Reeling 2010: Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger

Rock Hudson was a virile screen idol who was the epitome of clean-cut masculinity. He was also one of the first Hollywood celebrities to die of AIDS, providing the killer virus with a famous face. In an era when Hollywood was unwilling to tolerate open homosexuals, Hudson had to constantly mask his homosexuality in public in order to protect a secret double-life. As his career moved from film to television, and his health began to decline, cracks began to appear in the facade. Viewers could see that he was not looking as fit as he used to—the symptoms of AIDS were beginning to take a toll. Who was the real Rock Hudson? Was he a kind of invented personality? Rock always said that his real-life reflected his movie life and vice versa. This film investigates the many film roles Rock Hudson played, against his more intimate and private personal world, uncovering and revealing what was happening behind the superficial scenarios and double-values in Hollywood. Rock Hudson was performing a secret balancing act between private and public, between the world of a stereotypically heterosexual looking star and the dark side of forbidden sexuality as a closeted gay man. Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger André Schäfer (Germany, 2010, 95 min.) Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, the second oldest film festival of its kind in the US, is presenting 54 programs over 10 days from November 4-13, 2010. Advance sales are available until the day before the show. After that, tickets must be purchased at the theater box office on the day of the screening. Regular Screenings: $10 ($8 members), Matinee Screenings (before 5:00 pm): $8 ($6 members).

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