The Homosexuals

Episode aired Mar 7, 1967
43m

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Mike Wallace interviews homosexual men (who remain anonymous) and members of the Mattachine Society, whose chief aim is the reform of restrictive U.S. laws. Albert Goldman, Gore Vidal and Se... Read allMike Wallace interviews homosexual men (who remain anonymous) and members of the Mattachine Society, whose chief aim is the reform of restrictive U.S. laws. Albert Goldman, Gore Vidal and Secretary of State Dean Rusk are interviewed.Mike Wallace interviews homosexual men (who remain anonymous) and members of the Mattachine Society, whose chief aim is the reform of restrictive U.S. laws. Albert Goldman, Gore Vidal and Secretary of State Dean Rusk are interviewed.

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IMDb RATING

4.6/10

YOUR RATING

3User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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Mike Wallace

Self - Correspondent

William Baer

Self - Fordham University
(as Father William Baer)

Irving Bieber

Self
(as Dr. Irving Bieber)

James Braxton Craven

Self
(as Judge James Braxton Craven)

James Fisk

Self - LAPD
(as Inspector James Fisk)

Albert Goldman

Self
(as Prof. Albert Goldman)

Franklin Kameny

Self
(as Dr. Franklin Kameny)

Wayne Kidwell

Self - Ada County Prosecutor

Hal Kohl

Self - Mattachine Society Head

Jack Nichols

Self
(as Warren Adkins)

Robert Bruce Pierce

Self
(as Rev. Robert Bruce Pierce)

Dean Rusk

Self
(archive footage)

Charles Socarides

Self
(as Dr. Charles Socarides)

Gore Vidal

Self

User reviews3

4.634

Featured reviews

8a_baron

The Homosexuals

This documentary, made in black and white, was considered controversial at the time. Today it might be thought of as rather tame, but what it does do is give an insight into the way times and social mores have changed with particular reference to male homosexuality in America, and sadly throughout most of the Western world.

Among those Mike Wallace talks to is Gore Vidal, whose views on the subject were almost certainly shaped by his own sexuality. What is most noticeable about this programme is the attitude of mainstream homosexuals who did not insist they were "gay" - a euphemism that was seldom used then even though it had been around since the 1930s. They did not want to "come out" or to force acceptance of their lifestyle on the public. They even supported laws which criminalised open displays of homosexuality; all they wanted was the right to practise their form of sex in the privacy of their own homes. That sounds totally reasonable today, but alas times really have changed.

5preppy-3

Interesting in a historical sense

First documentary (I believe) on TV that dealt with homosexuals. It was hosted by Mike Wallace and looks at the homosexual "problem". This was done before Stomewall so some of the misinformation and views are incredible.

First off most Americans believe that homosexuality (the word "gay" is never used) is a harmful serious problem--worse than adultery, abortion and prostitution. When this was made you could get arrested for homosexual acts. If you did it more than three times it led to life imprisonment! Most Americans thought it was an illness that could be cured and should never happen--even between consenting adults in private. All thought it should be punished. There's a lecture from a psychiatrist who makes it clear that this "behavior" is learned... I could go on but I think you get the idea. Every single myth and outright lies about gays is put out as truth. The only thing that makes this bearable is it is presented in an objective way and doesn't make any judgment calls. Still it's scary to think that people believed this all those years ago.

1bozzylou

What a horrible documentary from 1967 !

I have no sorrow for the death of that homophobic bigot Mike Wallace. He knew that documentary was rabidly biased and homophobic, even for its day. Full of falsehoods, lies and propaganda. Why didn't he make an up-dated documentary and set the record "straight" and expose all the indignities, misinformation and outright irrational homophobic fear and hate before he died ? Because he was an old bigot and did not care about gay people....then or now ! Furthermore, he was a Jew and should have known better ! Did he not get it ? Look what happened in Nazi Germany, only 30 years before this twisted broadcast was produced. People were scapegoated, terrorized, tortured and murdered because they were despised, hated and seen as vermin. Did he not see the analogy of an intolerant and evil greater society at large towards vulnerable and oppressed minorities with it ? He has an almost "smug" apathetic and personal condescending attitude in his actions and expressions towards all the brave gay men that went on camera and spoke of their sexuality and plight. Back then, most were disguised for fear of physical harm, lives being destroyed and even being murdered for daring to speak-up and declare yourself gay. The one very handsome young man that went on camera free of any "mask" was truly brave, admirable and worthy of my full respect as a human being.

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Trivia
Psychiatrists Charles Socarides and Irving Bieber, who were interviewed for this 1967 special, were both advocates of the then-common but now thoroughly debunked notion that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be "cured" via various therapies. (By the 2020s, every reputable American medical association had condemned the practice of "conversion therapy" and the idea that sexual orientation can be changed as false and both medically and psychologically harmful.) Socarides, who died in 2005, publicly retained his beliefs on sexual orientation until the end of his life, helping to found the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) to promote "conversion therapy" and vehemently opposing the American Psychiatric Association's decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, Socarides's first child, Richard Socarides (b. 1954), was gay, and according to a 2013 interview that Richard recorded with the LGBTQ oral history project "I'm from Driftwood," Charles was relatively accepting of Richard's coming out: "A relatively short interval of a couple of months in which we didn't speak to each other passed, and then he sent me a letter. He sent me a beautiful letter, handwritten, four pages, in which he basically said, 'I'm sorry I behaved so badly. I'm sorry I got angry. You're the most important person to me in my life and I love you and the only thing that's important to me is your happiness and if this is what makes you happy I want to support you and we'll just figure out a way to manage it.' Now, that was a great moment, the letter was a great moment, but it was not always that easy going forward because he did not change what he was saying publicly about the treatment and cure of homosexuality." Richard also said that Charles never proposed "conversion therapy" or any other attempt to "cure" Richard's homosexuality to his son. Richard Socarides, a lawyer and businessman, worked in Bill Clinton's presidential administrations in various capacities, including as the first-ever advisor to a U.S. president on gay and lesbian civil rights issues.