#the kiss is in wings (1927)

[ibrithir-was-here]

You know how Quincey definitely ate some folks in WWI (whoops)? What would be real effed up is if the first person he ate was Scott. Your bestie is bleeding out in your arms and you try to kiss it better even though you know you're not gonna and unfortunately this Awakens Something In You. On top of all the grief and horrors of war you suddenly have to deal with Oh No, He's Delicious.

(I don't think this necessarily works at all but the thought came to me in the night and I felt the need to share)

AHHHHHHHHHH

Welp, thank you for breaking my heart 💔💔💔 and Quincey’s 🥺

(So Scott has Second Sight, so the bits with Blue are when he's Seeing the future)

Click for better quality

Happy Valentine's Day! 💔💔💔

[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.

[atasteforblood]

Wings (1927)

[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.

[angstics]

With how popular the queering of Singin in the Rain is nowadays (I’d wager it’s top 5 queer/ed OH films), I’ve yet to find evidence anyone at or around the time gave much attention to the relationship dynamics of the three principals. They’re always distracted by how good the film is lol

[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

[efemmera-archive]

A Comprehensive List of Pre-21st Century Lesbian Films

There seems to be a lot of interest in older/more niche films with lesbian themes so I've been putting together this list. I'm going to keep adding to it as I find more films so feel free to let me know if I'm missing anything! Enjoy!

Quick disclaimer: Some of these films contain problematic elements such as racism, homophobia, sexism and so on. This list is not an endorsement of all these films, it is only for archival purposes. As I have not seen all these films I cannot provide accurate content warnings, so please do your own research before watching.

1880 - 1919

The Kiss (1882), Dir. Eadweard Muybridge [SHORT, SILENT, ZOOPRAXISCOPE]

Pierrette’s Escapades (1900), Dir. Alice Guy [SHORT, SILENT, HAND TINTED]

At the Floral Ball (1900), Dir. Alice Guy [SHORT, SILENT, HAND TINTED]

Midwife to the Upper Class (1902), Dir. Alice Guy [SHORT, SILENT, COMEDY]

The Jester’s Joke (1910), Dir. Walter R. Booth [SHORT, SILENT, COMEDY]

Zapata’s Gang (1914), Dir. Urban Gad [SILENT, CRIME, COMEDY]

Filibus (1915), Dir. Mario Roncoroni [SILENT, HEIST, ACTION]

1920-1939

Manslaughter (1922), Dir. Cecil B. Demil [SILENT, DRAMA]

The Girl in Tails (1926), Dir. Karin Swanstrom [SILENT, COMEDY]

Wings (1927), Dir. William A. Wellman [SILENT, WAR, ACTION]

Pandora’s Box (1929), Dir. G.W. Pabst [SILENT, DRAMA]

Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), Dir. G.W. Pabst [SILENT, DRAMA]

Morocco (1930), Dir. Josef von Sternberg [DRAMA, ROMANCE]

Mädchen in Uniform (1931), Dir. Leontine Sagan [DRAMA, COMING OF AGE]

Queen Christina (1933), Dir. Rouben Mamoulian [DRAMA, PERIOD]

Dragnet Girl (1933), Dir. Yasujirō Ozu [CRIME]

Fukujuso (1935), Dir. Jiro Kawate [SILENT, DRAMA]

The Tomboy (1936), Dir. Jean de Limur [DRAMA]

Girls’ Club (1936), Dir. Jacques Deval [COMEDY, CRIME]

1940-1959

Jenny Lamour (1947), Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot [CRIME, DRAMA]

Thirst (1949), Dir. Ingmar Bergman [DRAMA]

Caged (1950), Dir. John Cromwell [DRAMA]

Girl with Hyacinths (1950), Dir. Hasse Ekman [MYSTERY, NOIR]

Olivia (1951), Dir. Jacqueline Audry [DRAMA]

No Exit (1954), Dir. Jacqueline Audry [DRAMA]

La Garçonne (1957), Dir. Jacqueline Audry [DRAMA]

The Twilight Girls (1957), Dir. Andre Hunebelle [COMEDY, DRAMA]

Mädchen in Uniform (1958), Dir. Geza von Radvanyi [DRAMA, COMING OF AGE, REMAKE]

1960-1969

Blood and Roses (1960), Dir. Roger Vadim [VAMPIRE, HORROR, EROTIC]

Léon Morin, Priest (1961), Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville [DRAMA]

The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961) Dir. Jean-Gabriel Albicocco [DRAMA]

The Children’s Hour (1961), Dir. WIlliam Wyler [DRAMA]

Walk on the Wild Side (1962), Dir. Edward Dymitrik [DRAMA]

Manji (1964), Dir. Yasuzo Masumura [DRAMA]

With Beauty and Sorrow (1965), Dir. Masahiro Shinoda [DRAMA]

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), Dir. Russ Meyer [EXPLOITATION]

Daisies (1966), Dir. Věra Chytilová [AVANT GARDE, COMEDY, DRAMA]

The Group (1966), Dir. Sidney Lumet [DRAMA]

La Religieuse (1966), Dir. Jacques Rivette [DRAMA]

Persona (1966), Dir. Ingmar Bergman [AVANT GARDE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, DRAMA]

Belle De Jour (1967), Dir. Luis Bunuel [DRAMA]

The Fox (1967), Dir. Mark Rydell [DRAMA]

Les Biches (1968), Dir. Clauthde Chabrol [DRAMA, EROTIC]

The Killing of Sister George (1968), Dir. Robert Aldrich [DRAMA, EXPLOITATION]

Therese and Isabelle (1968), Dir. Radley Metzger [ROMANCE, DRAMA, EROTIC]

The Girl from Pussycat (1969), Dir. Smythe David [SEXPLOITATION]

Check to the Queen (1969), Dir. Pasquale Festa Campanile [DRAMA, EROTIC]

The Others (1969), Dir. Renzo Maietto [DRAMA]

1970-1979

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970), Dir. Jaromil Jires [AVANT GARDE, DRAMA, COMING OF AGE]

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Dir. Russ Meyer [COMEDY, MUSICAL, MELODRAMA]

Midnight Virgin (1970), Dir. Shogoro Nishimura [DRAMA, EROTIC]

The Conformist (1970), Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci [POLITICAL DRAMA]

Multiple Maniacs (1970), Dir. John Waters [COMEDY]

The Dark Side of Tomorrow (1970), Dir. Jack Deerson, Barbara Peeters [DRAMA]

Nightmares Come at Night (1970), Dir. Jesús Franco [DRAMA]

The Vampire Lovers (1970), Dir. Roy Ward Baker [VAMPIRE, HORROR, EROTIC]

The Shiver of the Vampires (1971), Dir. Jean Rollin [VAMPIRE, EROTIC]

Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay (1971), Dir. Bruno Gantillon [EROTIC]

Daughters of Darkness (1971), Dir. Harry Kumel [VAMPIRE, EROTIC]

Vampyros Lesbos (1971), Dir. Jesús Franco [VAMPIRE, EXPLOITATION, EROTIC]

Daughter of Dracula (1972), Dir. Jesús Franco [VAMPIRE, EROTIC]

Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972), Dir. Chor Yuen [MARTIAL ARTS, DRAMA, EROTIC]

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder [DRAMA]

The Beguines (1972), Dir. Guy Casaril [DRAMA, EROTIC]

Don Juan or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973), Dir. Roger Vadim [DRAMA, EROTIC]

Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural (1974), Dir. Richard Blackburn [HORROR, COMING OF AGE]

Vampyres (1974), Dir. Jose Ramon Larraz [VAMPIRE, EXPLOITATION, EROTIC]

Foxy Brown (1974), Dir. Jack Hill [BLAXPLOITATION, ACTION]

Je Tu Il Elle (1974), Dir. Chantal Ackerman [DRAMA]

Black Emanuelle (1975), Dir. Bitto Albertini [SEXPLOITATION]

Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974), Dir. Alain Robbe-Grillet [HORROR, AVANT GARDE, EROTIC]

Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975), Dir. Peter Weir [MYSTERY, DRAMA]

Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977), Dir. Mariposa Film Group, et. al [DOCUMENTARY]

Bilitis (1977), Dir. David Hamilton [EROTIC]

Alucarda (1977), Dir. Juan López Moctezuma [VAMPIRE, HORROR, EXPLOITATION]

Fascination (1979), Dir. Jean Rollin [VAMPIRE, HORROR, EROTIC]

See Here My Love (1979), Dir. Hugo Santiago [MYSTERY, DRAMA]

1980-1989

Simone Barbes or Virtue (1980), Dir. Marie-Claude Treilhou [DRAMA]

Personal Best (1982), Dir. Robert Towne [SPORTS, DRAMA]

Scrubbers (1982), Dir. Mai Zetterling [DRAMA]

The Living Dead Girl (1982), Dir. Jean Rollin [ZOMBIE, HORROR]

Audience (1982), Dir. Barbara Hammer [DOCUMENTARY]

The Hunger (1983), Dir. Tony Scott [VAMPIRE]

Lianna (1983), Dir. John Sayles [DRAMA]

La Pirate (1984), Dir. Jacques Doillon [DRAMA]

Desert Hearts (1985), Dir. Donna Deitch [ROMANCE, DRAMA]

Anne Trister (1986), Dir. Lea Pool [DRAMA]

Kamikaze Hearts (1986), Dir. Juliet Bashore [DOCUFICTION]

Working Girls (1986), Dir. Lizzie Borden [DRAMA]

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), Dir. Patricia Rozema [COMEDY]

No No Nooky T.V. (1987), Dir. Barbara Hammer [COMEDY, SHORT]

1990-1999

The Company of Strangers (1990) Dir. Cynthia Scott [DOCUFICTION]

Women Like Us (1990), Dir. Suzanne Neild [DOCUMENTARY]

Salmonberries (1991), Dir. Percy Adlon [DRAMA]

Thelma & Louise (1991), Dir. Ridley Scott [CRIME, DRAMA]

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Dir. David Lynch [HORROR, AVANT GARDE]

Nitrate Kisses (1992), Dir. Barbara Hammer [DOCUMENTARY]

Flaming Ears (1992), Dir. A. Hans Scheirl, Dietmar Schipek, and Ursula Pürrer [AVANT GARDE, SCI-FI]

Forbidden Love (1992), Dir. Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weismann [DOCUFICTION]

Fresh Kill (1994), Dir. Shu Lea Cheang [SCI-FI, AVANT GARDE]

Heavenly Creatures (1994), Dir. Peter Jackson [CRIME, THRILLER, BIOPIC]

Go Fish (1994), Dir. Rose Troche [COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANCE]

The Maidens of Heavenly Mountains (1994), Dir. Andy Chin Wing-Keung [WUXIA]

The Celluloid Closet (1995), Dir. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman [DOCUMENTARY]

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), Dir. Maria Maggenti [COMEDY, DRAMA]

When Night is Falling (1995), Dir. Patricia Rozema [DRAMA]

Live Nude Girls (1995), Dir. Julianna Lavin [COMEDY]

BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism (1995), Dir. Michelle Handelman [DOCUMENTARY]

Bound (1996), Dir. The Wachowskis [CRIME, THRILLER]

The Watermelon Woman (1996), Dir. Cheryl Dunye [ROMANCE, DRAMA, COMEDY]

Everything Relative (1996), Dir. Sharon Pollack [COMEDY, DRAMA]

Irma Vep (1996), Dir. Olivier Assayas [DRAMA]

Nowhere (1997), Dir. Gregg Araki [BLACK COMEDY, DRAMA]

Gia (1998), Dir. Michael Cristopher [BIOPIC]

High Art (1998), Dir. Lisa Cholodenko [DRAMA]

Election (1999), Dir. Alexander Payne [COMEDY]

Better Than Chocolate (1999), Dir. Anne Wheeler [ROMANCE, COMEDY]

Being John Malkovich (1999), Dir. Spike Jonze [COMEDY, FANTASY]

But I’m A Cheerleader (1999), Dir. Jamie Babbit [ROMANCE, COMEDY]

Adolescence of Utena (1999), Dir. Kunihiko Ikuhara [ANIME, DRAMA, COMING OF AGE]

[fleursfairies]

i think its really funny when people say that it's unrealistic for will AND mike AND robin AND vickie to all be gay in the 80s cuz clearly they have never even looked back to the past. people in the 1900s were gay as hell! and heres some examples

james dean (1931-1955) bisexual !

marlon brando (1924-2004) bisexual !

rock hudson (1925-1985) very gay

leslie gore (1946-2015) lesbian

dusty springfield (1939-1999) lesbian

norma tanega (1939-2019) lesbian

(dusty springfield and norma tanega dated)

elton john (1947-present) gay

freddie mercury (1946-1991) gay

george michael (1963-2016) gay

david bowie (1947-2016) bi

crazy that david and elton were born the same year and george and david passed the same year

john lennon (1940-1980) bi im pretty sure unless yoko was lying for some reason

joan jett (1958-present) bi but google ai wants to argue with me about it

janis joplin (1943-1970) bi

whitney houston (1963-2012) bi?? maybe

debbie harry (blondie) (1945-present) bi (or ex bi LMAO)

billie holiday (1915-1959) bi

im lovin all the bi people

andy fraser (free) (1952-2015) gay

i do NOT like boy george at all but unfortunately hes an iconic gay artist and i have to add him (1961-present) gay 🙄

ray and dave davies from the kinks (1944+1947-present) ima just say that theyre both bisexual cuz its a bit confusing

art garfunkel (1941-present) bi. i just found this out like last year but ive always known in my soul. simon and garfunkel are like frog and toad or bert and ernie. you just know.

4/5 members of the b-52's are queer

little richard (1932-2020) gay

mick jagger (1943-present) bi? probably? idk but please go watch the mick jagger david bowie dancing in the street music video its the gayest thing ive ever seen

pete townshend (the who) (1945-present) pansexual

chuck panozzo (styx) (1948-present) gay

lou reed (velvet underground) (1942-2013) prooobably bi but google is giving me super confusing answers that are different since the last time i checked

morrissey 🙄 (this smiths) (1959-present) im diagnosing him as pan cuz all google says is "humansexual"

pete burns (dead or alive) (1959-2016) queer

jane wiedlin (the gogos) (1959-present) bi

june millington and alice de buhr of the band fanny are gay and nickey barclay is bi. (alice is one of my biggest drummer inspirations and i totally forgot she was gay)

neil tennant (pet shop boys) gay

marianne faithfull, katharine hepburn, marlene dietrich, greta garbo, billy haines, ian mckellen, divine, rupaul, andy warhol, frankie goes to hollywood, soft cell probably, tab hunter, stephen fry, anthony perkins, cristopher walken, sal mineo, sister rosetta tharpe, billie joe armstrong, drew barrymore, jodie foster, fiona shaw, angelina jolie, etc

update: joan baez, peter tork, marc bolan, brian epstein, stuart sutcliffe, candy darling, sandy west

i have more but im tired

but these are just some people that are confirmed queer. i could go ooon and ooon and ooon about "not gay" people doing gay ass things

if you're going to make silly statements about the past please actually do a bit of research

not to mention the lesbians and the same sex kiss in the 1927 movie wings

[queerasfact]

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.

I can't feel the sunshine, by the Australian poet Lesbia Harford (1891-1927)

Check out our podcast on Lesbia (yes, that is her real name) if you'd like to learn more about her

[jeannes-world]

I never had that many butterflies when watching a movie or a TV show before. I was a mess when this scene came on.

It is never too late to discover an (almost) 100 years old movie with so much love between 2 men.

WINGS (1927) dir. William A. Wellman

[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."

[prettiestpilotpoll]

Written propaganda for Lord Flashheart: "WOOF"

Written propaganda for Jack Powell: "Just watch the kiss scene!"

visual and video propaganda below:

Lord Flashheart

Jack Powell

[wewerealwaysthere]

To help you decide:

[ruthvenndiagram]

yapping my entire mouth

merlin is sooooo 1920s. like the thin brows, sad sad looks, edgy eye makeup, the pre-hays-code-edness of it all.

literally trust me, if it was made as a film in the 1920s it'd lit be the same... I mean the dragon would probably be some sick ass paper monster

and merthur... ohhhh merthurrr... they'd prolly share a small kiss if the filmmaker was so principled. I mean wings (1927) had one and won like four awards.

dont get me started on the aesthetics of it all.... couldn't find much on art-deco-era portrayals of medieval people but between the makeup, thin brows, microbangs (on men admittedly), its evokes the same feelings of looking at women in Norman Rockwell paintings / works

[bleedingcoffee42]

Wings (1927) and why you might enjoy it

We're introduced to Jack, our protagonist, as he's daydreaming and immediately they tell us the girl next door (Clara Bow) is a pain in his ass. (Clara Bow. Who is Clara Bow. And even looks better in uniform.) Then we meet Sylvia who is the city girl everyone wants and the rich guy she's in love with. Jack just can't read a room. Sylvia kinda feels bad for him and suffers through his BS.

Then we go to the room we enlist in and center is a bunch of ass in the exam room and this pen scene.

They go into the army, start boxing and it turns from Rivals to Friends complete with boob grab and wiping blood off your chin with my glove.

Flight school roomates.

Complete with Gary Cooper being Cadet Foreshadowing.

Mary joins the Motor Corps and goes to war. Girl knew she was in this film just to be eye candy and show off nipples. I still am glad she's here.

Jack and David go to war and get medals and some kisses from the French guy which officer #3 appears to enjoy enough to be the main reason he wins those medals.

The famous Paris scene is THAT GOOD. Plus Clara Bow is off the charts on her facial expressions. The drunk Jack/bubbles thing goes too long for my taste but apparently the actor did get drunk off champagne.

There is also Girl in Bathroom Solidarity with the French lady who has access to the dancers wardrobe. Oh and the MPs who are eventually reincarnated into those dudes from the 82nd airborne who are thrilled Dick Winter's keeps his compass in his pants.

Man lying on tables looking at maps.

This scene from Top Gun where pilot takes enemy plane to get back to lines.

Oh and this:

This movie was will have you going, 'THIS WAS MADE IN 1927?'. And only gets more impressive when you consider the actors flew the WW1 planes, while acting, while filming it. That track shot in Paris is worth watching over and over. Cinematography and symbolism is worth a second watch almost immediately.

Could have used a better ending but that is what fanfic is for.