The original 1953 play is somewhat dated although still relevant, since it openly confronts the topic of sexual orientation among 17-year old boys at a New England prep school. The word "homosexual" is used in the text, which had to be pretty shocking back in '53 and still packs a wallop even today. I saw the '07 Keen production off-Broadway as well as a 2012 staging in Chicago. One of the characters in the play, a teacher named David Harris, is forced to resign over an incident with Tom Lee, a student, involving nudity, which is described but not staged.
I saw the film for the first time at a local cinema in 1957 when I was 9 years old. It made a strong impression on me. However, it is considerably tamer than the play. The Harris character is not in the film, and sexual orientation is not discussed. Tom is portrayed as being gentle, shy, interested in music and theatre, and thought to be less masculine than the other guys. Shortly after seeing the film, I went to a local library and checked out the play. I was pretty stunned about what I read because at the time I had never heard of homosexuality.
TCM shows the film pretty regularly, multiple times a year, generally whenever they do a retrospective on the careers of either Vincente Minnelli or Deborah Kerr. |
