OUT OF THE CLOSET, OFF THE SCREEN: THE WILLIAM HAINES STORY (2001) 60m

From an American Movie Classics Magazine article about the documentary written by Stephanie Zacharek: "In 1930, William Haines was a handsome, charming leading man and a top box-office draw, starring in such successful films as Tell It to the Marines (1926) with Lon Chaney and West Point (1928) with Joan Crawford. He was also gay, and while he wasn't 'out' in the modern sense, he made no secret of the fact that he shared a home with his partner, Jimmy Shields.

"But after the stock market crash, American audiences were seized by moral as well as financial panic. As AMC's new original documentary Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The William Haines Story ... reveals, the result for Haines was life-altering. He made a bad career move by playing a cartoonishly effeminate carnival barker in Way Out West (1930). The character didn't go over well with audiences and in the context of Hollywood's new morality, it drew attention to Haines's orientation.

"Louis B. Mayer decided to renew Haines's contract with MGM only if the actor agreed to give Shields up and publicly play the role of a straight movie star. Haines's response was immediate and typical of his quick wit: 'I'll be glad to give up Jimmy. Just as long as you give up your wife.' That was the end of Haines's acting career. But with the help of loyal friends like Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard, he built a new and highly successful career as an interior decorator, furnishing homes for Jack Warner and Alfred Bloomingdale and even redesigning the London residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Walter Annenberg. He also remained with Shields for more than 40 years, until his death in 1973; three months after Haines died, Shields, distraught, committed suicide. In the documentary, Crawford's daughter Christina notes that her mother often remarked that Haines and Shields had the best marriage in Hollywood."

For more about gays and Hollywood, consult THE CELLULOID CLOSET.