Wings (1927)
Directed by William A. Wellman, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast
Starring; Clara Bow, Richard Arlen, Charles Rogers.
While not an explicitly LGBTQ+ film - Wings will go down in history as the first film to show a male-male kiss. With homosexual subtext throughout, the first Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards has been hotly debated for decades as an integral part of queer film history.
Despite Different From The Others being the first film to positively portray gay characters, the individuals in the film do not share a kiss between them at any point during the run time. Since Wings is not a film about gay people, or starring gay actors - many people have taken issue with its place as an important part of LGBTQ+ film history. This is understandable as the most queer elements of this film can be found in silent moments between two male characters - not explicitly.
Being an extremely mainstream film has aided in the legacy of Wings as an iconic landmark for queer cinema. With its main characters, Jack and David, share an unusually intimate bond that is not common of wartime friendships. This has lead to much speculation about the true motives of their relationship in the film as it ends with a kiss shared between the two of them. Progressive and emotionally deep are what pushed Wings to the forefront of American theater viewing schedules. Setting the film up for great success both commercially and critically as it won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1928 Academy Awards Ceremony.
Wings stands as an example as whether intentionally or not, that challenging prevailing societies norms can have a lasting impact on the future generations to come and the art they create.
Notes and References:
Bachman, Gregg, "Still in the Dark - Silent Film Audiences." Film History 9, no 1 (1997), 23–48.
Danesi, Marcel, The History of the Kiss: The Birth of Popular Culture. (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)
Mast, Gerald, The Movies in Our Midst: Documents in the Cultural History of Film in America, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986)
