[6]

Vincente Minnelli sheds a bright light on gender politics in this story of a bullied teenager who finds solace with his college housemaster’s wife. It is fascinating to watch a film deal with mysogyny and homophobia at a time when these words were barely in our collective vocabulary. It’s even more remarkable that this film, made during the height of rigid gender codes, asks the audience to identify with a male protagonist whose sexuality is constantly being questioned or assaulted.

While I admire the movie’s intentions, many of the scenes come off overwrought or a tad campy. Deborah Kerr does a fine job playing the housemaster’s wife and John Kerr (no relation) does an admirable job as the harrassed boy. Both roles are surprisingly complex and vulnerable for a flick from the ’50s. The movie’s opening and closing theme music was later reworked by Elvis Presley into the song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”