Against the Law

WHISTLING:

DOOR SLAMS SHU Any man who takes a criminal path...

..should be mindful

of the consequences.

My name is Peter Wildeblood.

CHEERING:

Order! Order!

May I ask the Right Honourable

Home Secretary

the number of cases

involving male perversion

this year, and how he intends to

deal with this evil?

Much of my private life has

already been made public

by the newspapers.

So I have nothing left to hide.

Roughly 5,500 offences have been

recorded

and over 600 offenders

sent to prison.

I don't pity myself

and I do not ask for pity.

But I am speaking out...

..to give some hope and courage

to other men like myself,

and to the rest of the world some...

..understanding.

I am...a homosexual.

So as long as I hold office,

I shall give no countenance to

the view that they should not be

prevented from being such a danger.

MUFFLED MUSIC AND CHATTER

CHATTER AND LAUGHTER

Whisky, please.

Thank you.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS

INDISTINCT RAILWAY ANNOUNCEMEN I wonder, could I buy you a drink?

Doesn't work that way, darling.

Unless you're willing to

play the part.

Oh, no.

So you're not a queen, then?

It's a pity,

you're quite pretty, really.

Not a rough, either.

I'm a homosexual.

A what?

A homosexual.

Homosexual?

I see.

I thought that was just something

doctors called us.

Do all the queens use this word now?

I don't know.

I'm not sure I like it.

Come along, Fanny dear.

See you later, dear heart.

Coming, Ducky.

DOOR CLOSES:

VOICEOVER:
At that particular time

there was a, you might call it

a purge,

on people who were gay.

We were considered sick.

We were considered, er, you know,

child molesters.

The police went out of their way to

catch you and...and...

and the Members of Parliament,

"This filth and this...

"This is going to ruin the nation,

we must...we must stub it out."

I can't remember

the name of the, erm,

the Home Secretary at the time,

but he was one of the worst.

David Maxwell Fyfe,

Sir David Maxwell Fyfe,

later Viscount Kilmuir.

Well, he embodied all the worst

attitudes

of the British Establishment.

You could be arrested for just

looking at somebody...

..in the street, you know, winking

at them or smiling at them.

And, er, I thought this is mad,

this world has gone a bit potty.

I have to say it made it

even more exciting

because, you know, it is exciting,

er, avoiding the police,

keeping a look out. It's like being

a member of an underground sect,

or something, er,

and you get a great kick out of it.

Wherever you went was liable to

be raided...

..um, whether it was a pub or it was

a private drinking club

or it was a private party.

And you would have your name

and address printed in the paper.

Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! Oh.

It's... It's fine.

Um, do you need directions?

No.

No, I'm, erm... I'm just...

I'm down off leave from Ely.

And, er, it's going to rain again.

Any minute.

So, um,

if you want to stay, there's a sofa,

which should be perfectly

comfortable.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it should.

Yeah, it's a bit small.

And besides...

..you and I could, er, f*** here.

Live a little.

HE CHUCKLES:

What?

"You and I could f*** maybe?"

What?

The romance of it.

Dead romantic.

That's one of my best lines.

You heading back to Ely?

In two days, yep.

So what do you do?

I'm a journalist.

Oh, right. Which paper?

The Mail.

Nice.

Not really. It's...

Well, it's quite dull, actually.

Well, it was nice meeting you.

I'll, erm, you know?

Keep in touch. I mean it.

Do you want me to?

Well, yes. I... All right, then.

Being a gay was a very tricky

business.

It was frowned upon by society,

it was punishable

by imprisonment, it was illegal,

it was everything you could mention.

I mean, you couldn't even

talk about it. Erm...

I felt very uncomfortable about it.

Certainly.

If heterosexuals had been subject

to the force of law for being

heterosexual, if their relations had

been frowned upon, it's most

unlikely that they would have

settled into long-term marriages.

They had public opinion

and the law behind them.

In the case of homosexuals, the law

and public opinion were very

distinctly against them, so I think

the whole climate was opposed to

the building of relationships.

In fact, I think many gay people

half believed, because they were

told so often, that if you were gay

you couldn't have a relationship.

It was a no-no,

so I had to be on my own.

And, erm, so I've been used to it,

since...since childhood,

being a loner. Never enjoyed it,

I can tell you, it was awful.

But that's the way it is.

KNOCK ON DOOR:

Well, would you look at that.

He meant what he said.

Fancy a kickaround?

You're joking.

Not physical, then?

Not even at school?

Football? I was useless,

always the last to get picked.

I can imagine, actually.

I used to just gather with all

the other outcasts.

Teachers despised us for it.

One of them said,

"Oh, yes, there they are.

"The sops.

Sops of a feather flock together."

Come on.

Is that you? Oh, stop it!

We have to be a lot more

careful than that.

I know, I know, I'm...unschooled.

You're telling me.

Am I the only poof you know?

No. I know Edward, Lord Montagu,

through my work.

Smile all you like,

Mr Inverted Snob, he is very nice.

So it's love, then?

To be honest, I never thought you'd

come out of your shell far enough.

Neither did I.

What's his appeal?

He's...confident...

..physical,

a bit...dim, sort of.

I suppose I always thought...

Go on.

I thought I'd meet a boy like him

and he would make me brave,

and in return...

..I would make him wise.

You're blushing.

All right, it's stupid, you know,

it's comradeship.

Plato wrote something along

those lines, do you know it?

Two men, very different strengths,

but when they come together...

..an army of such lovers could

conquer the world.

Bring him down to Beaulieu.

When did you last have a holiday?

Oh, God. Three, four years ago.

Bring him down to Beaulieu.

Hmm.

Just a small party...

God, you are such a...

Live a little.

Yes?

MUSIC PLAYS:

INDISTINCT CHATTER

Well, I think this party is

really rather...

Boring? Boring as f***?

Yes. That's about the size of it.

I thought the aristocracy knew how

to let its hair down.

Uh-uh. You thought wrong.

What happened to "be careful"?

No-one about, you daft ape.

# You took the part that once

was my heart

# So why not take all of me? #

Three weeks. I know.

# ..All of me

# Why not take all of me?

# Can't you see... #

You're blossoming, Mr Wildeblood.

# ..I'm no good without you?

# Take my lips

# I want to lose them... #

TRAIN RUMBLES PAS # ..Take my arms

# I'll never use them

# Your goodbye

# Left me with eyes that cry

# How can I

go on, dear, without you? #

My dearest, darling Eddie,

I love you so much.

# ..You took the best

Why not take the rest? #

There, I've said it.

# ..Baby, take all of me... #

In the '50s,

homosexuals, erm, were in...

were in a kind of secret world

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