An acclaimed director’s forgotten gay comedy is filled with stereotypes about “bitter old queens”
Welcome back to our queer film retrospective, “A Gay Old Time.” In this week’s column, we revisit Staircase, and early gay comedy that hasn’t aged well—and was spoiled to begin with.Director Stanley Donen is undoubtedly one of the most influential filmmakers to come out of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Although his name may not be the most recognizable one right away, his filmography includes an impressive number of all-time classics—it is almost unbelievable that a single man could conceive all of them, at least partially.Just having helmed Singin’ in the Rain should be enough for any filmmaker to call it a day, but Donen also had on his resume the musical adaptations of On The Town (which, like Singin’, was also co-directed with Gene Kelly) and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, the collaborations with then-choreographer Bob Fosse The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees!, and the classic Audrey Hepburn vehicles Charade and Funny Face, to name just a handful.
His resume is the stuff of dreams.However, with almost three dozen films under his belt, not all of them were bound to become timeless classics.
Many have fallen through the cracks of time. Some are worth revisiting (for example, the road trip romance Two For The Road, or the musical It’s Always Fair Weather).
