#the kiss is in wings (1927)

[daveysexual]

one of my fav things Ever ever is that the first two men to have ever kissed in a movie are named jack and davey. btw.

[chirpsythismorning]

Finally watched the silent film Wings (1927) and bro... it’s so gay.

I remember first coming across it because I saw it was loosely being referred to as the first gay kiss in film history. I say loosely because it's technically not categorized as a queer film, with these two characters not actually being explicit love interests.

Though because I still thought it was cool, and also because one of the characters kind of looked like Will in the shot of them kissing, I added it to my ST5 DNA bingo board for fun.

But then watching it for myself, there was a lot more queer-coding than I expected.

In the film, the two men Jack Powell and David Armstrong actually start out as rivals, fighting for the love of Sylvia Lewis. Though as time goes on, after enlisting in the army and fighting alongside each other, they become very close friends.

In the end, their relationship gets the spotlight in a way that I can't help but find fucking insane when it comes to the idea of this film actually being used as inspiration for s5. Because seriously, holy shit.

I didn't mean what I said about the picture? THE PAINTING!?

I knew it-- all the time-- HE KNEW?!?!?!

What's even more painfully ironic about this scene, is that it gets interrupted by the wing of the plane turning, only for it to come to a complete stop. And I was instantly hit with that one sequence in s4, with the tapes in the lab turning transitioning to the wheels of the plane turning, followed by Mike's land in Hawkins aka Wheeler has arrived.

Here in Wings, the wing turning and then stopping, is to hint that this character (the character paralleling Mike) went from alive, to now dead.

NOW ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS MIKE DYING (temporarily) AND THEM CUTTING TO A WHEEL SPINNING THEN STOPPING.

[princesssarisa]

Another detail following up the Snow White post I just shared.

To audiences in 1937, I don't think a kiss on the lips would necessarily read as romantic and sensual.

It wouldn't have a decade earlier, at any rate. In the 1921 silent movie The Kid, Charlie Chaplin gives his 6-year-old adopted son a long kiss on the mouth when they reunite after being forcibly separated. And in the first film ever to win Best Picture, 1927's Wings, Buddy Rogers passionately kisses Richard Arlen's mouth as the latter is dying in his arms: while Tumblr loves to share GIFs of that death scene for its homoeroticism by modern standards, I'm sure that in its 1927 context, it was just meant to show strong friendship.

So when people say "The Prince should have just kissed the 'dead' Snow White's cheek or forehead, not her lips," I think that's a very modern viewpoint. It wouldn't have been seen as unchaste or unseemly in the first half of the 20th century.

[ploridafanthers]

i still can't believe they made the actors fly the fucking planes

[quotethatfilm]

The wings / 1927

[amostexcellentblog]

Finally watched Wings (1927) for the first time, and oh my, it really is that gay, it wasn't just that one kissing scene taken out of context.

The entire film turns on the relationship between the two men, progressing from romantic rivals to ride-or-die comrades under the duress of wartime. The ostensible female romantic lead is entirely unnecessary, tacked on at the behest of studio executives who wanted to boost box office. She appears in only a few scenes, does nothing to drive the main plot, and is absent from large portions of the film and at all the key moments. The actress, Clara Bow, knew the film was beneath her, once saying it was "a man's picture and I'm just the whipped cream on top of the pie."

I guess Top Gun did not, in fact, invent the military-pilot-rivals-to-friends-to-implied-lovers trope after all.

It's literally WWI Icemav. (Maybe an Ice-Lives AU where, freshly retired and bored out of his mind, Ice agrees to go to a museum exhibit with Bradley and Jake on the history of LGBTQ people in the military, where he stumbles on a picture of two unidentified WWI flying aces, standing close with their arms draped around each other in a way that could be friendly but somehow is more than that. Ice knows the pose and he becomes obsessed with finding out who they are.)

Using his contacts and military history knowledge he's eventually able to verify that the men are David Armstrong and Jack Powell. They came from the same town, but different social classes. Jack was impulsive and loved fast cars. David was more reserved. They were described as the closest of friends by their fellow soldiers. David died in the war, Jack returned home and married his childhood sweetheart, they had no children. When Jack died, he was buried next to David. That's all Ice can find, but it's enough. He sends his findings to the museum, then drives to the hanger just so he can hold Mav in his arms, but first he calls Bradley...

"You need to marry that boy."

"...I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't, but... But if he makes you happy then that... Jesus Bradley, you and Jake are the first ones, the first generation who can live your lives openly. Don't waste that chance, so many of us never got that, never even allowed ourselves to imagine what it would be like."

"Well, good news. I proposed a month ago and we've been trying to figure out how to tell you. We actually thought the museum exhibit might soften you up, but you got so fixated on that damn photo you forgot we were even there."

[fireburningonthedancefloor]

Anyone else confused at this line?

I knew immediately that Gerrard was being filthy, but I couldn’t figure out how or what he meant.

It turns out that this could be a very deep cut regarding homosexuality.

“Wings” is a war movie from 1927 (starring Clara Bow) that has the first gay kiss in cinematic history.

So when Gerrard says “you got your wings” he could really be saying “you’re gay.”

[teambyler]

Byler fans, don't watch if you don't want to sob

I KNOW that if Stranger Things 5 goes the angsty route with Byler, it will DESTROY me. Watch "the first same sex kiss in film," a clip from a 1927 movie WINGS where 2 men are best friends and Allied pilots in World War I. Jack is comforting his dying best friend Dave who he accidentally shot down. I couldn't help watching this scene without thinking what an angsty Mike/Will scene will do to me:

There are even echoes of Mike and Will's story. They are best friends. They were in a love triangle, while developing a deep bond for each other. Jack apologizes to Dave for lying "about the picture":

And:

I was thinking of what angsty Mike and Will scenes would be like and I know I will be a HOT MESS if the Duffers ever get this cruel to my heart. (Which I think they will! But probably not actually permanently kill off one of them cuz CMON Will have a happy ending!)

Here's the clip. (Context: They're both Allied pilots. Dave gets shot down by the Germans. He survives and steals a German plane. Jack, in grief over Dave, shoots down Dave's plane thinking he's another "Heinie" (German). Jack arrives and realizes he just shot down his best friend.)

P.S. Follow and read my blog! I have so much to say

[majorbaby]

things that are good about The Trial of Henry Blake:

- Radar getting suckered into an MLM, presumably because he doesn't make very much money and his not being home means his family is struggling on the farm

- Trapper, played by Alabama native Wayne Rogers, doing an exaggerated Southern accent for a bit

- General presumably in charge of MASH units not knowing what a "gurney" is

- and Bouncinggggg Bettyyyyy

- Frank and Margaret being hilarious perverts, turned on by the gurney races

- big red bird with fuzzy pink feet; Trapper and Hawkeye pausing their respective makeout sessions to check in with each other about what they saw

- someone explain to me why they had to be stripped to their underwear while under house arrest beyond 'McLean thought this would be a hoot'

- "behind every great man there's a woman with a vibrator"

- give the guard a fucking gallon of phenobarbital

- Klinger, a fucking G, drugs the guard, Hawkeye: take two bras out of petty cash

- "Don't you have anything to say in your defense?" Henry: I was just trying to help

- subtle, clever digs at the true blue american "my family came to this country in 1927" Hawkeye: riding on a pony

- Trapper/Henry big ol' sloppy kiss 🥺

- everyone's wearing the wing-tipped shoes to greet the general, everyone breaks uniform in solidarity with Henry. under his leadership, people rebel against the army status quo

[themousefromfantasyland]

What are the foundational films of each genre?

Films so historically important to each genre, be it by its tropes or film techniques, that without them no other films of the same type would ever exist.

I will start

Fantasy - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 1937

Animation is a media, not a genre.

And Snow White not only impacted animation as a media, but the fantasy genre as a whole.

The way it laid the foundations for the fantasy musical. The way it defined the formula for the fairy tale film, with princess protagonist, love story, funny side characters, true love kiss as a plot point, and the threatening villain.

The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Mary Poppins would never exist without this film.

Even more mature fantasy films probably wouldn't exist without this film, because this was the film that proved audiences could take seriously a fantasy story in the first place.

Sci-fi - Metropolis - 1927

The first cyberpunk film ever made.

One of the most influential Sci-fi films ever made.

You can see Metropolis influence everywhere from Blade Runner to Tim Burton's Batman. C3PO from Star Wars takes direct from Robot Maria.

The focus on technology. The class struggle. The questions about progress versus worker's rights. Themes still present in cyberpunk storytelling to this day.

Any more examples?

@ariel-seagull-wings @mask131 @thealmightyemprex @princesssarisa @the-blue-fairie @tamisdava2 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @piterelizabethdevries

[angstics]

i discovered the movie Wings (1927) was based on a book. the movie is famous for several reasons (first best picture winner, crazy aerial shots, crazy regular shots, crazy ww1 epic, clara bow, gary cooper bit part) AND! it's famous for having a same sex kiss between two men. which i would venture to say was pretty normal in the 20s since films depicted it as a normal platonic thing to do until sometime in the 30s/40s, i cant pick out when it phased out (breen? squashed european sensibility?). so anyway i was looking into this to see if it was ever commented on at the time, since modern queer theorists harp on it a lot, and i ran into the book.

and the book seems to have the same story, but SPOILER! our main character doesnt get to see his best friend before he dies from his friendly fire. the scene is nicely written but i was sad that the melodramatic death scene (including the kiss) from the film wasnt novelized. til i saw this. oh brother

the retroactive queering of achilles and patrocles has done a lot for the queering of male friendship, from grantaire and enjolras to these fighter pilots

[woundthatswallows]

if you have time, can you tell us what your favorite films of all time are? in no particular order (your blog is inspiring)

yess i would love to🖤🖤 and thank you so much!! i'm so happy to hear that, spreading film inspiration is my fave thing abt this place :) i'll do chronological order and put a ⭐️ next to my top top faves that make me want to scream when i think of them etc ! this is going to be Long .... but i swear all of these make me crazy. when u watch a lot of movies u have a lot of all time faves <3

the passion of joan of arc 1927⭐️

city lights 1931

design for living 1933⭐️

it happened one night 1934

history is made at night 1937

bringing up baby 1938

midnight 1939

the lady eve 1941⭐️

arsenic and old lace 1944⭐️

sunset boulevard 1955⭐️

all about eve 1950

rear window 1954

carnival of souls 1962⭐️

cléo de 5 - 7 1962

the servant 1963

repulsion 1965

les demoiselles de rocherfort 1967⭐️

secret ceremony 1968⭐️

teorema 1968⭐️

the cremator 1969⭐️

multiple maniacs 1970⭐️

harold and maude⭐️

let's scare jessica to death 1971⭐️

sophie's way 1971

pink flamingos⭐️

la rose der fer 1973

female trouble 1974

vampyres 1974

scenes from a marriage 1974

the rocky horror picture show 1975⭐️

jeanne dielman 1975

nashville 1975

the witch who came from the sea 1976

l'une chante l'autre pas 1977⭐️

3 women 1977⭐️

hausu 1977⭐️

girlfriends 1978⭐️

possession 1981⭐️

the beyond 1981

la morte vivante 1982⭐️

valley girl 1983

a zed & two noughts 1985 ⭐️

blue velvet 1986⭐️

moonstruck 1987⭐️

wings of desire 1987⭐️

evil dead ii 1987

hellraiser 1987

hellbound: hellraiser 2 1988

dead ringers 1988⭐️

the cook the thief his wife & her lover 1989

wild at heart 1990⭐️

goodfellas 1990⭐️

nekromantik 2 1991⭐️

twin peaks fire walk with me 1992⭐️

the living end 1992

dazed and confused 1993⭐️

natural born killers 1994⭐️

angela 1995

crash 1996⭐️

kissed 1996⭐️

les deux vampires 1996

ringu 1998

10 things i hate about you 1999

ginger snaps 2000⭐️

cecil b demented 2000⭐️

american psycho 2000⭐️

hedwig and the angry inch 2001⭐️

la pianiste 2001⭐️

dans ma peau 2002⭐️

inland empire 2006

martyrs 2008⭐️

phantom thread 2017⭐️

the velvet underground 2021

here's my letterboxd list of faves too that has some more too- did this mostly off the top of my head. + this is my tentatively ranked top 30!

[ghostboyhood]

i loveddd ur random fact sooo i woukd like to know a fact you haven’t had the opportunity to bring up!!

hi ping!!! im glad u liked it my bad for responding so fucking late 😭😭

so in 1927 there was a silent film (a war drama) called 'Wings' where these two guys were fighting for the love of this one girl they both wanted

welll over time they ended up figuring out that they loved each other!!! since it was 1927 it was called a friendship on screen since anything farther likely wouldnt have be able to air, but it obviously.. wasnt js that

it was really well received and actually ended up being the only silent film ever to win an award im pretty sure which is awesome ???

"You know there is nothing in the world that means so much to me as your friendship,"

"I knew it - all the time"

thats some dialogue between the two guys

theres a scene where one of them is really injured, and before he dies the two of them kiss.

Wings had the first ever same sex kiss on television (im pretty sure) and got an award so hell yeah thats awesome!!!

ill add the clip in a rb because it wont let me add it here

[thedukeofgloomhimself]

gay ppl will literally sit and watch the kiss/death scene from wings (1927) tipsy on a tuesday night in february

[ivypothos]

I Can't Feel The Sunshine, poem by Lesbia Harford (April, 1915)

I can't feel the sunshine

Or see the stars aright

For thinking of her beauty

And her kisses bright.

She would let me kiss her

Once and not again.

Deeming soul essential,

Sense doth she disdain.

If I should once kiss her,

I would never rest

Till I had lain hour long

Pillowed on her breast.

Lying so, I'd tell her

Many a secret thing

God has whispered to me

When my soul took wing.

Would that I were Sappho,

Greece my land, not this!

There the noblest women,

When they loved, would kiss.

Lesbia Harford (1891-1927) was an Australian poet, novelist, and political activist. [1] Harford graduated with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Melbourne in 1916.

An advocate for free love, Lesbia formed 'lifelong parallel attachments to both men and women', and her poetry was often Sapphic.

Her known lovers include Katie Lush, philosophy tutor at Ormond College; Guido Barrachi, one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Australia; and Pat Harford, her husband, and fellow member of the International Workers of the World (IWW, or Wobblies).

Lesbia began working in a textile & clothing factory in 1917, and joined the Wobblies that same year. She became Vice President of the Federated & Clothing Allied Trades Union in 1918. She was a fierce campaigner for the release of fellow Wobblies, the Sydney Twelve, and noted for her work as an anti-conscriptionist.

Sadly, Lesbia died aged 36 of lung & heart failure (cause still debated). The great majority of her writing was published after her death.

[1] Unless otherwise specified, I'm using the sources cited in Lesbia's Wikipedia page, as it's well written & collates many sources including items stored in the National Library about her life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbia_Harford

[dnickels]

omg i can't believe you've never seen wings. like, i wouldn't have shocked to find out you were a 1927 truther who refused to watch the 2012 hd remaster or something bizarrely niche, but instead you've never even seen it?!?! a trench warfare film with one of the very earliest on-screen same-sex kisses and you've not seen it? who are you and what have you done with miss darth i-read-out-of-print-ww1-monographs-for-fun nickels

I'm only human! Do you know how long the backlog of middling 90s detective shows is??? 😭😭😭