'Only his draftboard and his girlfriend know for sure.'
Ok, why didn't someone tell me about 1969's The Gay Deceivers! I've written before about my previous aversion to older films, but thankfully, that's a thing of the past. Last week, someone I followed on Twitter posted the iconic 'flower' scene from the film. I knew it was iconic as I re-watched it about ten times. I also saw a slew of comments of people who love and quote the scene and the movie. The clip originated on TikTok and went viral very quickly.
'I may not know my flowers, but I know a bitch when I see one!'
Didn't take me long to find a copy and watch. That classic line was uttered by actor Michael Greer who plays Malcolm in the flick. Greer and Sebastian Brook are standouts as the landlords to a gay community complex where Danny and Elliot, the two main characters decide to move into.
So if the title didn't give it away, no, Danny, (Kevin Coughlin) and Elliot, (Larry Casey) are not gay. They pretending to be gay in order to avoid the draft and having to go to Vietnam. Although Danny has a girlfriend, and Larry loves all girls, both go to great lengths to keep up appearances and ensure everyone thinks they're a couple.
The film is full of negative gay stereotypes and some of the lines are cringeworthy, but it's also a lot of fun. Given it was filmed in 1969 we can cut it a bit of slack, and I've read in interviews that director Bruce Kessier was committed to making a really good film. According The Celluloid Closet, co-star Michael Greer, who played the flamboyantly gay Malcolm and who was himself gay, tried to work with the screenwriter and director to minimize the negativity of the characterization and present Malcolm in a positive light.
As flamboyant as Malcolm was, he does play a gay architype, one that continues to be seen and used, just think of Jack in Will & Grace. I didn't find it insulting, mainly because Greer was so darned funny. My one issue might have been there wasn't much diversity in the other gay characters featured, except maybe in the two characters who 'surprise' us in the films final scenes.
The entire cast is fun and likable, especially Coughlin who's character is really the center of the piece. sadly in researching the actor, I discovered Coughlin sadly died at the far too young age of thirty. About seven years after the film's release, Coughlin died from injuries he suffered from a car accident.
The beefcake role in The Gay Deceivers is most certainly Elliot with actor Lawrence, (Larry) Casey showing off his body throughout the film. Given Elliot is a lifeguard, he's often in seen in tight swimsuits. Even when not in a bathing suit, he's often in scenes shirtless, and seems to embody what many of would imagine a blond, Californian, sixties stud might look like. He does have a split second nude scene, showing his tan lines and incredibly white, and round rump, but it's really, really quick. You can check out some of Larry's skin baring from the film on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
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