Clint’s Version of Sherlock and Dr. Watson Dresses J. Edgar Hoover in Duds for Dudes
DATELINE: MOVIE HISTORY!
Clint Eastwood recently fell back into his Dirty Harry character when asked if his movie about the life and career of J.Edgar Hoover depicted the FBI founder as a cross-dressing swinger.
If Clint had his famous Magnum, he would have splattered media all over the press conference. No, his movie is not about two gay guys. He might have added, and he doesn’t eat sweets.
Like most of Eastwood’s films, his movies are subtle exercises in character development. That is a lost art in films nowadays when one-liners, explosions, and superpowers transcend the plot.
Whether Hoover was or was not may be answered in the movie, but lost beneath complexity that befuddles the modern audience.
Most movie viewers missed Clint’s interesting detail in the celebrated film Million Dollar Baby where the main character packs two deadly needles, one for euthanasia, and another for suicide.
We suspect that Clint’s message may be between the lines, between the scenes, and between the parting glances of main characters.
Hoover contemplates marriage in one scene that leads to a heated discussion with his partner--in crime solving. They end up on the floor in a passionate kiss.
That incidental kiss, following a fight with his second-in-command Clyde Tolson, was kissed off by Leonardo’s Hoover who barks: “Don’t ever do that again.”
Never kiss again or never fight again? We are left wondering.
Hoover’s defenders are quick to point out that the FBI Director himself was under constant surveillance (for his own protection). The agents never saw much, which may or may not tell all. The FBI often turned a blind eye to the reality of the time.
According to some sources, Hoover and Tolson were about as gay as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Uh-oh.
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