Rope - Nut Boys, Candelabras & a Terrible Dinner Party

Hey kids, it is what is it Monday November eleventh?

It is Monday, November eleventh. We just wanted to come in here before the episode and say we've gotten a lot of messages this week saying that our podcast gave people a little lefter, a little light, a little whatever.

There's a particular review we got.

Yep, we got a great review. This is from You Must Be an Angel Food and they say look for the love and they write longtime listener, first time reviewer. I thoroughly enjoy that age wel podcast, particularly when they discuss a beloved movie or one I've never seen, but never did I realize how therapeutic it could be. I listened on election day to escape the stress, and boy did they deliver with some like it Hot. The Madonna Bakery mashup was creative and hysterical and had me crying

That's so nice. Also, can we just pour one out for all of our therapists. Yeah, yeah, they're about to have the fucking worst year of their lives.

Yeah, but we just wanted to say we're sure everyone's feeling a lot of emotions.

Rage, we're feeling emotions. It sucks, It really fucking sucks, and we're sorry. And yeah, heartbreak, we're here with you. We're in it with you. The show is going to continue to try to.

Entertain and I think entertainment is worth something these days. So we hope we can keep you laughing. We hope you hear the light in our voices when you listen to Rope, because it was it was recorded months ago.

I was recorded months ago, so we just wanted to acknowledge that stuff has happened since since we recorded it. Thank you for listening. We really appreciate that you're here. And as you must be, an angel Food says, look for the love because I think we're gonna need it in the next few years. So thank you for listening and enjoy.

Rope was in LA a little while ago, visiting the in laws. Had a weird thing happened.

In Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles never so we're at the hotel and I always get up crazy early when I'm on the West Coast because I'm an early riser here, and then like for onally there for like three days, it's like I don't even care, Like three in the morning. Yeah, yeah, I'm up at like three or four o'clock in the morning. So I'm at like three or four o'clock in the morning, which means I'm like lying in bed, like doing the New York Times Crossford puzzle on my phone, or my

Oh okay, it.

Is clearly a situation where neither one of us was expecting to see the other person when the door opened.

Wait, how old is this person?

I'm going to say somewhere between sixteen and twenty.

Oh okay, okay, okay, okay, yeah you said kid, and I was concerned.

Oh you forgot how old we are?

Yeah, yeah I was. I was like, I was like, this this either a child or like something sketchy is happening. Okay, and like, I mean something sketchy.

Something sketchy is definitely happening. But so I like, look, and he looks at me, and I was like, hi, can I help you? And the kid just ran.

Away, like full ran, not.

Full ran, but like moved hurriedly in the other direction. I do not wish to have this interaction anymore. Goodbye. Like I was like, that feels like a drug delivery gone incorrect.

Is that what you're thinking?

That was my thought?

Okay, yeah, because four am does imply a drug delivery, I think because my first thot we're given the age of this person is a legitimately like missus Robinson situation. Oh, he's expecting his older lady lover to answer the door. Indeed, Yeah, like she slipped away from her husband.

For the night and Bancroft is in there slowly rolling down her her stocking.

Yeah, but again that's a that's a that's an eleven PM activity, maybe even a one am activity. But four ams a little.

Is rough for a drug thing. Frankly like, no, it's not.

If you have been out all night and you're like, I need I need to pick me up, I need to get to work. You know, you should have stopped. You should have stopped. The kid been like, what do you have?

What do you have?

What do you got?

I'm cool, I'm hip.

Are you selling drugs or sex?

Is this a cash grass or ass situation?

If it is sex, no, thank you, thank you, because I cannot verify your age. And America and this is that aged well, yesterday's culture today.

And we are in classics month. It is November. We are doing classic movies, movies from before the eighties.

Yes, this is the month where you want to get on the couch with a warm apple cider.

Yeah, a shawl, that's right. I love a shawl. I love a drap. A throw for hacks, yes, a nice soft throw, a nice.

Throw awaited blanket maybe, and just turn on turn your classic movies, huh, and have yourself a day, watch something in black and white.

That's right.

Either have a laugh or a cry.

Our younger listeners are going, wait, our eighties movies not classics. Now. It's like when you turn in the classic rock station, they play like Melissa Ethridge and you're like, fuck everyone.

The first time I turn on the classic rock station and it was legitimately like Rick Astley even, I was like, whoa, that's from nineteen eighty eight. That's not that old.

Hey now, hey, now, don't dream.

It's also the classic rock station.

You love it? You love it? Erica, we have a five star Apple podcast review. Shall I read it for you?

Sure?

This is from Bizollina. Okay, okay, all right five Erica hahs they right. I came upon that aged well when I was looking for discussions about while you were sleeping. Erica and Paul have been keeping me entertained for the last few weeks while I care for plants in San Francisco offices. What a cool job I've had, the exact What an interesting job. Yeah, you must see an incredible

I love the specificity of the location. I know that tower. Busilina. I am visualizing you now laughing in front of that tower.

You know, you know what Bisilina was was at that moment, they were a Bubba Gump shrimp jump.

I hope it was Wednesday, because then it was Gum's room hump day.

There you go, There you go, There you go. Erica and Paul, unlike other movie discussion podcasts, get detail slash quotes accurately.

I don't know about that.

I correct you. I find myself correcting other podcasts thinking how closely were you watching? Dummy?

I love this person.

I can identify with their cultural references, being slightly older than them. They genuinely enjoy each other's company, diplomatically disagree, have pleasant voices, and never stray too far from the topic for too long. I've heard other podcasts repeatedly bring up something completely unrelated. One podcaster constantly brings up the Will Farrell movie kicking and screaming, no matter what movie he's reviewing.

Why.

I am very curious as to what podcast that is.

If you ever do a recording tour, come to San Francisco to reviews. So I married an axe murderer until that happens. Thanks for keeping me entertained and loling in some quiet public places.

Love it?

Yes, so much?

Busy already covered. So I married an axe murderer.

That's right.

If we do come to San Francisco, we will do vertigo. Oh yeah, it is a classic of San Francisco cinema.

There you go. See you had another poll because immediately was like I had that in Missus Doubtfire and I can't wait another one. Uh, Basilina, this is a delightful review. It's thought out, it's well reasoned. There's a thesis statement and then supporting points.

There's a there's a sensational burn at another podcast for some reason, which I fucking love.

I loved it. I loved it. Don't be afraid to tear down other podcasts in your review lifting us up just so you know.

Yeah, we have no qualms about making other people feel bad.

That's right. You know what podcasts we like, We've talked about them. Anyone else's fair game, Basilina. If you would like that age bel Tope Bag, please let me know. I will send it off for you, Erica. What is the what is the film classic we are discussing today?

Oh, I'm so excited. Today is the nineteen forty eight psychological thriller Rope.

Rope was requested by Sharon ma Luis Anika and Kay, Kay I want, I want, Kay, this is for you. Kay has requested this movie multiple times?

Did he bringing it up?

Yeah? Request Rope yet requested in gay month, requested in classics month. I think may have come through a Halloween month.

Once follows a lot of you can go any of those, Patty, it can fit into.

Any of those can And Kay was like, do this movie and frankly, K, you were right. This movie is fun.

This movie slaps yeah all right.

Rope was written by Arthur Lawrence, based on the nineteen twenty nine play of the same name by Patrick Hamilton. It was directed by A One Alfred Hitchcock and stars James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Grainger.

While the play on which the film is based has its leads being explicitly homosexual.

Deep throating on stage in nineteen twenty nine, people.

Ha fisting all the way up to the elbows.

We've got bent over.

Loube as far as the guy see.

The audience had to sit on tarps.

The film, however, only implies their relationship still. Arthur Lawrence, who the writer who is gay, has said he thought their relationship was quote unquote apparent and suspected he got by the censors because they just didn't have a fucking clue. He didn't say the fucking part I did, but that, Yeah, from what I know of.

Arthur Lawrence, it was definitely implied. Yeah, he said it.

By the way. Crazy. He used to live in the West Village and I happened to have known which house he was living in when he was still alive, and I saw him going in and out of his house every once in a while, like the guy the fucking Yeah, I used to be in New York City tour guide. I don't have ever mentioned that on the show.

He definitely have.

Yeah, that's it. He was on one of the streets that I used to stop at.

Oh, that's interesting. Do you have a favorite moment of homosexual implication, because I definitely do in this film.

In this film, the very first shot is very frankly, Yeah, I'm like they are murdering their lover. That is a their third, they are during their third. I'm convinced.

I didn't even think of that. Okay, I have a different one, but I'll let you know when we get to.

Oh, okay, homosexual implication six years abound.

So Hitchcock filmed rope, using long takes and attempting to disguise as many cuts as he could. To accomplish this, furniture and walls were constantly being moved mid take to make room for the camera. James Stewart was not a fan of the process and commented the important thing being rehearsed is the camera, not the actors.

I love James Stewart. You can't really, you can't get me to not love James Stewart. I don't care.

I'm not trying to get you not love him. I am. I have nothing against James Stewart. I am, I am not. It's a wonderful life.

Pilm You just you just have nothing for him either.

Yeah, I don't think he's the most like a compelling actor.

Disagree. I don't think he's a good actor, but he's compelling fair, he's not He's not great, but he is charismatic to like tense degree.

Yes, that that that I agree with. Maybe I should say I should say good as opposed to comp I was trying to say it nicer. I don't think he's a great actor. He's fine. He's not terrible at all, but he's fine.

Okay.

Yeah, that's kind of my take on Jimmy Stewart.

It's so funny too, Like, so the movie is meant to look like a play. Yeah, basically, like that's what that said. Gets a gimmick that Hitchcock was going for, and I think it works. It looks it doesn't feel like you're watching a film.

Oh definitely, Yeah.

Quite a bit of it. It also like it takes place in one location. It's extremely dialogue heavy. There's there's almost no actual action in the movie.

Yeah, this is a bottle episode of a movie in the.

Story exactly like they could have filmed in other locations if they wanted to, like let's go down to the garage, but they didn't do that. They were like, let's lean into the fact that we are filming a play. And I really liked it. I think it works.

It also gives the air of like a pressure cooker, which is what's happening, Like they can't escape this space. It's no exit, but with homosexuals.

With more homoseexu Affair Rope has a ninety three percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a ninety percent audience score. I think that's fine.

I think it's fine. I think the movie watching it now, it does come off as a little funny because the performances are big, Like you mentioned this off mic that they're almost pitched as if they were performing in the theater.

I feel like John Doll and Farley Granger were theater actors and Jimmy Stewart is a movie actor, and you can tell the difference. Yeah, because have you ever seen a movie where Jimmy Stewart is giving the smallest performance?

No, visit the one.

I was like, man, how is Jimmy Stewart the most subtle actor on my screen right now?

Yeah? Yeah, But I greatly enjoyed it, and it's it's it's a lot of fun. Yeah. When did you first see the movie, Erica?

I want to say I was probably in high school. Okay, Paul's gonna make fun of me again. You know that thing, that typical thing on a Sunday afternoon when you're seven eight years old, PLoP yourself in front of the old TV and watch her.

You get a hot mug of apple cider, and you you make sure your bones are wrapped up in a nice afgham.

So I went through a Hitchcock phase when I was in high school. Apple sauce because your teeth hurt. That's right, you have to take your dentures out to eat your food.

I went.

I think we talked about this in Psycho, I'm sure, but I obviously love Alfred Hitchcock films, and I don't remember the first one I saw. I think it was probably Psycho or Rear Window. And so I went through a phase where I was just watching all the Hitchcock movies and obviously this is in there. Is it the best Hitchcock movie? No, but it's you know, I'd make it top ten. I would put it in the top ten easily.

It's also just very like you can feel the experimentation in it, like the fact that the long cuts like that you can see the director trying to do something interesting yep, and lots of times I don't like movies where you can like feel the director's thumb. I kind of feel like the director's job is to allow me to fall into the story without feeling all the machinations

Yeah, absolutely so how about you? When did you first see Rope?

I first saw it yesterday. This is not when I avoided. This is not when I honestly hadn't heard about it.

Until it's a third tier or second tier Hitchcock. It's not like when you think Hitchcock, you think of the Vertigo, rear window, Psycho, north By Northwest, like the birds even maybe and then this falls in. This falls in with the other ones with notorious suspicion, like like you know, Trouble with Harry, like those movies.

Yeah, and I had heard about it a lot. Is just a queer cinema classic for lack of electorate, It is definitely queer cinema. Alfred Hitchcock was, as we've discussed, I believe it seemed to have an eye out for the for the blonde ladies, for the blonde ladies, yes, but also an interest I think in marginalized communities. I think you know something there, So I like Arthur Laurence said, like they knew that they were filmed. This was a gay couple that was at the center of this story.

I'm not sure, but I think even when I was a kid and I was watching this, I mean I wasn't a kid kid, I was probably seventeen or whatever, I was like, yeah, they're gay. Like I think, even though it's not overtly experience.

Yeah, the only way I could think that you would interpret this and not see them as gay would be if you literally, I'm not even saying this to accuse anyone of this, but like, if you don't view gay relationships as a just a fundamental reality.

Of the world, as a possibility, as.

A possibility yet, like if you are either so sheltered or whatever that you literally don't realize that a man can be with a man.

Yeah, well it's also maybe you think because of the timeline, you're like that wouldn't possibly be allowed, and like, but it can be.

Erica. The tagline for Rope was the guest to Who's dead on time? Oh? I like that. That's good.

It's wordplay.

Yeah, it's it's wordplay and it's pithy. That is six words, done that, and it tells you.

Everything work with that hemingway.

Yeah, no one got paid by the word here.

Charles Dickens, Shall I read the synopsis?

Please deal?

James Stewart, Farley Granger, and John Dall star in this Macabres spellbinder, which was inspired by a real life case of.

Murder murder, most foul.

Two thrill seeking friends Granger and Doll friends friends, quote unquote.

Friends, sisters, We're close, close.

Strangle a classmate and then hold a party for their victims, family and friends, serving refreshments on a buffet table fashioned from a trunk containing the lifeless body. When dinner conversation revolves around talk of quote unquote, the perfect murder, their former teacher, Jimmy Stewart, becomes increasingly suspicious that his students have turned his intellectual theories into brutal reality.

Mm.

Excellent, that's good. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Paul, do you have an actual synopsis for Rope?

Yes, I'm glad you asked, Erica. The actual synopsis for Rope is two fancy boys attempt to plan the perfect murder, but they can't stop stepping on Rakes. I have to say, when I first watched it, I was expecting something really tense and really gripping, kind of in the way that Psycho is. And the fact of the matter is these two Jabbronis are terrible at this.

You know, they're so bad at crime that they should like this is embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for book.

This is not their calling. This is not their calling. John Dahl should be playing a gossip columnist that everybody hates, and Farley Granger should just go be aiano player like that actually is his calling. Quietly sit in the corner by the piano. That's where they would be happy.

I mean, I feel bad that they it went so wrong the first time because they're never going to get a second shot at crime now, that's right, they're going away for life. By the way, just a heads up, this is based loosely on Leopold and Loeb right, very loosely, very very loosely. But if you if you're curious about that, because I know it was brought up earlier, just google it. It's kind of a bummer of a story.

Yeah, I and yeah, if you don't know, maybe enjoy your ignorance. It's not a happy tale.

They were gay too, though, right they were Oh okay, so.

Well they were lovers. I don't know they were.

Well, this is true, just because you never know, you never never know. It does make a little bit of sense that the play from the jump has them as lovers totally, because you know what, finally we have real representation when you can show queer people being terrible.

Look, we cannot forget that gay people can be assholes.

Gay people can be bad at things too, including crime.

Including crime. They can be nasty bitches, and we have to remember that even though they deserve equal rights. But that doesn't mean they're good people.

Yeah, they're equally terrible.

From all of us. All right, everyone stick around. If you are a patron, you can you're just gonna slide right into the next section of the podcast. But if you're not, you're gonna hear a couple of ads. If you don't want to hear those ads, you can join our Patreon at the three, five or ten dollars dollar level and you won't have to hear them. Everyone, just

Yeah, it's against the wall at all, because people, I think, no, no one crosses, no.

One crosses in front of it.

But the way it feels like you could And.

There's one long shot where it's held very tightly and it's kind of looking past it and you can see that the room continues. Yeah, so it's not there's not a fourth wall there. It's not leaning up against the wall.

It's a loft apartment, huge space, but a giant credenza in the middle of the I think anthropology Cellsy's. Actually they probably give buy it with or without David Kentley's body inside.

I frankly expect better decor from my fancy boys.

It is ugly.

It's ugly.

It's maybe look, maybe it's an antique.

Sure, you know he does say found it while he was antique in Italy.

You know, you know how the sissies love antique.

If you have it, if you have an antique shop and a Nancy is inside of it, it's actually not an antique shop.

It's not even an antique shop.

You need one of us.

Okay, So you asked me earlier, what's the most overtly homosexual moment in the movie. I am telling you this. The look of ecstasy on their faces, even the look of ecstasy on David the victim's face.

Oh you think it's an autoerotic asphyxiation. No, I don't.

I really really don't. Although I'm sure Hitchcock knew his way around that too, I wouldn't be surprised. But it's almost like an act of like sexual arousal gone crazy.

Ah okay, I think.

There's something there. I don't know if I'm making it up, but I feel like less so Philip. But Brandon and David look like they are in a moment of ecstasy.

Like they're coming locked.

I'm being classic, I'm not, and they're shooting ropes, and so to me, it's so funny. Like again, seventeen year old me is like.

Huh huh, that's interesting.

I'm picking up on some I'm picking up on a vibe here, you guys.

Wow, Okay, because you definitely get it from Brandon. Like Brandon spends the majority of this movie painfully erect, Like he should.

Call a doctor into that his erection has lasted more than four hours.

Yeah, he has to contact his PCP immediately. But like, I didn't get that from I mean, I didn't really look at deep not out of To be clear, this is not gory. It's not realistic looking, like it's not it's not scary, it's.

So unrealistic looking that I swear to god, David looks alive until the moment he like he falls limp.

He's like, oh yeah, yeah. But I didn't get that so much from Philip, who is who looks almost horrified while he's doing it, like he can't.

If you don't look horrified, are you even doing it right?

Why else do you keep the lights out?

If you don't look deeply ashamed, then what are we even doing here?

Oh that's really interesting. I'm going to think about that as we as we chatt.

I mean, there are others, for sure, but I get there's something about this opening tableau that just screams sure eroticism in a way that it's not supposed to be, like like you know, like an old painting of a fucking like saint being like torture. You always have this look of face on their face like they're coming yeah, and it's like the ecstasy of Saint Aloysius or.

Whatever it's it's it's uh, it's Margaret White and Carrie one.

Hundred and so it has that. And so I got that, like kind of.

David came for a petite more and he got a big, more, deeply.

Catholic take on all of this nonsense.

Gotcha, gotcha.

In the immediate aftermath of the murder murder, a division between the two immediately shows Brandon is exhilarated. He lights up a cigarette again.

I mean again, I one on Brandon, brash.

Brandon, he lights a cigarette. He's like, oh, I've never felt so Alie. Yeah, Philip is anxious. He's like, can can can we stay hidden in the dark for a few more minutes because Brandon wants to open the windows right away, and Brandon gives him a moment, and then he opens the penthouse curtains, letting the sunshine in this set is stunning.

It's not real. I understand, it's not even filmed in New York now till my brain just went, oh, I want that apartment.

There's such a painted backdrop. Because the clouds don't move the entire.

Time, the clouds that move, the buildings are not where they're supposed to be. The Empire State Building is not in the right place, and I'm like, I don't care. Brandon goes on to talk about how they should make the glass that David took his last drink from a museum piece. I guess if you're going to commit a murder, be excited about it.

I didn't think I could nut again this quickly, But here I am nutting in my pants.

Two nut boys. I'm gonna invent newgates Lang today, nut boys works. Two nut boys. These two, these two nut boys, these Macadamias are out here committing murders. But like, you know, it would be insulting if you murdered me and weren't and weren't like this, This is the last soda Erica drank.

Yeah, I bet I better not fucking be an incidental murder.

Yeah, okay, this is Paul's last toothpick. You can still see the food he picked out of his teeth with it. There's a great line here where where He's like, this is his last whiskey glass, and Brandon's like it was out of character for Javid to drink whiskey. It's almost as if he knew, and then Philip just chimes in with was also out of character for him to be murdered too. Best line in the movie.

Philip's a real Debbie Downer.

The best line in the movie is wasted in the first minute. It's excellent. Yeah, he really has a you mind. I'm trying to enjoy my murder here.

So Philip can basically only stare at the makeshift coffin in the center of their room. He laments that the lock on the chest doesn't work. He wishes they had chosen a different victim. Okay, so these performances are big. Yeah, I don't think they're bad. I think they're big. I prefer the Philip performance because I think he kind of like finds a slightly different mode the branded performance. John Doll is playing so evil. It is doctor Doom at all time. He is ready to like Monola is Magneto

I think before we started, I knew you hadn't seen the movie before, so I was like, Farley Granger Warning gives a terrible performance. And then I watched it again this week. I watched this movie recently. I probably watched it maybe six eight months ago or something like that, and I just remembered Farley Granger not being good in it, And then I watched it again, like yesterday for this and I was like, I'm wrong. He's jarringly over the

Yeah, what are you doing? He's gorgeous?

Are you wasting your time in the theater? But I agree with you. I think he gives an excellent performance. I remembered it wrong. I remembered it as like terrible, and I'm like, no, it's actually quite good.

Yeah, all right, So Philip laments he wishes they had chosen different victim, and Brandon sneers, and Phillip says, maybe it should have been you, Brandon, and the look on Brandon's face it makes him back off this position immediately. He stammers an apology. He protests that he was always scared of Brandon, even when they first met in prep school,

Wit way. This is their shared apartment. Yeah, it makes it very clear from the beginning these two are quote unquote their roommates, Paul.

Their roommates, their roommates. They are roomies.

There are roomies the one bedroom apartment. But like it's so in his own apartment. He's like, may I have a cocktail please?

Yeah.

The two of them head into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle, and the camera follows them. I love the camera work in this. Its like you can they don't have steady cams back then. You can literally see it bounce a little bit as the camera guy has to like move it across the track. Brandon wax is on about he always wished for a more artistic talent, the way the way Philip has later Philip is a great classical pianist. Right, he's a real pianist. I knew that

Is there a real pianist.

A classical pianist, Yeah, classical classical pianist. If you're by you're a jazz pianist.

Which way it's gonna go? Aventure?

It uses all of the notes.

Yes, right at the same time. So he says, if you're straight, vagina.

If you're straight, you're a kazoo. You just have one note.

Not so.

Brandon's like, I wish I'd always had a more artistic talent. But maybe this is it. Maybe my my talent for killing is just as satisfying as a talent for creating. It's basically the same thing. It's like I gave birth to David, but in reverse.

Okay, surege Anne spinning. Brandon is a sociopath and so entertaining, a completely unrepentant sociopath in every way.

In every way, and so bad at it. That's that's why it's funny. He would be terrifying if he was good at it, if he was, but he's bad at it.

I was, we were talking. I was like, if they pitched these performances down, the movie could get really scared. What happens in this movie is horror, Like, like, ye, what the plans?

They actually do an.

Act absolutely stomach churningly horrifying. And I don't know if this is maybe a consequence of the style or the performances or certain choices being made. If they took these down and made these two good at crime and good at covering this up, they would be two of the most terrifying characters ever put on screen. Yeah.

I would have loved to have seen Hitchcock do a second version of this without the gimmick of the one shot where he actually uses cuts and he gets in close ups and like, really he does use close ups here, but like using all your usual tricks of the trade, like not hamstringing himself with this. Again, I like that it's filmed this way, but I think you're right I think it's a different movie if they're given an opportunity to play small.

And to be good, to be good at crime. Yeah, but like, I wouldn't be against a remake of this movie with a really strong different take on it. To make these two.

Good lesbians, I want lesbian Oh my god, and.

Stuart and Sarah Paulson.

Oh no, Sarah Paulson has to play the Jimmy Stewart part.

Oh, that's right.

She would be she would be amazing in the Jimmy Stewart part.

Yeah. Yeah, you're right, you're right.

Ariana Debo's perfect. And Kristin Stewart uh huh. It's the problem with the David role as there's no you don't get a line. But I think you could have really fun stunt casting here.

Yeah they kill Drew Barrymore.

Yeah, I think you could you get really fun stunt casting here. They killed Rene.

Rap Yeah, something like that.

An all lesbian production, yeah, of rope, Please God make this happen. Please. I don't ask for much.

I don't.

I really don't, I really don't. But but I want an all female just a gender swapped rope, yes, but also actually queer actresses in every role.

Give it to Luca Guadanino or something like or give it to Brian fall Yes, yeah, it would be the most fucked up thing you ever saw.

Give it. Give it to Lisa Chilladenko. Sure, get her, get her filthy omits on this. I want I want to see it.

I want to see it.

You know what, I'm breaking my rule. If Kate Blanchette wants to be in it, she's allowed.

Kate Blanchett is always allowed to be in it.

Always a looved she is an honorary lesbian.

Yeah, so we're about to hit Erica. My favorite gay implication, homosexual implication of the movie. They get the champagne bottle and they're just standing and because of the way it's shot and it's it's a tight frame, all of these conversations that we're going to describe for the rest of the movie. The people are going to be so close to each other but they're talking, but they're they're standing like shoulder to shoulder, and in between them is this

At one point, Farley Grainger grabs it from it. It's like, I'll open this, wasting everyone's time. No, you are one hundred percent right, he is. So he's so aroused. Hitchcock was like, how far we go with like the implications and the like insinuations before I have to pull it back where I'm like, well, now we're gonna get shut down.

Yeah.

So he fondles the champagne and celebrates the murder. They've just killed David for the sake of danger and killing, and it came off perfectly. Sure did, Bob, Sure did.

I don't know if you ever heard that saying about putting the cart before the horse. Uh huh yeah, counting your chickens prior to them breaking out of their shells, all that stuff.

All that, Oh that, all that is happening. Brandon asks Philip if he's still frightened, and Philip says no. Then the champagne pops release and they toast, and Brandon says to David, of course, with a gleeful smile on his face, I'm really into this movie. I like these evil queers.

Me too, Philip, And this is a real twist. Philip asks, do you think the party is a mistake?

Now?

I think they might be straight. This might be, he might be. He's wait, you don't want to have a party. Hang on, hang on, there's a theme and everything.

We have a we have we built the whole day around it. A Brandon assures Philip that having it is like the signature of the artist, but he does lament how boring the party guests are. But they had to invite the kent Ley's. They are, after all, David's mother and father, and David is the guest of honor.

Amazing, right, that line is so chilling.

Yeah, you're like, what the fuck? Plus they invited Janet, who has set her sights on marrying David, and Brandon can barely contain his laughter when he comments that he doesn't think she's gonna succeed in getting him. Now, I'm doing my Prince John laugh from animated Robin Hood. You won't get this, but the listeners will.

Ah ah, I am still amused, thank you.

And then he has an idea he hasn't. He's like, oh my god, just got better. I'm gonna I'm gonna nut again.

I'm gonna cash you all over this place.

He tells Philip to take the other candlog u and follow him. That may be the gayest sentence I've ever said in my life. Take the other candelabra and follow me.

Oh my god, you're absolutely right.

Everyone grab the candelabra.

I don't. I don't think even ever said that these men are gayer than Liberaci. Brandon leeds Philip back to the main room, and they set the two candelabras on the wood chest that contains David's corpse on the west elm, on the anthropology off oak chest that contains their best friend slash slaves corpse. This is my canon.

David was their slave, gotcha sex slaves save to be clear, consensually.

Until then it went, it went. How how long do you think David was like? Okay, when they were like, we're just gonna put this rope around your neck.

Okay, Well, I'm gonna tell you Erica, it was a long time because he screams and then he's dead in the space of five seconds.

Yeah.

They put on gloves and he's like, this is gonna be fun.

This is gonna be awesome. This The marks all over my body for me smacking me are gonna be so much better with Swede.

If you think about it, truly, this man, sorry what you said.

Just hit me. Spanking is so underrated these days.

Just just like just hitting himself with a Swede cat of nine tails, just if you think about it. David walked into this apartment where the blinds were all closed and these two put gloves on, and he was like, yes, let's party. He definitely was there for sex.

Yeah, honestly, you're selling me on it. You are selling me on it for.

So okay, Brandon is now is sexually aroused by another idea. He's like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, Phil up, let's serve dinner on the chest with the corpse on it. Philip is like that's gross, but he's like, at least it will reduce the likelihood of someone opening the chest during the party, being like what's in here, and like wa, He's like, fine, we'll put the fucking dinner on the chest, even though that is the grossest thing ever. And Brandon's like, I'm coming, shut the fuck up, wait,

I'm about to blow the back out of these pants.

I'm about to almond joy all over this place. I'm gonna stick with this nut name until please do.

Yeah.

Okay, So they're like, we have to hurry before missus Wilson gets back right now, we're hearing about a lady, Missus Wilson. Brandon says, they'll layout the books, which was the excuse they had for inviting mister Kentley over anyway, dog David's father a bunch of antique books. They are in their house. Not gay man at all, you know, not gay at all, not gay at all, just but just two guys living together, two bachelors or.

A collection of first editions.

With the collection of antique books.

And that's what's behind the candelabra set of antique fucking books.

Haha. So they put the books on the dining table and the food on the chest.

Yep, the bell rings. Brandon goes to answer it while Philip gathers the books, and while gathering them, he sees the murder weapon, the titular rope is hanging out of the chests. This is the first rate. You're like, Okay, you didn't think this through. Why Why is the murder weapon still with the corpse?

Yeah, like around his neck.

The number one you would think, where's the murder weapon? That's like problem Numero uno. After you murdered someone, how did we do it? Let's figure out how to clean.

That up, how to get rid of that murder weapon.

Yeah. I don't know if you ever played the game Clue or seen the movie Erica I am, but the murder weapons play an enormous role.

So it's missus Wilson in the kitchen with a candilabra.

Candelabra gay clue one of the the murder movie a kindleabra.

I think actually in regular clue, that's a candlestick. It's oh, let's gay understood. Yeah, gay clue would have a kind of labra. The wrench would be.

The lead pipe is a dildo. The wrench is a butt plug. Uh huh uh huh right. I don't know why people reduce gay people to the sex they have. I don't know. So it's so like basic.

I think the wrench is a Stanley cup, the pistol is a thoroughgun.

And the rope is a golden girl's throw.

The rope is a boa used once back in Pee Town during that party.

Will do lesbian clue later.

The lesbian clue is still a lead pipe and a wrench.

That's true, that's true.

The rope is a tool belt, the gun is a dildo.

That's right. Yeah, that's right.

It all still kind of trucks.

It works, it works, yeah, okay. So Philip sees the rope hanging out of the of the cassone and he starts to panic. He is holding on by a thread. Brandon stalks over. He yanks the rope out of the chest and he tells Philip to get a hold of himself. He reminds Philip that they agreed the only crime either of them could commit would be making a mistake, and weakness is a mistake. And Philip asks, is that because it's human? And Brandon snaps back, no, because it's ordinary.

Yeah, yeah, I bet you. Ten minutes before the murder, Philip was all in.

Yeah.

Philip was like, this is great. We are better than everyone. We're smarter, yeah, we're you know, we were just fundamentally better than our idiot friends. And then the minute it was over, he was like, well, that didn't feel as good as I thought it would. Frankly, title of My Sex Safe. Missus Wilson played by Edith Evanson, the men's housekeeper. Very cool housekeeper, it's.

So chill cool. She knows they're living together, and she must be aware of the bedroom situation. Fine, yeah, they because they later referred to it, the phone is in the bedroom.

Really, I did not.

Catch that my bedroom. It's not in Phillip's bedroom. It's in the bedroom the bedroom.

Interesting. So Missus Wilson enters. She's completed an errand they sent her off on the errand was to buy pet.

She she keeps calling Patty, which I'm I'm assuming is just how they said it back then.

Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. She's like, I went to that good Jewish bakery downtown, Jewish jelly downtown to get it right. She is none too pleased to see that her carefully laid table has been moved to an antique chest in the living room. She says, it now looks just downright peculiar. A buffet in the living room, a buffet growth gross.

Pete, pete, and the certainly not.

Brandon is basically mister Burns at this point, right, he is like rubbing his hands together and being like, it looks like a ceremonial altar for I don't know, sacrificial feasts, and Missus Wilson's like, I guess, okay. She goes off to complete her pre party tasks while Brandon takes the murder weapon, the rope, and stores it in the kitchen drawer. This is my favorite shot in the movie.

Incredible shot.

It is so cool. So the camera follows Brandon as he walks into the kitchen. The kitchen has a swinging door. He goes into the kitchen and he's talking to Missus Wilson the whole time. The door's kind of closed, and then it swings open. Only the audience can see it, and we see Brandon just like dropping the rope into a kitchen drawer and closing the drawer. So he's not like he was holding the rope in front of Missus Wilson.

Oh, he's not in his pocket. He's swinging around. Well, he's talking to her.

You're absolutely right, Yeah, he is. Of course, why would hid it? He doesn't have to hide it. He's committed the perfect crime, Paul.

Of course. Missus Wilson is surprised that they're putting out the champagne. After all, they only have champagne at mister Cadell's at very high occasions. So that this a little more backstory. She used to work for a man named mister Cadell, and now she works for Brandon and Philip. Right, Brandon says that mister Cadell is actually joining them that evening, and Missus Wilson, oh, she is excited. She loves mister Cadell.

Everyone loves mister Cadell. He's a hoot.

He's a hoot. Philip, on the other hand, is not pleased. The two men carry plates into the living room, and Philip chides Brandon for inviting Rupert Cadell, the person most likely to suspect them, and brand responds that actually Rupert is the person most likely to see the events of the day from their perspective. He even thought of inviting Rupert on their little adventure, but eventually concluded that he didn't have the courage to carry it through like they did.

Interesting.

Interesting, who is this Rupert? Who is this Rupert Cadell?

The bell rings and Brandon in tones? Now the fun begins.

Okay, if I got murdered and someone later was like, now the fun, he wasn't fun.

You didn have fun before?

Fuck you?

We're having fun now, aren't we.

Oh, I'm gonna haunt your ass.

First to arrive is Kenneth Lawrence, played by aptly named Douglas Dick.

There's a few shots in this where I know it's it's not the actor. It's it's like the technicolor, the hair, the hair, and like his skin tone. I think it happens when he's in shadow. I don't know if he has like maybe he has like a really olive skin tone or something, but he almost looks.

Gold yes gray or gray.

Yeah. Yeah, like like the skin tone is wrong, and it's not all the time. There are times where he just looks like a normal blonde boy. Yeah, it's totally fine, but sometimes the color just goes off and also.

The hair turns like orange in certain lighting is not good for poor Douglas Dick this film. I mean, I get it, like they had to light everyone right, It's not like they had specific lighting to make certain skin tones and like certain air colors look good. And he is the only like blonde ginger guy in the whole.

Movie, and he's paying the price.

So Kenneth is an old classmate of theirs. He's also surprised at the champagne and asks if someone is celebrating a birthday, and Brandon says, it's almost just the opposite. Excellent. He covers it by saying, fill up. The pianist is headed upstate for a while to rehearse in peace for a big concert he has coming up. So it's a going away party that we're having today for Philip. Yeah,

And he practically looks at him and he's like, do you have your response to that? But Janet Walker, this is a messy bit. This is the apotheosis of a messy bitch who loves drama. It is not enough for him to murder somebody and then like gleefully have people eat.

Like his parents eat off the and.

He has to stir the pot to entertain himself additionally on top of that.

Yeah, So Kenneth gets very sober, very quickly, and Brandon's like, what's wrong, Kenneth, don't you I thought you'd be excited to see Janet.

He strokes his chin, and Kenneth is like, yeah.

Did you know that Janet and I are in fact broken up, We're no longer seeing each other, and and that, in fact she is now seeing David the other person coming to this party. And Brandon is like, WHOA, I had no idea, but I have an odd feeling your chances are going to improve with Janet after tonight.

Can't help him, cannot help him, sir. If he's not stepping on a rake. He takes a rake, he puts it down, he steps on it, the worst criminal. But as we're talking about it, it does kind of make sense because arrogance is his is his fatal hill. Heels right like because he actually some of the things he says is right. He's like when Philip is freaking out about the rope. He's like, why would we worry about the rope. It's just a piece of rope. It's a

Yeah, it wasn't fastens into a noose. By the way, It's just a piece of rope.

It's just a piece of rope. So it he's some of his instincts aren't bad, but he can't stop bragging about what he did. He wants people to know that he's pulling it off. And that's like the fatal flaw. Anyway.

It's like when you walk into a party with a terrible outfit. No one says anything you like, but I'm pulling it off.

Look.

So anyway, Oh, this this thing, this whole thing. I got it at a consignment shop. I think it used to belong to Jackie, Oh, Jackie O'Leary.

Perhaps perhaps if you're lucky. All right, So, next to arrive is Janet Walker played by Joan Chandler. Joan Chandler is in the dress. The color of the dress stunning on her maroon claret. It has big shoulder ruffles, which I actually will allow.

It's nineteen forty eight.

Yeah, it's totally fine. I have to draw the line at the elbow ruffles. It's too much.

It's a lot of ruffles. Ruffle. She is also it is like a high neck tight dress. Like poor woman probably was sweating balls off in this.

Absolutely.

This is a famous costume designer. His name is Adrian. He specifically made like glamorous gowns for films for leading actresses. That was his whole thing.

What a fantastic job.

I know. He yeah, like Edith Head, but a guy and specifically just like glamorous gowns. It's like, okay, kid, he didn't do all the costumes.

Yeah. So this miss Chandler's gown. I saw that credit. Yeah yeah, okay. So she comes in. She's thrilled to meet her favorite gaze until she spots Kenneth and her face drops. The two exes attempt to make small talk until Janet has a chance to pull Brandon into the foyer and she snaps at him that his sense of

Yeah, that's yeah. You're being a whore is simply not my concern. Yeah, frankly, yeah.

He asks her why she dumped Kenneth, and she said David was nicer and Brandon sneers he certainly was richer, Which is how you say you being a cheap whore is exhausting and not my problem. In nineteen forty eight, did.

You catch in this scene that these two used to date for a minute?

Yep, for a minute.

For a minute. She's like, He's like, well, how can I recall you threw you threw me over for Kenneth, and then Kenneth over for David, who can keep tracked. And then she keeps calling everyone in this film chum. She's like, Hi, chum, I chum this bitch.

Nos.

Yeah, she's just out here like bearding for the bearding for the whole crew.

She is an asexual woman who just wants to marry a rich gay man who will never bother her, So we'll let.

Her live in her beautiful designer addresses forever.

Yeah, that's fine. Uh so, Janet says, that's a new low chum even for you, and she stalks back into the living room.

Meanwhile, back in the living room, the four discuss Rupert Cadell. They're housemaster from prep school who is now a publisher.

He's a publisher of philosophy. Oh, small print, big words, no sales, excellent, much.

Is made over. I don't know Brandon's relationship to Rupert at this point, and how much in Rupert's thrall Brandon was while in school, so clearly in love. Yeah with this Rupert Jenneral, it's older, brilliant man.

And this is a this is this is when I'm like, okay, that's the third. There's there's a line in here that no gay man is going to write unintentionally where they say he would spend all night at his master's feet. Yes, yes, yeah, And I'm like, okay, yes, yes, yes, there's not a gay man in the world who would write that. There are gay priests who would write that and know exactly what they were writing.

Yeah, he's submissive. I see it. I see it now too, I see it. So Brandon tells them how talked about how murder is a crime for most men, and then he looks meaningfully at Philip and then Philip finishes the sentence, but a privilege for the few. Just like that. Philip's like not having it. He's like, stop playing this game somehow.

Neither Kenneth nor Janet is like, you know what, you two are weird? Yeah, we're gonna go.

There's a vibe, right, this is a weird vibe. There's a vibe at this party and I hate it.

The two of you need to go into the bedroom and fuck it out and then come back so you can be fun again.

Yeah, OK, because this is awful.

Yeah. The buzzer sounds again and Brandon welcomes in mister Henry Kentley, who's played by Sir Cedric Hardwick, and Missus Anita Atwater played by Constance Collier. It turns out that Missus Kentley isn't feeling well, so Kentley brought his sister and said, so this is this is David's father and his aunt. Yes. They head in, and Missus Atwater immediately mistakes Kenneth for David, which causes Philip to squeeze the glass he's holding so hard it breaks and cuts his hand.

Be cool, Philip, Be cool, buddy.

The two newcomers also get to go to Greek Janet, who Missus Atwater excitedly tells about how she's saw on Janet's horoscope that a marriage was just around the corner. There is a line in the scene where someone, I think Brandon or Philip, asks shall I get you some champagne Missus Atwater, and Missus Atwater says, oh, I should have done some. Daddy used to have a glass every morning at eleven.

Love, okay, love everything about your life. Lady, lady, teach me will I will be at this master's feet forever?

Yeah, forever and ever.

She's my favorite character in the movie.

She's fun.

She's so much fun.

She's also playing enormously big for the cheap seats, but the character definitely calls for it. Yes, so it kind of even though it's big, it feels a little more realistic than some of the other stuff.

Yeah, she's the fun party and she came to have parties and to like look the other way while the kids smokes cigarettes. You know, what I'm saying. Yeah, she's delightful. And I was wondering at first, I'm like, why did they Why did the writer have like the ant and not the mother show up? And I realized it's because for so long, the aunt is going to be this like buoyant character in this even when things get weird, and I think a mom would have picked up on

And I also think it's it's too it's gruesome already. You have to you need some like if it's the mother and the father there and like they're getting more and more worried, and like they also have the father be like the voice of reason, like I'm sure he's fine the whole time, Like he doesn't ever really dip into really worried. So they have the mom off screen worrying deeply about where the where their son is, but

Yep, absolutely absolutely, And it also it gives you an excuse to have this very fun, like effervescent female character that's like, oh wait, who's missing? Was how Yah, I've cheered for a party. I'm just trying to hit on Jimmy Stewart. I don't know what the rest of you are doing. Mister Kentley asks if David is already there, and Brandon's like, wait, I was expecting him to come with you. Mister Kentley responds that David had phoned him earlier to say he would meet him here at the party,

Yes. Yeah.

Brandon sends her to the bedroom as Paul right here, I did not clock that well done the bedroom to use the phone, and he pours her a refill and sends Kenneth to deliver it. Why don't you go send Why don't you go into the bedroom with Janet and give her this champagne.

Yeah, there's a great line here where Kenneth is like, I know what you're doing and Brendon's like what am I doing? He's like, you want me to take this drink into Janet in the bedroom and then you want David to walk in, and Brenda says, oh no, that would be too much of a shock.

Funny, Dave Brandon is having the best day of his life.

Yeah.

Meanwhile, Missus Atwater talks to Philip about his horoscope and he asks about the upcoming concert, his big debut, and she says she looks at his hands, and she goes, these hands will bring you great fame. She's not wrong, She's wrong, not wrong about that.

Nope. Philippears the potential double meaning and starts to play the piano nervously. Right, he just needs to do something because why are we doing this? Why are we doing this? Why was this the plan? Right? Just in time for Rupert cadell One mister James Stewart to make his entrance and to compliment his playing. Rupert makes his way through the room. He's greeting everyone and when he comes to Brandon, who brings him champagne. We see Brandon nervous for the

These are two brazil nuts if I ever. I don't know much Paul, but I know two pecans when I see one.

Haha.

Missus Wilson brings out the final bit of food, and dinner is served just on top of the corpse. As everyone starts to like get some food, fix a plate, find a place to sit, Philip mentions to Janet that he doesn't eat chicken, and she wonders why, and he insists there's no reason, no reason at all. Janet, stop asking such dumb questions. Philip, you have to chill.

Yeah.

Ruper comments that he remembers the funny story about Philip and his reason for not eating chicken, and Brandon's like, that's right, there is a great story, and then Brandon starts to relate a story about how once Philip was trying to, you know, strangle a chicken for dinner like a normal person, and then like Lazarus, the chicken rose from that.

That's a lie. They're so chill, they're keeping their cool perfectly.

No one in the rest of the party thought, even though the story is weird, and macabre. Everyone was going with it, yeah, even smiling, and then Philip was like, shop lying about me.

Monster. To be clear, in this story, they are on like a farm with chickens for dinner. He's not just you know, running out, running out with a live chicken strangled on Fifth Avenue.

He's thirty first Street, to be like anyone wants chicken. The two of them start sniping at each other, and Rupert is looking on with interests because Rupert is a smart man.

And he wants to fuck both of them, so we're told.

And so he yeah, he's like, what's happening here? How can I use this to my advantage? The moment is broken when Janet laughs about how silly they're all being acting out about an old, dead chicken. God bless you, Janet. Yeah, let's move on because this party is awful. Yeah, and I need this to not be as awful as it is being right now.

Rupert comments that it seems like the two of them might have been strangling each other in a few more moments, but he supposes that a chicken is as good a reason for murder as a mattressful of money or a beautiful woman. What a fun party guest.

Actually, I think it is fun. The writing is a little on the nose here, but like everyone loves that party guest that's like, okay, would you rather, and then just comes up with something weird.

I will give Jimmy Stewart this. I think in the beginning of the scene he does an excellent job of kind of pitching this, so you're like, oh, he is trying to be funny. Maybe he's a little socially awkward or whatever, but he has an incredibly incredibly dry sense of humor. Yes, and he's pitching it that way. It it flips soon and I have thoughts later, But in this case I will give him like this, does I think come off like he's kind of joking.

I think he comes off as joking the whole time.

I disagree.

Oh okay, let's get to it.

So Janet scoffs that he can't really approve a murder, and he says he does think of the problems it would solve, unemployment, poverty, standing in line for theater tickets.

Your husband has said almost the exact same thing to me, by the way, fair, Yeah, so don't go saying you wouldn't want this guy at your party, you fucking married him.

The party enjoys his dry macab humor, and then eventually Missus Atwater wonders if this would not just mean that everybody would be murdering each other all at the time, and Rupert assure so that murder would be an art and as such the privilege of committing it should be reserved to only a few superior individuals. Basically, Missus Atwater is like, we're not gonna do a purge, right, we don't want.

People invented the perge. Yes, canonically, Rupert invented the purge, and everyone seems to be pretty much on board with it. Yeah, it's nineteen forty eight, by the way, mm hmmm, I'm just saying World War two has happened. Yeah, so this particular talk at a party seems dicey.

Yeah, And to the movie's credit, it does call it out.

If this party were nineteen twenty eight, or or nineteen eighteen or nineteen fucking eighteen thirty two, it would be a little less like, Okay, didn't we just all have this happen? Like, could we just like stop this conversation.

It's interesting because the play where it came from was written in nineteen twenty nine. Yes, so it was before all of that, and now this is adapted after that, and they call it out they have to, they have to.

Yeah, so how could you know it was even in my head into twenty twenty four. I can't imagine an audience in nineteen forty eight not being like, I feel really uncomfortable with all of this.

Yeah, Brandon, who he can only get so erect, and this is he is at the apex.

Of erections, this full champagne bottle. It is, it is is, yeah, Shandon and Moway.

It is straining to unzip the zipper by itself from the inside.

Haha. He chies is boof click going all over the room. His dam isn't pairing you, you know what I mean.

He's pro sechoing. Brandon chimes in with his agreement. He says the victims should be inferior beings whose lives don't matter anyway, and Rupert agrees. So this is where it loses me, Like Brandon is not kidding, and Rupert continuing to agree with him, is where I'm like.

Hey, I because there's no situation in which none of these people could conceive of what has actually happened, so they think they're just playing along to Brandon also playing along to Rupert's joke. He's less good at it.

Sure, I actually agree. I think that's what the movie intends. I don't think it does not play for me, oh really, because it's like someone has to someone will eventually call a stop to this and call it out for being as deeply unsettling as it is. But Brandon is not attempting to joke, and he's not even trying to pretend like he's joking. He is practically jerking himself awfull. He talks about this and maybe, look, maybe that's an actor.

Being like, well, maybe that's part of it too. For the movie, what you see in front of you, and like the daily evils you witness and choose to ignore or choose to like, No, that can't possibly be what I thought.

It was.

The denial of evil right in front of you. I mean, I'm giving the movie a lot of credit. I agree with you. If I were directing the film, I would tell him to like back it down, attach Yeah, because what I think is happening is he's being extra and everyone thinks he's joking because he's being so extra and they're they're going along with it. The performance isn't quite right for that.

Yeah, Jimmy Stewart manages it in the first half of the scene, and this half for me, it doesn't work.

Oh see for me, Jimmy, I can still see a smile on Jimmy Stewart's face. He is joking, and it's to me very clear he is joking.

Okay.

He's also kind of flirting with missus Atwater in that way that.

Like gay men flirt with older women to give themselves a beard.

Whatever, whatever I do to get through the weekends, all that is none of your goddamn business. But no, he is like he is. He's flirting with her in a way that like he's a younger man too than she is, not much, but like he is a younger man, like the way like some men flirt with older women because you're being fun and charming you're a party. So he's got this kind of like thing going.

I see your point. I think he to me, there's an element missing. It doesn't play like that for me at this point. Once once Brandon chimes in, it just gets weird real fast, and anyone with any kind of brain would be like, okay, thank you, moving on.

Ahha, No I disagree, okay, fair enough, free to disagree.

Yep. Mister Kentley finally speaks up and he says he doesn't find the conversation amusing. Thank you, mister Kentley, and Rupert says any humor was unintentional, and mister Kentley doesn't believe they're serious. But Brandon wonders, why wouldn't we be serious? And kent Lee wonders, who is going to decide who is superior and who is inferior? And Brandon says the privileged few who get to commit murder, and would decide himself Philip possibly Rupert the three gay men in the room.

Do you think that was intentional?

I think it is a rightly choice to list those three. And my interpretation of the film was like, those three men are gay. You were kind of joking about You're thinking maybe David and kind of joking also about maybe Kenneth, Like, like, all four of these men are just having a good time with each other.

What a lucky dorm room that was.

Yeah, truly, Oh God, the dream. But I didn't view those two as as gay because they because they were looked down upon so much by the other three, not so much Rupert, but by the two the two confirmed homosexuals.

Yeah. Do you think Brandon's conception of superiority comes from the fact that he's gay? Ye?

Other he is not ordinary?

Oh that's interesting. Yeah, that's fucking evil.

Yeah, yeah, and that is what we all think.

That is why all Disney villains are gay? Are gay men? I can see that because the one absolutely right, those three are the three that he names. He's not like missus Wilson.

Yeah, and he's. One of the truest lines he says in the movie is when Philip says, why because being weak as human? He becays, no, because it's ordinary, Like he does not want to be ordinary. Yeah, he wants an artistic talent. He wants people to know he pulled off this perfect crime. He wants all of this, and he wants being ordinary is the worst thing so being normal, being straight. You listen to me straight people.

We're coming for You're coming for you. We're coming for you straight.

Yeah, that was how I interpreted it. But I can't remember if you said this on micro off Mike. No one knows. There's no like like it could be anything any how anyone interprets it like what you're saying about about like all four of them being like, I mean.

There's really no there's nothing in the film to back up my claim on Kenneth. Frankly, I think there's a little bit more to back up my claim on David Well.

When you lay it out, like what did he think was happening like ecstasy of.

The last of his last moment in life. But like, that is such an interesting interpretation. I'm going to think about that. I'm gonna marinate on that because I think you're right. I think that I think Arthur Lawrence maybe slip some of that in there too.

Yeah.

Interesting.

So basically he lists off these three people, Brandon and he says we are people so superior to the average man that we are above basic moral concepts, and Kentley comments that Brandon's words of Oke Hitler and Brandon says Hitler's a paranoid savage, and kent Ley finally shuts him down by saying, I don't want to hear any more of your contempt for humanity.

This party sucks. Imagine going to a party. Someone's like, Someone's like, there is an uberman, Jesus Christ. I just wanted to talk about theater.

Are there tostitos anywhere? Is there a Check's party mix that I can just dive face first into and get the fuck out of this room?

Can someone put the game on tv? This is the worst Super Bowl party I've ever been to.

I'm dying for nachos. Can we order nachos? Brandon apologizes for getting carried away, and most of the party departs the living room to see the books in the dining room. Man, we were short on entertainment in nineteen forty eight. Let's go look at books at this party. That'll be fun.

This party is so bad. Let's go look at books, not open them, just look at them.

And Brenda's like they're candelabras too. Follow me.

This is the word party ever. Okay, we've talked about this a lot. You know that game we play with where we're like which party. Are you movie history would you want to join?

Not this one?

Possibly dead fucking last.

So most of the people depart, leaving Janet and Kenneth alone.

Janet and Kenneth have a heart to heart where we learned that, despite Brandon accusing Janet of dumping Kenneth for David's money, Kenneth actually broke up with her. Yeah, okay, my case is building.

Is building again, Katies.

And gentlemen of the jury.

In the case of Kenneth v. Homosexual in the case of Kenneth v.

Friends of Dorothy.

In the case of the heaviness of Kenneth's loafers.

So Janet wishes that Kenneth and David could be friends again, just as they were before romance got in the way. I'm not even to touch that one.

Yeah.

They quickly realized that Brandon was playing dumb about not knowing about their whole situation to inviting them both to the party, right, So she's like that son of a bitch is just stirring the pot for no fucking reason. Of course, they know something that even Brandon doesn't know, right that, like Kenneth dumped Janet. Yeah, Janet's being slutshamed for no fucking reason. She's not about to have it. She calls Brandon in and asks, what the fuck is

I wrote down the response. Can I give it to you?

Brandon? What the fuck is your game?

Some women are quite charming when they're angry, Janet, Unfortunately you're not. That is varsity level hunch. I'm sorry. It's like he knows why he's angry and he's still gonna just like Shanker in the stomach.

I feel like Sasha Valor just called me a whore, not in a good way. So Janet snaps that she doesn't think David is coming after all, and she doesn't even think.

He Oh he came. He wasn't the only one.

Who if when we turn on the black light, this room is a fucking painting Jackson Pollock painting.

Yeah.

She's like, did you even invite David to this party? Or did you set all of this up just to get me and Kenneth back together? And Brandon's like, I have bigger fish to fry, yeah than your whole drama. Uh, don't worry about it.

So Janet and Kenneth stalk away, and Rupert approaches to also wonder where could David be.

David must be fascinating.

Yeah.

Can you imagine a party where like someone's ten minutes late and everyone's like, where are they?

Where I hear you? I presume that's what happens when I'm ten minutes late to a party.

Is that You've never been ten minutes late to a party?

Yeah?

If you do have me there, I dare you to be thirty minutes late to something one day.

I would literally show up and I would have sweat all the way down. You know those tank tops where like they like the sweat stain. I cannot handle being late.

I understand because when I'm late for something with you, which is often most of the time, when I'm late to something, I don't care. But when I'm late to something with you, I get nervous on your behalf. I'm like, he is going to be so nervous that I am late. I'm sorry, this is somehow your anxiety has hit me.

I'm sorry. That's awful.

It's not awful, you know what, bitch, Beyond time of things, that's my problem for being ten minutes late to everything.

All right, So Brandon says, I'm also wondering, and he just goes to get dessert, leaving Rupert alone in the living room. Rupert, by the way, is carrying the most fifty dessert fifties dessert ever, which is like ice cream pyramids with chocolate sauce on them and a Maraschino cherry and then I guess maybe a piece of short bread.

I think it's merangue, is it morene? I thought they were like merengue puffs like pre funerals, but the ice cream is on the outside for some reason.

Or maybe that was whipped cream. It's wild whipped cream.

It's probably whippcream because obviously it's a movie, so most people aren't eating their food, and so it has to sit out for a while and it doesn't quite melt. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, so maybe those are like mringe.

It's probably actually shaving cream or something to make it make it total had because.

Actors are eating, oh they are.

Actors are eating during the.

Show during the movie. There's some Instagram account that I follow called seventies Cookbook, which is one of my favorite Instagram accounts, and it's just someone posting about horrible old cookbook recipes like hot dog salado, which is basically hot dogs in a gell mold with like I don't know sour cream on it. I don't even know what it is. Yeah, but like it's that kind of shit. This is You're absolutely right. This is so nineteen fifties terrible.

All right. So missus Wilson enters and she confides in Rupert. Remember we learned earlier that missus Wilson like used to work for Rupert before she worked for Brandon and fell up. She's just flitting from gay.

Look, she's got a niche and she's filling it. That's right, just like David and brand just like.

It's like Philip and Brent. So she comments to him immediately starts gossiping, right, the help always has all the best gossip, right, And she says, Brandon and Philip have been worked up all day. There was a last minute change in the dinner setting, and now I have to clean off this wooden chest and replace the books inside of it where they originally were stored, rather than just simply having them on the chest in the first place, and eating in a dining room like a civilized blah

No I know, because Phillip's like, do not shut up, shut up, shut up, You're blowing up our spot. He says it in the worst way. He's like, servant girl, continue to serve and don't keep your mouth.

Excuse me, beer wench. So Rupert takes all of this in with a contemplative expression. He's gathering information.

Philip flounces over to the piano and starts to play a flounce of gaze.

A flounce of gaze.

Oh, this movie features a flounce of gays. Rupert follows and asks him what's going on. He's like, why is the vibe so fucking weird at this party? What is happening? This is the worst Christening I've ever been to.

I know that a brisk can sometimes be a little bit weird, okay, but this is odd.

This is the this is heavy. It's a heavy brisk.

If there's too many boys at the brist they get real squirreling. Ah.

Philip tries to avoid the question, But then Rupert presses and he and Philip snaps on him. He's like, say what you mean, Rupert? Yeah, and Rupert goes, where's David? Point blank? Philip says, I don't know, how would I know what? I'm just like the piano party? What my David's keepert.

I would say that they had him keep playing faster and faster, like by the end he's doing like the Flight of the Bumblebee.

Rupert is like, what is Brandon trying to accomplish with Janet and Kenneth? So I like that they get that something's a fo they're so so deeply wrong about what it is. Philip laughs. He's like, oh, okay, okay, So you think it's about nothing's going on, don't worry about it.

It's just normal Brandon shit, just.

Normal Brandon trying to set people up. Don't worry about it. And then Rupert comments that this is the second time you've lied to me tonight, Philip, and the first time is when it said you never strangled chicken. Philip's like what, and Rupert's like, I remembered the story about you strangling the chicken. You've told it before. And then Philip stops playing and turns away in a burst of anxiety.

Unfortunately, the first thing and already flustered Philip sees when he turns away is Kentley leaving with some books tied together with the titular rope. Ouch Brandon is such a fuck wad, just the worst. He goes white as a sheet. Philip to be clear, and Rupert presses him as to what's wrong, and he just says, well, I just I think it's a clumsy way to type those books.

It's just weird, perfect save Philip, no notes, nailed.

It, just say just say that the cold pheasant isn't agreeing with me. I have to go shiit my brains out, and.

Like gues you then are serving cold pheasant. That is a very easy thing to be like cold pheasant and whatever fucking dessert this is.

And this gelatinous mass.

Is currently creating a storm system in my lower bowels.

And everyone's gonna want to leave real quick.

Katee patteras look, look out, a storm's a bruin.

So Philip slips away from Rupert. As the older man looks at the bundle of books, He's like.

We're a weird thing to be freaked out about here's acting awful weird. We've never we should do Jimmy Stewart's fair up.

Tell me what's going on?

Are you acting so weird?

Philip, Mine sounds like agent double panties.

I don't know what mine sounds like. It's perfect.

It sounds like Jimmy Stewart, the.

Perfect Jimmy Stewart. I have the perfect Jimmy Stewart.

That's not bad. You have watched It's a wonderful life a lot.

It's terrible, thank you? Why why are you being so squorely? Brandon?

You told the story about strangling the chicken before, Brandon, it was.

A euphemism for masturbation. Everyone knew what we were talking about.

Brandon. I love the way you fondled that champagne bottle.

I think I'll stay the night.

Get out the whips and change. It's gonna be a fun one kids.

Welcome to Bedford Falls. Everyone. Philip and Brandon start another hushed argument. Right God, these two yeah, stepping on rates every fucking chance they get. But we committed the perfect murder. No one can hear me. I'm whispering.

This living room is at least twelve by twelve.

Rupert walks over and interrupts their hushed, weird fucking conversation. He says, there's something that is upsetting you both, and I am here to get to the and then he is interrupted by Missus Wilson with word that Missus Kentley is on the phone and would like to speak to any member of her family. Missus Atwater goes to take the call, and I do miss her presence when she's not in the room, as the party goers continue to talk about David's mysterious absence. Seriously, he has been gone

She does ow great line here. She's like, I wasn't planning on being here in the morning. He's like, bitch, change of plans one hundred percent. Missus Atwater returns with the report that Missus Kentley is now frantic about David and wants to call the police.

Helicopter much David is a grown ass man. If we didn't know he was murdered, these people would seem in.

Sane, insane insane.

He is, He's thirty. Calm the fuck down, everybody.

So mister Kentley, Missus Atwater, Janet, and Kenneth all head back to the Kentley house to wait for David, and Rupert also prepares to depart, and as everyone is saying they're goodbyes, Missus Wilson grabs Rupert's hat for him, because again she has a little crush on him, right, but she grabs the wrong one and he looks inside the hat and he sees the initials d Kay. Inside it's a Donna Karen hat. Y'all. Oo so exciting, so exciting.

Okay, boys, oh Paul, I see no problem with their otherwise perfect murder.

Nut boys, Listen to me. You murdered them and you didn't remember to just take all of the possessions he brought in with him and put it in the coffin with him. Come on, come on, this is basic Paul.

They're geniuses. They're better than us. They don't need to be good at this.

That's right, that's right.

They're just a couple of pistachios murdering people at will.

So missus Wilson gets him in the right, and then she heads back into the kitchen as Brandon closes the door on all of their guests and he lights another post coital cigarette. Flying high from the experience, he.

Heads back to the living room, where a far more anxious Philip pours himself another drink. Very worried that Rupert's starting to suspect. Yeah, I don't know why he would suspect. You've both been acting so normal. The two of them start fighting again, with Philip snapping at Brandon he only ever thinks of himself. Brandon changes the subject and proposes a holiday for them. Once you know David's disappearance is blown over.

Yeah, let's just go.

Let's go to on vacation together. Nothing gay about that, not at all. By the way, we.

Covered let's go to sit Let's go to Palm Springs.

Way earlier in the movie, Let's go to the Pines way earlier in the movie. Philip's going away like Philip is going out to the country to go practice his piano for his big debut. Do you remember where he's going.

He's going to Brandon's mother's house.

Brandon's mother's house. Yeah, these two are come in law married, and everyone goes yeah. Phillips starts to saying, I keep praying that I'll just wake up and find we haven't committed the murder, that this was all a bad, horrible dream, and Brandon's like why, And Philip's like, I'm scared to death that we're gonna get cut, and Brandon assures him there's no chance of that.

Yeah. Trust to me, we have this covered. We have made zero mistakes.

I if I know anything, and I do, is that we have committed the perfect murder.

Missus Wilson heads out and Brandon calls the garage to send their car around. Philip's hair, by the way, is now must, which in the late forties means that one single curl has escaped from the shellacking that his hair is usually done to hair on the head, and he now just looks like Superman. He's so hot, he's very, very good looking. Before they can proceed, the bell rings again. Oh, by the way, so before the bell rings, they're like

May, okay, it's nineteen forty eight. Cars are huge, Okay, do we think that trunk would fit in the car.

Oh, so they're just gonna take the whole trunk out.

I was okay, either they were gonna take the trunk out or they're gonna do the old roll them up in a carpet. Yeah, this is why I can't commit murder. I don't have carpet's big enough, fair enough, Oh, never mind living room carpet. You know what I can commit. I could kill a very slender person and it'll be fine.

It would be fine, good, I'm safe. I forgot.

That's my theory. The movie doesn't get that far. Is that they were planning something.

You know, but that is that is bringing the whole chest down would be would suck. It would be very heavy, But it does make sense. Okay, So the bell rings again, sending Philip into a tailspin, and Brandon is like, answer the fucking call, and Phillip's I can't Brand's like, answer it,

Rupert is hearing that conversation is ring ring ring ring. Hello, Oh hi Philip, I as seem to have misplayed. Now he's a muppet, It's still better than my Michael came. Oh oh hi, Philip, I seem to have lost my cigarette case in your apartment. Can I come and pick it up?

Um?

Shut up?

Sure, come on up.

Yeah, that's accurate.

That's that's what he heard. And he's like, well, they definitely committed a murder.

Yep.

Brandon fortifies Philip with a drink and tells him that no one, not Rupert, not even Philip, is going to get in his way or get him caught. Do you understand me. He puts a loaded pistol in his jacket pocket and he lets Rupert in. Rupert enters plans his cigarette case on the wooden chest right, because he didn't leave one behind, he should have left one behind earlier, but didn't think they are both staring right at him. I don't know how they didn't see him.

It's not particularly surpitious.

But the camera can see he has it behind his back, and then he asks for another drink. He heads back to the chest and he's like, where could I have put my Oh? There it is, and he find he quote unquote discovers his cigarette case. He takes the drink,

I have a story about that, where our dear friend Adam and his husband Barry were staying with us and we had a friend who would not leave. And to this day Adam will be like, Barry could not believe that person would not leave the apartment. He's still offended years later. It wasn't even barry apartment. He was a stay with us, and he was like, this person's gotta go there go.

They are overstaying they're welcome, So Brandon and Philip just sort of loom over Rupert like, Okay, I guess we're doing this, motherfucker, and Rupert equivocates and stalls. He slowly SIPs his drink. He says he hates to leave a party, especially when an evening has been strange. That might be the gay thing anyone, says, even gayer than.

Grab the cuttle follow me.

He's like, I love when the vibe is weird. Let's make it weirder.

Yeah.

Philip demands to know what he means, and Rupert says, it's just been the strangest evening, and isn't it queer? How David never arrived? Brandon surreptitiously moves his hand into his pocket with the gun. Yep.

Rupert says Janet thought that maybe Brandon in some way kidnapped David or otherwise prevented him from attending, and Brandon says, I am not interested in Janet's prattle, but Rupert, Rupert, you're always interesting. Brandon is at this point inches away from submitting a manuscript entitled If I Did It right. He's so there, so he asks Rupert, do you think that I can nap David, and Rupert says it's the sort of thing that would have appealed to him at school.

He has figured this out. It's also answers the question that I had from the beginning of the movie is what the fuck did David think he was there for? Yeah, but if he's been if he's been poisoned in some way, so he's weakened. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Is because even though there's two against one, how come David just dies so easily?

Yeah? At this point, just you know, because I did not know how this movie ended, really, I was kind of thinking this is going to be really fucked up. If if Brandon and Rupert decide they're gonna murder Philip and run off together, and that's the end of the movie.

That would be a better movie.

That's a better movie, and it solves the problem the discussion we had earlier. I had one interpretation, you had the other one, because this is weird. His whole thing in this whole scene is weird because he's like I eventually be I never knew how to interact with the world, and I'm like, okay, sure, sure, jan like whatever. I actually thought that it was gonna be like He's like amazing at one point and like yeah, flow clap, yeah, that's how the lesbian version ends.

Well done, boys, you've done it.

But do you know a secret shared amongst three is no secret at all? And then they just both turn to Philip, and Philip tries to run.

And they get you they won't, but he can't because he's been poisoned.

He isn't poisoned. He falls to the ground and they both loom over him.

The last thing we see is them putting gloves on. That's right, as we see from Philip's of you, everything go black.

That's right. End of movie.

Call us Hitchcock, we have notes, call us we'd have a better movie.

Okay, sorry, back to this movie, which is also quite good.

And moral and upstanding, and Jimmy Stewart can't play a killer. You just can't.

So as Rupert keeps talking about how he would do it, if he was going to do it, Brandon circles around him. His hand is on the gun and the pressure is too much for Philip, who throws his drink on the ground and shouts cat and mouse, cat and mouse only, which is the cat and which is the mouse?

Oh?

Keep jokey given Philip state, Brandon suggests Rupert leave unless he has something else he needs to clear up.

Because Philip is now turned into a deaf poet. Rupert says he doesn't think Brandon kidnapped David. He wouldn't even have mentioned it except for the fact that Brandon is carrying a gun in his pocket. Brandon laughs, He's like, oh, he takes the gun out, and he's like this old thing. So from the jump, Rupert's like, is that a gun in your pocket? Or oh, no, gun, that's a gun in your pocket.

Pocket.

You are not happy to see me.

I know what it looks like when you're happy to see me and you actually have a curve to the left. That's not you.

Brandon tosses the gun on the piano, which is not safe. Don't do that.

Don't do that.

He says, Oh, I'm you know, we're driving up to the country and I need to have a gun at hand as there have been burglaries in the region and mother is quite concerned. And I'm like, you're going up to the country. Bears just say, Bears, man, why are you inventing burglaries in Connecticut? So Rupert walks to the window and says, well, I'll be going, and he pretends to gather his things, and Rupert takes the rope out of his pocket and he turns around so they can

The both reach the gun, the gun, the gun, the gun, the gun. The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun, the gun. Both reached for the go.

Rupert grabs the gun and the two men struggle silently until Rupert manages to wrest the gun away from Philip. This is the most hilarious choreography. This fight choreo is so funny. Yeah, because it's all one shot. There are no cuts, so they have they have really pigeonholed themselves into this moment with the awkwardest fucking fight you have ever seen.

And they want it there. The gun goes off and fires into the floor, so they also want a fake gun shot in the middle of it too. It's just just take out the gun, Alfred, like, it's just just let these two guys actually, because they don't speak either, it's totally silent.

Yeah, yea, it is so awkward to watch.

Yep.

So Rupert manages to get the gun and Philip collapses on the piano bench. Yeh, he's got the vapis Why is it not a sheds when one needs one.

Brandon apologizes for Philip's behavior. He says he's becoming a drunk, and Rupert holds onto the gun and tells Brandon, I'm tired. Brandon and I don't want to fence anymore. He's gonna open the chest, and Brandon snarls at him, go ahead and look. I hope you like what you see. And Rupert throws the chest open and freezes in horror. And Brandon tells Rupert to listen to him. Let me explain. You'll understand because you agreed that the lives of inferior

Also? What class was this?

This? This was the class all night at his feet.

Like psychopathy one on one?

Look, you tell Brandon to choke on it enough, he's eventually gonna project. Okay, okay, So he tells Brandon that Brandon's given his words a meaning he never dreamed of. He twisted them into a cold, logical excuse for murder, which is exactly the thing I was doing. And you twisted them somehow into the words that I said, meaning what the words I said meant?

Brandon, I never wanted you to kill anyone. I'm Jimmy Stewart.

He has made Rupert ashamed of his previous concepts of superior and inferior human beings.

It's almost like I was wrong, he gets. It's almost like I was I was being hitler.

It's almost like this was Nazism breshed up in a Jimmy Stewart package.

Like, look, do I agree with Nazis? Yes, but that doesn't make me a bad person.

He gets real righteous for someone who figured this out ten seconds ago when he actually saw a murdered body. Now Rupert knows that each human is a separate being with a right to think and live and work as individuals.

Unless you, I want theater tickets here, and fewer people alive would help me get them. Rupert promises both Brandon and Philip that they're going to die. I would have been great if he shot them. That's how it's about to happen. He goes to the window and fires three shots into the air. He doesn't call the police, Nope, he just fires three shots and then walks slowly to sit next to the wooden chest. So, okay, four shots have been fired, so there's two shots left in this gun.

What you don't know is that Rupert was also the advisor to the Sharpshooters Club ha ha ha at their prep school.

That's not what happens. Philip stands by the piano in shock, and Brandon fixes himself one last drink before his freedom is taken away. Sirens sound, and Philip and tones, they're coming. And what's funny is you hear like adr background noises where someone's like.

Was that a shot?

Those were shots?

Those are shots?

Called the police, Someone call the police. I'm like, I have actually heard gunshots. And then like, I bet someone will call the police.

I don't have to worry about that.

This is not my problem, not my problem. This is absolutely I don't know where they came from. I don't know who shot what what? If I even called the police, it wouldn't fucking matter. So, you know what, not my problem. That is how New Yorkers think. So Philip sits down and he starts to plunk out notes on the piano as Brandon SIPs his cocktail end of movie.

All right, I still think our ending was better.

Our ending is far more interesting. Honestly, Brandon and Rupert double crossing David, sorry, double crossing Philip would have been excellent, chilling, like absolutely excellent. You know it's not gonna happen as they cast Jimmy Stewart, and Jimmy Stewart would absolutely absolutely never agree to play a homicidal homosexual.

Too bad. All right, so everyone stick around. We're gonna come right back with our random observations and final rankings.

For Rope, and we're back.

Paul tried not to murder me for five minutes because I'll try you be you being a devious homosexual at all?

Uh huh yeh.

Yeh yep, but h and give me some random observations on roupe.

Okay, So, when when Brandon and Rupert are having their circle jerk about how they should kill inferior beings, one of the little riffs that Rupert says, He's like, well, you know, missus atwater, is there ever a time that you want to get into a restaurant and you couldn't well think how quickly a knife could solve that problem? Just a quick flick of a knife. You just have to step over the head waiter's body. Now we have

Yeah, that's not gonna get your food to you.

To murder a diner, the matre d perhaps, maybe maybe if they're being an asshole about it, but you're really you want to murder a patron.

Yeah, murder a fellow died, obviously, obviously.

The problem with that, of course they're of your class and you want to murder the lower classes.

That actually goes really, I would say beautifully, but with another one of mine. Sit in that riff. He starts talking about people who deserve death by slow torture. Did you catch who they were? It's the most random fucking assortment of people. Bird lovers.

Wow, Jesus, I thought, I was like, I can't believe I missed that. Well because a he kind of did famously.

Did die by slow torture? No, no, no, He mentions bird lovers, small children, tap dancers, and Paul hotel employees. Wow, that hits you hard.

It hurts I am both a tap dancer and a former A former tap dancer and a former hotel employer.

And I was once a small child.

And I actually loved birds when I was a small kid.

He is coming for me, He is coming for you.

Oh fuck you, Jimmy Stewart, Now to kill you, Paul Kola. This is a really short one. It just made me laugh. When Janet first walks in, she makes I can't remember what the initial line is, but she makes some comment and they all laugh. She's like, oh, I'm funny. I'm never funny when I'm trying to be, I always fail at jokes. And later I think Brandon is like, well, what would you say to some champagne? And she goes, hello champagne and no one laughs, and I'm like, that

Yeah, and then there's like pause. She's like, see told you, I'm not I'm not funny. There's a bit of like

It's a whole riff that go on with Atwater and Rupert really about like they can't remember the tell Something Something. It's the something with the Something, It's it's very it's very Who's on first?

They're basically naming old Hitchcock films, And I think, because you know how he has this thing where he puts himself in his movies, there's always a cameo. He obviously can't do it in this one. Although it would have been amazing just Hitchcock walking by on the balcony for no reason, or like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day float, but it's Hitchcock flying by the way.

The only opportunity have been the very first shot of the movie, when they're looking down on the street. It's the only time is.

A person crossing the street. I don't. I don't think it was Hitchcock. I think it's I think it's a woman. In my brain, it's a woman with kids.

I yeah, I agree, Yeah, that's it.

That would have been. I think this is his way of putting himself in the movie. He's like, let's let me do self referential things about my Oh sure.

Yeahh okay. So we did skip over one telling moment about Brandon. It's not really I left it out of the recap because we just need to talk about it, but I'm going to put it in here. When Rupert's like, oh, I remember you used to love to tell stories chests

That hilarious story.

That hilarious story, and you loved it. You would tell it every chance you got that it was so funny. This person got locked in a chest and then no one found her or smelled her or mister her until she had decomposed to a skeleton.

Fifty years later, two years later. This is why we shouldn't have all boys schools.

That's right.

This is what happens when you send boys to prep school, they get fucking weird, correct weird? All right, there is a moment that that is very nineteen forty eight and the best way Joan Chandler, I just needed this needs to be said. Joan Chandler is a very slender, slender woman. She is. She has one hundred pounds. If she is anything at the bust.

She might weigh as much as the gown she's wearing, but she might not.

She it's brocaded. It weighs more than her.

I know that.

So she's having like a little bit of snacks at the party and Missus Wilson just walks up to her and goes go easy on the patent. Dear calories, bitch, mind your business. Let this woman needs some pataee if she wants to.

But you know what, this actually dovetails perfectly into my next one, because this is a proof that bitchery trickles down. Because when missus Atwater walks in, they're talking about how missus Kentley has a cold or whatever, and Missus Wilson has the nerve to be like, oh, be careful. Having a cold in the summer is awful. And the look on Constance Collier's face or Collie. I don't know how to say her last name. That this this servant woman is offering an opinion and daring to speak to her.

Honestly, is there a better metaphor for like male masturbation that because it's like you fondle it and then it pops and it's praise.

Everywhere, praise everywhere.

That is actually kind of brilliant.

It's perfect.

It's perfect. One to ten. You know, fruity little nut boys.

There are trail mix. It's fruit and nuts, raisins and cashies.

Those two little pine nuts.

Those two little coca nuts.

Oh, those two little coconuts.

Coconuts.

I know a coconut when I see one.

One to ten flounces of homosexuals.

That is the actual like, that is ten or more homosexuals at a party.

You have a flound, you have a flounce.

Yeah, one to ten perfect.

Murders with no errors.

Perfect crimes committed by two geniuses.

Due to a perfect crime that is so perfect you can actually tell people that you did it and they still can't prove it. So perfect thought out plan to the nth degree.

Absolutely flawless.

Yep. One to ten candelabras.

Grab a candelabra, follow me.

That is that's the battle cry for a gay army the beaches.

Grab a candelabra. This one, this one, this one for sure?

Do you want to go first on this one? Or shall I go first on this one?

Why don't you go first? Since I think this is more your milieu.

My milieu, my midiu.

Indeed, it certainly doesn't pass the Bechdel test.

I'll give you.

I will give except for that moment where she fat James were about calories. They're never not talking about David.

Oh yeah. And I was gonna say, missus Atwater does talk to Janet about her horoscope, but that is technically about a man, because it's just about it. You're gonna marry my nephew. Yeah, yeah, so it doesn't count. It doesn't pest the Bechdel test. No one should be surprised to hear it. Okay, So again we have to kind of grin on a curve here, this is nineteen forty eight or something like that. There are no people of

No, they're great characters.

Actually. The gay stuff this is interesting because we do have gay villains. The two leads of the movie are gay. Clearly, it's possible third lead is gay. I think it's I think it's very clear that the Jimmy Stewart character is also homosexual. I don't know. Other people may disagree with me on that. It is less apparent than with the other two.

Wait, he's not actively living with another man, But I mean, I think I think it's pretty clear. I think it's pretty clear.

Yeah, so we do have a case of like two gay men being one of them is a sociopath and the other one is just so weak that he can't stand up to his sociopathic boyfriend, essentially, which isn't a great portrayal of the gay experience, but I do think we are far enough a lot, Like I didn't watch this and feel offended because of like like this is what they're saying all gay men are like that. I didn't have any of that. And in my interpretation, Jimmy

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. Come on, Jimmy, come.

On, Jimmy, you knew what you were doing.

Swish Jimmy, swish swish bish is that how you say it?

So, like the ostensible hero of the movie, he's also a gay man in that interpretation. I don't think he's a particularly intelligent gay man because he had all these lofty ideas and ideals and never once like thought about the actual like carrying out of them, and then taught kids about them and they did them, and then he was like, whoops, wasn't me? You know. So I don't think he's not a huge hero either in this film. But you know, I am certainly not left defended as

Absolute monster, Are you trying to murder me?

I'm gonna I'm gonna give it a six out of ten.

Uh.

Candelabras, candelabras. I think it's a well made movie. I wasn't offended by the gay portrayals because they are so over the top that it's fine. It's like scar like basically, which is more offensive because being pitched to kids, and it's it's under the covers kind of whereas this is I think as out of the covers as they could be in nineteen forty eight. They're not trying to hide it. It feels like a specific story about these people, not

You know, I think in nineteen forty eight too, your average audience member would maybe not pick up on a thing.

It could conceive it like like Arthur Laurence said, like the people at the rating it didn't get it. The sensors didn't get it.

It flew over their heads. So I think that's possible that like, if you want to see yourself up on that.

Screen, yeah, if you want to If you.

Want to see yourself up on that screen like a fucking psychopath, yeah, then sure.

Barley Granger is very good looking and available to you.

And exactly exactly. I have a question, actually, I was just thinking about this. Would it have been more creepy if we hadn't seen David. If we hear a scream and we hear like a thump, right, and then the camera cuts it inside the apartment and you have like Brandon like like over the chest, going we've done it. We've killed him, and now we've put him in this chest. I think that the kind of goofiness of seeing the murder takes a lot of the teeth out of the movie.

Yeah, because he's not that I would want to see this, but like his lips aren't blue. He looks like someone who has a tie on who fell asleep.

Yeah.

Yeah, And so I kind of wonder if we had never seen the dead body, if it would actually be creepier, not even if we hadn't seen the murder or whatever, if it would actually be creepier. I think it would actually one thing, also, there is something to be said for and this is very insider baseball. A lot of people who watch this movie maybe wouldn't know this, but like there's something to be said for, like understanding like who is making the project, huh, and like kind of

Our bisexual King.

Farley Granger, openly bisexual in the forties and fifties, did not give a fuck who knew about his proclivities. I just love everything about him. The more I read about him, the more.

I'm like, oh my god, I love I agree. I enjoyed his Wikipedia page A great deal, a great deal.

And he's, like I said, very very good looking. So it's it's it's just really fun. And then John Dall, the actor who plays Brandon, was closeted. Probably we don't know for sure one way or the other, Like casting them can't can't be a full accident, right, like Hitchcock and Lawrence and whoever else worked in the film produced it must have been like I want actors who kind of get it, get what we're doing, cos.

Like, well, Arthur, I want to know. Arthur's like, I got it. Don't worry about I have a whole list.

Actually who had a really strong British ox. It was jollyy, but it was also it was also a bit of British and so yeah, I think there is something to be said for who they cast. Now then they need a star, right, and they get Jimmy Stewart, and Jimmy Stewart's like, I will absolutely not play a homosexual. Don't worry about it.

He's not.

He's just a confirmed bachelor. Jimmy wink wink, and Jimmy's like, fine, I don't know. I feel really comfortable with this crew of people, and I feel like they under they get it. Very insidery baseball. Most people watching the movie would have absolutely no idea about any of that. But I'm gonna give you a five. Okay, I'm gonna give a five out of ten. Grab a Candola brun follow me. Honestly, I think our podcast age is worse than this film.

We are reclaiming. We are reclaiming.

I am a gay man everywhere, Like bitch, we gave you twenty and you cash them all in?

No gayment everywhere? Like do more?

Do more?

This Valley of the dolls all over again?

It sure is?

It?

Sure is? Do you want to offer a palate cleanse? No?

I the only thing I could think of off the top of my head. It's another Hitchcock film. No gay undertones that I can think of, But Farley Granger is in it, and he's far better in it. And so if you want to just do more with Farley Green, because who wouldn't want to do? Who would want to do?

All?

Go all the way with Barley Granger. He's in Strangers on the Train and Strangers on a Train. Strangers on a Train is fan fucking tastic. Okay, it's a great another great. It's actually a far far better thriller than this movie. Yeah, and it's got some like actually very chilling thriller moments where you're like, what's going to happen? Okay, So would I would recommend Strangers in a Train?

Fair enough?

If you're into this, how about you?

No, I think you can watch Rope. Hey, it's we didn't even mention this hour and twenty minutes. Yeah, in and out, bing bang boom. I love it all right, So that is Erica. As they say, the end of our show.

That is the end of it.

That's the end of it. Everyone listening can follow us on Twitter, on threads, and on Instagram, which is the only platform where I post the monthly themes before they come out, and we accept request specifically on those themes. We have a tea public shop you can pick up podcast swag if you are a Spotify user. Spotify now allows for comments that I can respond to, so comment away, and we would love but if you would leave a five story of you on Apple Podcasts or on any

That age Well is produced and edited by Paul Kola. A real brazil nut if I ever saw one, that was it? That was it? Cancel buttons are being pushed like we're done. We're done with you.

Only because you repeated brazil nut.

That's true. If I used to say a real macademia, real cash, you are not sure real cash you have ever saw one?

You know what?

Canceled me.

I deserve it.

I deserve it. We would like to thank Sharon Kay, Matt Luis and Anika for reaching out and letting us know what they want to hear. If you want to have a say in the topics we discussed, you can join our Patreon. Every patron gets to vote in an exclusive monthly poll to determine one of our subjects. We have Diva versus a Diva up right.

Now, not right now, it's already done well.

But it's up there on the Patreon people could have voted for it. Yeah, yeah, I am in the past. I'm not in the future yet. I don't know who's gonna win, but I am dying to see if it's a born Burner. I think it will be.

I think Saliah.

So head on over to patreon dot com slash that Aged Well podcast to find out more.

Speaking of which, certain tears in our Patreon come with a thanks for a podcast character and little public service announcement. If you are at the five or ten dollars level, we do owe you a thank you, and you have a message in Patreon asking you to let us know how you would like to be thanked. So please let us know what you would like so we can do that for you. But today we are hearing from a grand Dame, a figure so towering that the Tower of

Guysopy, my friend, we.

Are hearing from one Miss Catherine Hepburn.

Thank you, Pepe. Hello, everybody, it's me Pal Catherine Heppen. I am here to thank Jeff for listening to that age. Well, you have excellent taste in podcast, Jeff, just like I have excellent taste in cocktails. Oh, I see a cocktail being brought over to me. Now, my good friend Jimmy Stewart is here in lieu of Spencer. Spencer threw out his back and has been laying prostrate all morning. Hello Jimmy,

You know what, anytime you think you've found the bottom of her stories, you haven't.

No, she is a well of history, my friend. She is a well of classic Hollywood history.

True story.

We will never get to the bottom of never ever, never, ever, ever, no matter how much we try.

From your lips to God's ears, as they say, Erica, any final thoughts on rope, cat.

And mouseball, cat and mouse.

Grab your candelabrun follow me.

Hey, I'm Paul and America and this is Tuberculosis Corner.

This is Nicole kidman in the middle of Mulan Rouge.