www.gay-sd.com
FILM Repressed heat and Salt on a fresh wound FILM REVIEW Rating Key
VISIONARY MASTERWORK A MUST SEE WORTH A LOOK GLAUCOMIC
SCOTT MARKS
OUTING the MOVIES
the table. At the club Franz clob- bers a creepy rival for his wife’s affection and is sent to prison. The lug dies and Franz is given a three-year sentence for involun- tary manslaughter. With no one to turn to, Steinau (Gunnar Tolnæs), Franz’s wrongly convicted former cellmate vows to help Helene. There are many visually
“Sex in Chains” (1928)
Directed by: William Dieterle Written by: Herbert Juttke, Georg C. Klaren
Starring: William Dieterle, Gunnar Tolnæs, Mary Johnson and Paul Henckels Available on DVD from Kino Video
Rating: For a change of pace, I
thought it would be fun to visit to the Paleozoic era of cinema and talk about one of the earliest gay- themed films ever produced, the silent German prison drama “Sex in Chains.” It’s a fascinating historical
artifact, but as drama “Sex” doesn’t amount to much more than a well-intentioned message picture with isolated bursts of
inter-prisoner contact, it’s daring enough to mention the unmen- tionable: When you cage a bunch of men and deny them women, love happens. Several years ago Kino Video
released four films packaged under the subheading, “Gay- Themed Films of the Silent Era” that were, to say the least, dicey in their day. Included in the set were G.W. Pabst’s “Diary of a Lost Girl,” Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Michael,” Richard Oswald’s “Dif- ferent from the Others” and Wil- liam Dieterle’s “Sex in Chains.” Of all the director’s working
at Warner Bros. in the 1930’s, only Raoul Walsh came close to Dieterle’s visual involvement in his subject matter. Although Mi- chael Curtiz gets the lion’s share of the glory, it is Dieterle, with his undeniable flair for illustrative
A fellow inmate informs Franz that he’s, ‘lived to see someone unman himself, just so he could finally sleep.’
storytelling that remains the least lauded member of the studio’s directorial roster. In “Hollywood Directors,” author Jean-Pierre Coursodon observes that early on in his American career German born Dieterle was forced to tell his stories through pictures in order to compensate for his in- ability to speak English. Not only does Dieterle act
visual brilliance and unexpected sexual candor. It moves along at a steady clip until about two-thirds of the way through when we be- gin being bombarded by lectures over prisoner’s rights. “Is it not to weep when millions are spent to help horses, cats and dogs, and so little for the betterment of men?” Please. These guys are not in prison for stealing flies from blind spiders. And while the film ultimately endorses con- jugal visits with the wives over
as “Sex and Chains” director, he also stars as Franz Sommer, an unemployed engineer desper- ate for work. When first we see Helene (Mary Johnson) polishing Franz’s nameplate it’s uncertain whether she’s his wife or a hard working servant girl. (Back then was there a difference?) A friend tips Franz to a commission-based door-to-door vacuum salesman gig. It doesn’t pan out and Helene is forced to accept work as a ciga- rette girl in order to put food on
enthralling, satirically sharp-eyed touches scattered throughout. A foreboding white cat hisses dan- ger at Franz’s first house call. His dour boss insists that Franz keep smiling. A hungry and penniless Franz pretends to eat a serving knife gifted by his father-in-law in order to prove one needs money, not cutlery to avoid famine. You’ll also find a parade of pre-code don’ts to satisfy your curiosity. Convicts form table scraps in the shape of a nude woman. In a fit of romantic longing for his wife, Franz dreams of himself at home in their marital bed. It doesn’t help when a fellow inmate informs Franz that he’s, “lived to see someone unman himself, just so he could finally sleep.” If there is one point this film
POPCORN’S BETTER THAN THE MOVIE Angelina Jolie in “Salt” In spite of this summer’s
gets across quite well it is that of the sexual longing between caged convicts. The graceful dissolves that punctuate Franz and He- lene’s dreams are breathtakingly executed. Sadly, they are as illusory as the couple’s thoughts of romanti- cally hooking up while he is in prison for even as Franz discovers the pros of loving a con, Helene is finding comfort in the arms of old pal Steinau. Even though Franz and Helene are eventually allowed a booty call (the warden and his fam- ily take their tea in the other room to give the couple their privacy) it is all for naught. Guilt has plunged Helene to her emotional lowest and made it equally impossible for Franz to perform. Will Steinau convince Franz
to release Helene from his heart? Will Franz and Helene ever have a “normal” relationship or was being taught the language of love by a group of burly convicts too much for Franz’s libido to endure? Put it in your Netflix queue and find out.☭
abysmal movie crop, Hollywood still insists on pouring “Salt” on filmgoers’ wounds. Angelina Jolie is back in ac-
tion as CIA officer Evelyn Salt. The North Koreans hold Salt captive and can torture her all they want: her outthrust lips are sealed. After an exchange of pris- oners puts her back on American soil, Salt is fingered by a Russian defector as a double agent set to kill the Russian president. As with any good Commie defector worth his salt, his shoe comes equipped with a deadly retract-
see Salt, pg 18
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“Salt” (2010)
Directed by: Philip Noyce Written by: Kurt Wimmer Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski and Andre Braugher
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