Advise & Consent [1962]

1. The Senator informs everyone that Brick has just died. The room clears. Except for Charles Laughton. He sits alone, taking a long puff off his cigarette, the most enigmatic expression in human history on his face.
2. Betty White as a senator from Kansas. Yes, that Betty White. She has one short speech. At the end she votes against the confirmation.
3. We only see the gay bar for about 90 seconds, but it’s fascinating. Also incredibly fantastic. Fantasy. Of course it’s not a glimpse of what gay bars were actually like in 1962. It’s a glimpse of what Hollywood thought they were like. Every man with a limp wrist, a weird hungry sneer on every face. Half-closed eyes all around. The oddest touch is having Frank Sinatra crooning on the soundtrack during the scene, supposedly a song that’s playing on the jukebox.