17 Old Hollywood Movies That Were Almost Banned Because They Were Secretly Reallllllly Gay

Old Hol­ly­wood movies had to fol­low strict guide­lines through­out the 1930s–1960s, known as the Hays Code. This basi­cal­ly pre­vent­ed all US films from fea­tur­ing any­thing that was overt­ly sex­u­al or “inap­pro­pri­ate,” which forced a lot of film­mak­ers to get cre­ative about how they could nav­i­gate poten­tial cen­sor­ship. I have run­ning lists on Let­ter­boxd of every Old Hol­ly­wood and LGBTQ+movie that I watch, so I sift­ed through them to find a bunch from the Hays Code era that are sub­tly (and not so sub­tly) suu­u­u­u­per gay. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

1. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) stars James Dean as a bisexualhottie, so you really can’t ask for much more. The original script had his character kissing Plato, who was one of the first gay teen characters on screen, but the Hays Code quickly squashed that from happening. Still, this movie is edgy and dramatic and romantic, and the whole cast is just so fun to look at.

2. All About Eve (1950) is a wit­ty and tox­ic dra­ma about an aging actress who befriends a fan who ulti­mate­ly tries to usurp her. This movie shares the record for the most Oscar nom­i­na­tions ever, with 14, and it briefly fea­tures Mar­i­lyn Mon­roe in one of her first roles ever. There are so many queer under­tones and char­ac­ters through­out, and they’re all so deli­cious. Also, I per­son­al­ly think this is the best film ever made, so I’m basi­cal­ly beg­ging you to watch it.

3. Homi­ci­dal (1961) was made towards the end of the Hays Code and sort of pushed the bound­aries of what was allowed. You’ll see why when the big twist in this hor­ror-thriller is revealed, so I won’t spoil any­thing for you now. Just know that this film was deemed so scary that it lit­er­al­ly includ­ed a 45-sec­ond “fright break” that appeared on screen before the cli­max, which told view­ers they could request a full refund from the movie the­ater if they were too scared to fin­ish watch­ing.

4. Tea and Sympathy (1956) follows a “sensitive” prep school teen who’s bullied by the other students and teachers. He finds solace in an older woman, played by Deborah Kerr, and the whole thing is just sooooo pretty to look at.

5. Compulsion (1959) follows two hot, wealthy, and secretly queer college boys who commit a murder and think they’re too smart to get away with it. It’s loosely based on the real-life Leopold and Loeb murder trial, so just trust me on this one.

6. Rope (1948) is Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of a play that was ~also~ inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murder trial. This one focuses on two young (and queer) killers who host a dinner party after hiding the dead body in their apartment. The movie was shot to look like it was filmed in a single take, which heightens its suspense and helps to keep the characters (and viewers) on edge.