Tea and Sympathy

Directed by Vincente Minnelli (once married to Judy Garland and father to Liza), Tea and Sympathy sees Tom (John Kerr, who won a Golden Globe for his performance) as a student at an all-boys prep school. Alienated from the machismo sports-focused culture and his rowdy, cruel classmates, Tom would rather listen to classical music, go to the theater, and spend time with the teachers’ wives. He is gradually befriended by Laura, the headmaster’s wife (the legendary Deborah Kerr, no relation), and they bond over their loneliness.

The film is based on Robert Anderson’s scandalous play that indicted homophobia as a tool used to enforce rigid, conformist views of masculinity—but Hollywood’s production code of the 1950s would never allow for something so explicit. Even with the resulting compromises, the movie remains a captivating, sensitive melodrama and time has only brought out its nuances. Any chance to see a sumptuous film by Minnelli (who grew up in Delaware, Ohio) on the big screen is an ecstatic occasion! (121 mins., 35mm)

See the complete Tender Masculinity lineup.

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Tea and Sympathy, courtesy of Park Circus.