Tea And Sympathy (1956)

Returning to the boarding school he attended ten years earlier, a sensitive young man (John Kerr) recalls the unpleasant experience of being different than the other boys and not fitting in which made him a pariah. He also remembers the tender housemaster's wife (Deborah Kerr), who understood him and offered him more than tea and sympathy. Based on the "daring" Broadway play by Robert Anderson (who also wrote the screenplay), the restrictions of the conservative 1950s forced the direct homosexual implications in the play to be eliminated. However, this turns out to the film's advantage. Unlike many popular plays of the era, TEA AND SYMPATHY is terribly dated which explains why it's never seen any revivals. Under Vincente Minnelli's dexterous direction, the film is no longer about "is he or isn't he gay?" but on the nature of masculinity and how society views what a "real" man should be which makes it still relevant in the 21st century. The film is far from perfect, however. It's still a bit of a long winded talkfest and the film's final coda, an apology for the film's adultery is demeaning. An achingly lovely score by Adolph Deutsch. With Leif Erickson, Edward Andrews, Norma Crane, Dean Jones, Tom Laughlin (BILLY JACK) and Jacqueline DeWit.