| Another famous play with lesbian characters is the '64 The Killing of Sister George. In the pre-code movie era there are some pretty shocking scenes depicting lesbian activity in films. Two that I can think of off the top of my head are Queen Christina (1933) in which Greta Garbo kisses Elizabeth Allan full on the lips and The Sign of the Cross (1932) where Joyzelle begins to remove Elissa Landi's clothing, dances around her, and touches her intimately while Fredric March watches and is obviously aroused. Years later in the movies lesbian attraction had to be depicted more subtly, generally by a glance or a look, e.g., in Caged (1950) by Hope Emerson and Lee Patrick and in Walk on the Wild Side by Barbara Stanwyck. |
