Unter der Treppe

Hollywood went slumming into the gay demimonde of London with the 1969 film "Staircase". The result was a fascinating mess becoming one of the worst films ever to come out of the latter part or the end of the 1960's. Producer-Director Stanley Donen(whose work includes working with stars like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in "Charade"),had started out to make a small film about the human need for relationships in even the most desperate times. With the casting of Richard Burton and Rex Harrison as aging gay lovers,however,it turned into the kind of Hollywood tribute to "the little people" that inevitably comes off phony. There was too much talent involved in this film not display moments of insight,but as a whole the picture left audiences wondering just who was the intended audience for it. And furthermore,who would have thought that two of the greatest actors in the history of film cinema---Richard Burton("Cleopatra","Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?", "Becket"),and Rex Harrison("The Ghost and Mrs. Muir","Cleopatra","My Fair Lady",and Doctor Doolittle")stoop to a piece of dung like this to even knowing that their careers would be jeopardize by this?

However,Stanley Donen must have felt the same way after seeing the original London production starring Paul Scofield and Patrick Magee. When "Staircase" came out in 1969,and with the decline in film censorship,Hollywood was opening up to films about the subject of homosexuality. Whereas previous literary properties with gay or lesbian characters had been avoided or "straightened out" by the big studios. By the late 60's,such prominent works as D.H. Lawrence's novella "The Fox",Carson McCullers' "Reflections In A Golden Eye",and John Herbert's play "Fortune and Men's Eyes",not to mention the stage version of "The Killing of Sister George" were all brought to the screen with a certain degree of faithfulness. In that spirit,20th Century-Fox agreed to take on the film version of "Staircase". The result was one of the biggest mistake Richard Burton and Rex Harrison ever did,resulting in becoming one of the worst films of the year,since "Staircase" came out in around Christmas of 1969. Along with it the bad reviews this movie received especially by some critics who blame director Stanley Donen for making Burton and Harrison exploitations of a sideshow attraction. To make things even worst getting stage veterans Cathleen Nesbitt and Beatrix Lehmann as the strong supporting mothers was probably the best part of the whole movies,since they actually stole the show. The rest of it was a bonafide mess. Check it the musical score composed by Dudley Moore-- yes,that Dudley Moore(from the "10" and "Arthur" movies).

When I think of how hard it is even now to cast heterosexual men in gay roles just the fact that Richard Burton and Rex Harrison consented to play gay in Staircase might make this a landmark film of some note. But a lot of the ground covered in Staircase was far better done in Boys In The Band a much better work. Charles Dyer's play only ran 61 performances on Broadway even with Milo O'Shea and Eli Wallach in the roles that Burton and Harrison do.

Two of the most aggressively heterosexual men in the history of film star as a pair aging hairdressers who live together over their shop where Burton's mother whom he takes care of. These two are sadly aware that youth trumps all in the gay male culture. Burton's taking it far worse because he's grown bald and is afraid to show his new Kojak like looks. He goes nearly the entire film with some kind of skullcap that makes him look like a conehead who met with an accident.

Dyer himself expanded his two person show to include some small speaking parts. Cathleen Nesbitt is Burton's mom and she's a bedridden old crank that Burton is tied to. None of the others have any great speaking roles. Some blond trick Harrison picks up is involved in an extended scene with Burton, Harrison, and Nesbitt, but he has as much dialog as one of those extra Bowery Boys.

Boys In The Band has it way over Staircase other than actor's salaries.

Playful, occasionally moving, often funny comedy about a gay hairstylist and his lover/business partner living in London, an aging couple going on 30 years together who each jab at the others' ego like two bitchy woodpeckers--but who consistently lean on each other (and feed off each other) like two halves of the same person. Richard Burton and Rex Harrison were reportedly unhappy making this film, but they do manage to get a rhythm going that is rather infectious. Charles Dyer adapted his own "intimate" British play--and was probably reeling once his quaint, humble material got blown up on the big screen with major stars--yet his theatrical and literary pretensions are worked out charmingly, and some of his lines get big laughs. There are times when Burton seems more apt to go the distance personally with his character than Harrison is; then, in the very next scene, they flip and it's Harrison who takes off. The "plot" doesn't amount to much (Harrison's Charlie must attend court after being caught in lascivious garb at the same moment his estranged daughter is planning a visit), but to director Stanley Donen's credit the focus of the piece seldom wavers--we never even meet the daughter, which in this case is a blessing. The gay text is not handled madly or foolishly; Donen pairs the scenes down to quick, efficient little episodes, and this keeps the pacing brisk and gives the lead performances a nice edge (we never tire of them). Much ballyhoo was made over two heterosexual stars "camping it up" on screen, but I saw very little swishing. Dyer gets a few dramatic moments perfectly right, and he's written some good lines (such as when Harrison tells Burton, "I need someone new now and then"). The finer sequences are not trampled on by Donen, nor by his editor. "Staircase" is pithy and beguiling and should resonate with audiences who don't mind a tentative mix of sassy humor, self-pity, impatient wisecracks, and a tearing down of vanity. **1/2 from ****

This was a poor play,so naturally it made a poor movie.The casting was amiss. Harrison and Burton were two of the centuries finest actors, but, also two of the centuries most notorious womanizers, Harrison tries his best but manages only to give a few honest moments. Burton does not even accomplish that much. a total homosexual stereotype that would be more appropriate to a farce. Cathleen Nesbitt as Burton's mother gives the only honest portrayal in the film.But why blame the actors? It all boils down to the direction. a director is the controlling force of a film. if he could not evoke honest portrayals it rest on his head. ( AND THE AUTHOR.). a waste of talent in a poor production.

I don't know what movie the other reviewers were watching, or why they are so bitter. I agree completely with the contemporaneous reviews, which praised the movie highly. Two fine actors spend the entire movie, out of their normal characters, showing off to each other and producing a gem as a result. The contrast between Burton's prissy old woman and Harrison's aging swish -- that so embarrassed the Burton character -- was wonderfully portrayed. Yet they managed to demonstrate that querulous yet enduring relationship that often results between an aging couple that experience each other's foibles, constantly express annoyance at them, and yet have too much basic affection to part. This is a marvelous movie, and I regret that I can't find it on video to share with others.

Maybe it's that I'm not gay that allows me to appreciate the fine craft it exhibits, since it doesn't threaten me personally.