer (67) in Hobo with a Shotgun, Louis Gossett Jr. (75) in The Grace Card (released this year), Anthony Hopkins (73) in The Rite (not sure about the "leadiness" of Hopkins' part there, haven't seen the film). ---Sluzzelin talk 02:21, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

note: obviously I haven't seen The Grace Card either. I'm not sure Louis Gossett, Jr. plays what could be considered a lead part. I was misled by the fact that he is often listed top of the cast, including in our various articles (of course, that's not a very reliable indicator). ---Sluzzelin talk 06:10, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Henry Fonda (76) in On Golden Pond, plus he won the Oscar. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:39, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

George Burns in Oh, God! Book II and Oh, God! You Devil, 88 when that last one was released. Oops, not this year. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:43, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

In 1985, the film Cocoon starred Don Ameche who was 77 at the time. Co-stars Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy were 74 and 76 respectively; and all three went on to star in the 1988 sequel Cocoon: The Return. Cronyn and Tandy also played the lead roles in *batteries not included in 1987, and Tandy played Miss Daisy in 1989's Driving Miss Daisy, for which Tandy won the Best Actress Oscar - the oldest winner to date. Unfortunately, none of these films are this year's.178.84.139.241 (talk) 06:10, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Hopkins is certainly being marketed as the lead actor in The Rite: his is the only name above the title on the poster, and he's listed first in the cast on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.[1][2] --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:20, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

• Harrison Ford is in the upcoming Cowboys & Aliens (film) but I'm not sure how big of a role he plays. Hot Stop (c) 06:28, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Charlotte Rampling is 65 and stars in this year's The Eye of the Storm (2011 film), alongside 64 year old Geoffrey Rush. --Roisterer (talk) 07:50, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Clint Eastwood starred in Space Cowboys at age 70, Million Dollar Baby at age 74, and Gran Torino at age 78. anonymous6494 18:14, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

The question was specifically about this year. But Morgan Freeman was 72 in Invictus (film). And last year's Red (2010 film) featured Freeman and Helen Mirren. Hot Stop (c) 18:36, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Another one to be considered is the soon-to-be-released film Carmel in which Lauren Bacall (86) will be playing what appears to be a prominent part. ---Sluzzelin talk 23:06, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

It's a TV movie, but Betty White starred in The Lost Valentine this year. And of course she is still active in other movies and on TV too. Adam Bishop (talk) 06:58, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Snoop Dogg in The Wire?

I've been re-watching The Wire and today's episode is Season 1's The Cost. Right near the start, before the titles roll, is a scene where the character Bubbles is sitting on a park bench. A tall passerby, who says "What's up Bubs?", really looks like rapper and sometimes actor, Snoop Dogg. Since neither Snoop Dogg , or his real name, appear in the cast list, did Snoop put in an uncredited cameo in this episode of The Wire, or am I confusing him with someone merely similar in appearence? 178.84.139.241 (talk) 05:53, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

What are these movies

These plots sound interesting but IDK the title of either. PLOT 1:A large Halloween mask-making company has plans to kill millions of American children with something sinister hidden in Halloween masks.PLOT 2:A slightly disturbed and painfully shy young girl is sent away to summer camp with her cousin. Not long after their arrival, things start to go horribly wrong as campers turn up murdered in grisly fashions. I would be very grateful for the help thanks. --70.253.166.9 (talk) 06:57, 4 July 2011 (UTC)@FilmGuySuper8 (via Twitter)

I'm goping out on a limb and presuming plot 1 is Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Plot 2 could be any one of about 12 films. --Roisterer (talk) 07:17, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

#2 is Sleepaway Camp. Tevildo (talk) 07:44, 4 July 2011 (UTC)