"Victor / Victoria": 25 Gay Years Later

In the already somewhat ridiculous world of musical comedies (love them though we may, they are undeniably curious creatures), Blake Edwards' 1982 romantic musical farce Victor/Victoria is beyond fascinating — and not simply for the reasons that one might expect. Sure, the central story of a down-and-out singer who, with the help of a gay Pygmalion, achieves stardom as a female impersonator in 1930s Paris is bizarre enough as it is. But that's only the beginning of what makes Victor/Victoria such a remarkable, history-making film.

In the grand scheme of American cinema, the film has survived as one of the most unabashedly gay-positive movies ever made by a major studio (MGM, in this case). Exactly 25 years later, no other films match its balance of mainstream marketability and unflaggingly pro-gay positioning. When something even remotely as sympathetic as Victor/Victoria makes its way onto big screens (Brokeback Mountain, for example), it's fraught with controversy, something that Victor managed to avoid. All the more reason to revisit the film — and the circumstances from which it so fabulously emerged — on the anniversary of its release.

After making a string of sequels in his smash Pink Panther franchise, director Blake Edwards took a few years to collaborate with his wife Julie Andrews. The films they made together were 10 (starring Dudley Moore), S.O.B. (in which Andrews famously bared her breasts) and finally — and most famously — Victor/Victoria.

Based on a 1933 German film, Victor/Victoria details the rise and fall of Europe's most celebrated drag performer, who happens to be a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Count Victor Grezhinski is actually struggling singer Victoria Grant who, under the guidance of cabaret performer and promoter Carroll "Toddy" Todd (Robert Preston), trades in her womanhood for a shot at stardom. But when Victoria falls for nightclub owner King Marchand (James Garner), who already has his hands full with his ditzy girlfriend Norma (Lesley Ann Warren) and bodyguard (Alex Karras), she must decide whether to keep up the act or follow her heart.

It's a complicated plot, for sure. But while the film's Chinese-box concept and opulent execution are dazzling, its most impressive attribute is its overwhelmingly positive attitudes about homosexuality.

The film's unapologetic opening shots are of Toddy and another man in bed, establishing immediately that the film is not going to pussyfoot around its gay content. It seems that Toddy is unlucky in love and that the younger fellow is just a gold-digging cad, and from the beginning moments it's clear that this plucky yet somewhat sad, older gay man will be our guide through the rest of the film.

Actor Robert Preston, although a song-and-dance man, is a broad-shouldered, baritone-voiced one; he's an odd choice to play such a flamboyant role, and that's partly why it works so well. Toddy is one of the most out loud, out-and-proud characters ever seen in a major studio film, and he manages to be so without falling prey to many of the stereotypes about gay men that litter the cinema. It's no small feat, especially considering that the film was made in an era when gay visibility in movies was just beginning to find its footing.

Toddy's sexuality is discussed openly and frankly when he meets Julie Andrews' Victoria (after a hilarious restaurant scene involving an uncooperative cockroach). When she asks him how long he's known that he is gay, he counters, "How long have you known you were a soprano?" The two bond instantly and soon enough hatch the plot to reinvent Victoria as Victor.

Since the story takes place in the bustling world of Paris night life (which feels a bit more like 1930s Berlin, likely due to the source material), there are plenty of gay characters milling about, from drag queens to butch lesbians to chorus boys to bitchy photographers. While some of them are a bit theatrical, this is about the cabaret, after all. Throughout the film, every possible opportunity is taken to present contrasting images of gay people and gay life.

Most notable is the fact that after mistakenly believing that his boss, King Marchand, is gay (due to his burgeoning affair with Victoria, whom everyone else still thinks is a man), bodyguard "Squash" Bernstein (played by former pro football player Karras) comes out of the closet and soon becomes involved with Toddy. When King asks him about his sexuality, which surprises him, Bernstein notes that his tough-guy image was a way to stop people from asking questions, and then points out that the current French boxing champ is also gay.