User reviews

First documentary (I believe) on TV that dealt with homosexuals. It was hosted by Mike Wallace and looks at the homosexual "problem". This was done before Stomewall so some of the misinformation and views are incredible.

First off most Americans believe that homosexuality (the word "gay" is never used) is a harmful serious problem--worse than adultery, abortion and prostitution. When this was made you could get arrested for homosexual acts. If you did it more than three times it led to life imprisonment! Most Americans thought it was an illness that could be cured and should never happen--even between consenting adults in private. All thought it should be punished. There's a lecture from a psychiatrist who makes it clear that this "behavior" is learned... I could go on but I think you get the idea. Every single myth and outright lies about gays is put out as truth. The only thing that makes this bearable is it is presented in an objective way and doesn't make any judgment calls. Still it's scary to think that people believed this all those years ago.

I have no sorrow for the death of that homophobic bigot Mike Wallace. He knew that documentary was rabidly biased and homophobic, even for its day. Full of falsehoods, lies and propaganda. Why didn't he make an up-dated documentary and set the record "straight" and expose all the indignities, misinformation and outright irrational homophobic fear and hate before he died ? Because he was an old bigot and did not care about gay people....then or now ! Furthermore, he was a Jew and should have known better ! Did he not get it ? Look what happened in Nazi Germany, only 30 years before this twisted broadcast was produced. People were scapegoated, terrorized, tortured and murdered because they were despised, hated and seen as vermin. Did he not see the analogy of an intolerant and evil greater society at large towards vulnerable and oppressed minorities with it ? He has an almost "smug" apathetic and personal condescending attitude in his actions and expressions towards all the brave gay men that went on camera and spoke of their sexuality and plight. Back then, most were disguised for fear of physical harm, lives being destroyed and even being murdered for daring to speak-up and declare yourself gay. The one very handsome young man that went on camera free of any "mask" was truly brave, admirable and worthy of my full respect as a human being.

This documentary, made in black and white, was considered controversial at the time. Today it might be thought of as rather tame, but what it does do is give an insight into the way times and social mores have changed with particular reference to male homosexuality in America, and sadly throughout most of the Western world.

Among those Mike Wallace talks to is Gore Vidal, whose views on the subject were almost certainly shaped by his own sexuality. What is most noticeable about this programme is the attitude of mainstream homosexuals who did not insist they were "gay" - a euphemism that was seldom used then even though it had been around since the 1930s. They did not want to "come out" or to force acceptance of their lifestyle on the public. They even supported laws which criminalised open displays of homosexuality; all they wanted was the right to practise their form of sex in the privacy of their own homes. That sounds totally reasonable today, but alas times really have changed.