Earliest movie with a gay character?

[Toxylon]

AFAIK, there are hard-core gay sex scenes in some the earliest porn films ever made, from the early 1900’s.

[Casey1505]

@Wile_E

I think he was just metrosexual.

That’s what he told people, but he was lion.

[bup]

@Captain_Amazing

Here’s the description of Cairo in the book:

In the book, Sam Spade calls Cairo a fairy.

Also, there’s an earlier movie version - Maltese Falcon (1931). I have no idea if either Cairo or Wilmer is implied to be gay in that movie.

[Captain_Amazing]

@bup

In the book, Sam Spade calls Cairo a fairy.

Yes, he does. It also has the great line, “The boy spoke two words, the first a short guttural verb, the second, “you”.”

[DChord568]

@Eats_Crayons

The use of the stereotypical “pansy” nudge, nudge, wink, wink can be seen in all sort of silent films. Edit: always the object of derision for comedic effect.

Quite so. And a distinction should be made between this kind of fleeting reference and a film where a character’s gayness is a major part of the plot/action and is investigated further.

For example, in a very early (1927) Laurel and Hardy silent “With Love and Hisses” (made before The Boys had been officially teamed and their standard characters fixed in stone), Stan Laurel plays a soldier with definite pansy characteristics.

When drill sergeant James Finlayson makes some abrupt gestures intended to get Stan to fall in line, the latter misinterprets them as some kind of come-on and reacts with a coy smile and some rather shocking moves in response – which of course only increases Fin’s rage.

But nothing more is made of this for the rest of the film. As noted, this was a standard “bit” in hundreds of silent films.

[Number]

@Wile_E

I think he was just metrosexual.

He was, more precisely, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayersexual.

[TWDuke]

Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)? No, probably not.

Here’s what’s left of "Different from the Others, starring Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Casablanca).

[Mahaloth]

@TWDuke

Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)? No, probably not.

We have a winner!

[Eats_Crayons]

@Lamia

I don’t remember the ending celebrating the lesbian characters, but the movie is definitely sympathetic to them.

Hm. You’re right, I saw it about 20 years ago and may be misremembering. I think the girls may have been celebrating the successful rescue of the would-be suicide. I just remember lots of happy hugging and smiling as if they’d just won the world cup.

[samclem]

@RealityChuck

It’s not speculation: Bogart calls Wilmer a gunsel, which at the time* meant a young homosexual who was kept by an older man. Gutman does not dispute that assessment.

*The meaning of “gunman” is first cited in 1950 in the OED; “homosexual” dates from 1914. The Maltese Falcon, of course, first appeared in novel form in 1930.

@Captain_Amazing

Here’s the description of Cairo in the book:

Mr. Joel Cairo was a small-boned dark man of medium height. His hair was black and smooth and very glossy. His features were Levantine. A square-cut ruby, its sides paralleled by four baguette diamonds, gleamed against the deep green of his cravat. His black coat, cut tight to narrow shoulders, flared a little over slightly plump hips. His trousers fitted his round legs more snugly than was the current fashion. The uppers of his patent-leater shoes were hidden by fawn spats. He held a black derby hat in a chamois-gloved hand and came towards Spade with short, mincing, bobbing steps. The fragrance of chypre came with him. . . .

Cairo bowed elaborately over his hat, said “I thank you,” in a high-pitched thin voice and sat down. He sat down primly, crossing his ankles, placing his hat on his knees, and began to draw off his yellow gloves. . . . .

Cairo turned his hat over, dropping his gloves into it, and placed it bottom-up on the corner of the desk nearest him. Diamonds twinkled on the second and fourth fingers of his left hand, a ruby that matched the one in his tie even to the surrounding diamonds on the third finger of his right hand. His hands were soft and well cared for. Though they were not large their flaccid bluntness made them seem clumsy. He rubbed his palms together and said over the whispering sound they made: “May a stranger offer condolences for your partner’s unfortunate death?”

BTW, Wilmer is also described as a “punk”, which was also slang for a receptive gay man.

Just to add to what was written above, here’s a quote from The Historical Dictionary of American Slang by Jon Lighter

1928: A gunsel is a punk and a punk is a poofter and a poofter is a pratter and a pratter is similar to a fruiter. The only difference betwen the two is that likes to “sit” on it, and the other likes to “eat” it.

Ain’t nothin’ new under the sun.

[Girl_From_Mars]

This is probably too late, but The Children’s Hour from 1961 with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine shows a relationship where at least one of them is a lesbian.