Such is the crux of this captivating HBO MAX documentary. What we have is a very straight forward tale of an actor whose career was very much dictated by PR mavens in a day where homosexuality was a big old taboo. When Rock hit it big in the mid 50s, great lengths were taken to hide his sexual orientation. This extended to the fact that he even got married...to his agent's secretary who was obviously paid well. Indeed, it is even intimated that she herself was a lesbian. Oh, what tangled and hidden webs were woven.
Of course, whether friends denied it, everybody in Hollywood knew the truth. Yet, Rock lived on a precarious edge and somehow managed his life in secrecy. It's all told here in a very linear and complete fashion. You've got his performances in the Doris Day comedies where, for a little bit of screen time, Rock's character pretends to be gay. You see footage of his infamous pool parties which were the desired hangout for anybody in Hollywood that was gay.
You also hear about the cruel joke that was perpetuated that Rock and Jim "Gomer Pyle" Nabors had gotten married. And, of course, there's all the ugliness at the end of his life when he planted an on-screen kiss on Linda Evans in an episode of "Dynasty" despite the fact that he had just been quietly diagnosed with AIDS.
There was not much in this documentary that I didn't know, but it was good to see it all laid out as concisely as it was. My major quibble with this film is a trend I have seen in other Hollywood documentaries. Filmmakers like to use footage and dialogue from real movies to describe what is going on in real life. It's a cheap and amateurish device that I wish documentarians would put to bed once and for all.
Indeed, Rock Hudson deserved better. In a lot of ways.
LEN'S RATING: Three-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: Mongolian beef at Wokcano.
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