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Exploiting ambiguity : murder! and the meanings of cross-dressing in interwar British Cinema
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O'Rourke, Chris (2020) Exploiting ambiguity : murder! and the meanings of cross-dressing in interwar British Cinema. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 17 (3). pp. 289-312. doi:10.3366/jbctv.2020.0530 ISSN 1743-4521.
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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2020.0530
Abstract
The crime film Murder! (1930), directed by Alfred Hitchcock for British International Pictures and based on the novel Enter Sir John (1929) by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson, has long been cited in debates about the treatment of queer sexuality in Hitchcock's films. Central to these debates is the character of Handel Fane and the depiction of his cross-dressed appearances as a theatre and circus performer, which many critics have understood as a coded reference to homosexuality. This article explores such critical interpretations by situating Murder! more firmly in its historical context. In particular, it examines Fane's cross-dressed performances in relation to other cultural representations of men's cross-dressing in interwar Britain. These include examples from other British and American films, stories in the popular press and the publicity surrounding the aerial performer and female impersonator Barbette (Vander Clyde). The article argues that Murder! reflects and exploits a broader fascination with gender ambiguity in British popular culture, and that it anticipates the more insistent vilification of queer men in the decades after the Second World War.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > Film and Television Studies | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Cross-dressing in motion pictures, Female impersonators in motion pictures, Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980 -- Criticism and interpretation, Motion pictures -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century, Gays in popular culture, Homosexuality in motion pictures | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of British Cinema and Television | ||||||||
Publisher: | Edinburgh University Press | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1743-4521 | ||||||||
Official Date: | July 2020 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 17 | ||||||||
Number: | 3 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 289-312 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.3366/jbctv.2020.0530 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This is an Author’s Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Edinburgh University Press in Journal of British Cinema and Television. The Version of Record is available online at: http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jbctv.2020.0530 | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 3 May 2023 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 3 May 2023 |
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