All language subtitles for Against the Law (2017).en

[cell door slams]

Any man
who takes a criminal path...

should be mindful
of the consequences.

My name is Peter Wildeblood.

-[MPs shouting]-Order! Order!

[MP] 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?

[Peter] Much of my private
life has been made public

by the newspapers,

so I have nothing left to hide.

[MP] Roughly 5,500 offenses
have been recorded...

and over 600 offenders
sent to prison.

[MPs cheering]

[Peter] 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.

[rattling]

[MP] So long as I hold office,

I shall give no countenance
to the view

that they should not be
prevented

from being such a danger.

[MPs shouting in agreement]

[dog barking]

[jazz song in distance]

[talking and laughter]

Whiskey, please.

[piano plays faintly]

[train whistle]

[deep breath]

I-I wonder...
Could I buy you a drink?

Doesn't work that way, darling.

Not unless you're willing
to play the part.

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... I don't know.
-I'm not sure I like it.

-[door opening]
-Come along, Fanny, dear.

See you later, dear heart.

Coming, ducky.

[door closing]

[laughter]

[Peter Price] At that
particular time there was...

You might call it a purge
on people who were gay.

We were considered sick.

We were considered,
you know, child molesters.

The police went out
of their way to catch you,

and... and the Members
of Parliament...

"This filth... this is going
to ruin the nation.

We must stub it out."

I can't remember the name
of the Home Secretary then.

He was one of the worst.

David Maxwell Fyfe.
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe.

Later Viscount Kilmuir.

[clears throat]

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...

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,

avoiding the police,
keeping a lookout.

It's like being a member

of an underground sect
or something,

and you get a great kick
out of it.

Wherever you went
was liable to be raided,

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.

[dog barking
and traffic roaring]

[gasps] Oh, I'm sorry!

[chuckles] It's... It's fine.

[sighs]

Erm... do you need directions?

No. No, I'm erm...

I'm just... I'm down off
leave from Ely. [chuckles]

And erm...
it's going to rain again.

Any minute.

So, erm... 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 erm...
fuck maybe.

Live a little.

[chuckles]

What?

"You and I could fuck,
maybe." [laughs]

[laughs] What?

The romance of it.

Dead romantic.

That's one of my best lines.

[laughs]

-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.

Hmm.

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'm...
-All right, then.

[car horn in distance]

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.

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
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 so I've been used to it
since childhood,

being a loner.

Never enjoyed it,
I can tell you. It was awful.

But that's...
that's the way it is.

[knock at door]

Well, would you look at that!
He meant what he said.

-Fancy a kick-around?
-You're joking! [chuckles]

Oh, 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.

[pan sizzling]

-Is that you?
-Oh, stop it!

We have to be
a lot more careful.

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?

Never thought you'd come out
of your shell far enough.

Neither did I. [chuckles]

What's his appeal?

He's... confident.

Physical.

A bit dim.

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.
-[chuckles]

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.

[sighs]

[Eddie] Just a small party?

God, you are such a...

Live a little.

Yes?

[faint jazz singing]

[murmur of conversations]

Well, I think this party
is really rather...

Boring? Boring as fuck?

[chuckles] Yes.
That's about the size of it.

I thought the aristocracy knew

how to let its hair down.

Mm-mn. You thought wrong.

[chuckles]

["The Hour of Parting"
by Maxine Sullivan playing]

What happened to "be careful"?

No one about, you daft ape.

♪ Love ♪

♪ We know that love cannot die ♪

♪ But now we're saying goodbye ♪

Three weeks.

I know.

[closing door]

You're blossoming,
Mr Wildeblood.

[song continues on radio]

♪ Love ♪

♪ The hour of parting is near ♪

-♪ And in my heart I can hear ♪
-[train rattles past]

♪ The song we heard
When I met you ♪

♪ We two were saying love ♪

♪ We know that love cannot die ♪

♪ But now we're saying goodbye ♪

My dearest, darling Eddie...

♪ The parting hour is near ♪

I love you so much.

♪ The parting hour... ♪

There.

I've said it.

♪ Is near ♪

In the '50s,

homosexuals were in a kind
of secret world of their own.

It was... They were on...

another, rather delightful
planet, in a way.

It was fabulous. I was doing
whatever young people do.

I wanted to dance. I wanted
to have beautiful clothes.

I wanted to have lots of sex.
I wanted somebody to love me.

It was a world in which...

there was no class
difference at all,

and that, I think,
was one of the things

which made it
very, very attractive.

Members of the upper classes
have always fancied

members of the lower classes.

I was never actually

particularly attracted
to posh boys,

but I did sometimes meet them
if they looked right,

and so I did find myself
in the situation

of mixing
with a much wider range

of social classes, I think,

than straight boys of my
background would have done.

There was this strong sense
of community

within the gay world.

And that rendered us
not impervious,

but able to resist
these awful...

How should I say?

This constant barrage of
propaganda,

of depiction of us
as being evil.

[thunder rumbles]

[phone ringing]

-Wildeblood.-Peter, it's Edward.

-Oh, hello, Edward.
-Are you alone?

Yes.

I'm at the police station.

I called them about a camera

that went missing at my place.

I was, am, fairly sure
it was one of the Boy Scouts

we have showing the public
round on open days.

That's terrible.

The... Boy Scout made certain...

allegations against me.

False, of course.

I'm a public figure, Peter.

They're trying
to make an example of me.

Well, I thought you should know.

Yes, thank you, Edward.

Good luck.

[reporter] At Winchester Assize,

the trial of Lord Montagu
continues.

He stands accused
of indecently assaulting...

He took the stand
to claim his innocence

and said he was the victim
of a police witch hunt...

[radio] ...news at five o'clock.

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
was today acquitted

of several counts
of indecent assault.

The jury's decision
was unanimous

and brings to an end
an acrimonious trial

in which Lord Montagu claimed

to be the victim
of a smear campaign...

When the trial collapsed
and the public realised

that it was all
manufactured evidence,

the general public
did find that...

erm... distasteful.

It made me feel angry, really.

I'd look back on it
and I thought,

Yeah, I was quite angry
about this rubbish.

You know, I got
quite worked up about it.

I mean, all gay men

throughout the country
felt that.

And not only gay men,

but the general public,
luckily, were feeling that.

Why is Montagu
being harassed like this?

You know, what is the point?

It seemed to me
it did turn public opinion

against all that was going on.

But on the other hand,

I think there was
a kind of feeling

among the police force

that they would get him
in the end.

[click of cigarette lighter]

Thank you.

[door closing]

Mm-hm. Ah.

Hmm?

These letters - who wrote them?

You know who wrote them.

I want to hear it from you.

Give me the dirt
on Montagu and his two pals.

Look, you might lose your job,

but I'll keep you out of prison.

[knock at door]

-Are you Peter Wildeblood?
-Yes.

I'm arresting you on charges
of gross indecency

and buggery with certain
other male persons.

Where do you sleep?

-My bedroom's upstairs.
-Anyone up there?

No.

Don't you have a warrant?

Sit down.

You were in Beaulieu
this summer?

Yes.

Are these your parents?

Yes.

And this one...
is Edward McNally?

Is this your handwriting?

[weakly] Yes.

[water dripping]

[sighs]

[breathes raggedly]

This could go very
badly for you.

Very badly indeed.

What you should do
is make a statement,

and you just get bound over.

Make a clean breast of things.

Tell me about Montagu
and his chum Pitt-Rivers

and all of them,
and then I'll...

No.

-No, I couldn't do that.
-And why not?

Because...

Because...

sops of a feather
flock together.

Hadn't you heard?

[engine rumbling]

[camera flashbulb clicks]

The ones, for example, who
had previous convictions...

it would be a fair cop.

"Very sorry." Plead guilty.

Those who had never experienced

the police intruding
would be very upset

and were the more likely ones
who would plead not guilty

and challenge every aspect
of the observations.

I still say it was an
inherent weakness,

and still is.

They went
into these practices...

knowing that there's
a great element of risk

of being arrested,

being exposed, if you'll
pardon the expression.

Three or four weeks
after I met Lee,

I realised without doubt
that he was the one person

I wanted to spend
the rest of my life with.

I wrote him a long letter,

telling him of my feelings
for him and my hopes for us.

I thought he'd be so pleased
about this letter,

and I couldn't believe it -
he was so angry.

I said, "What's the matter?"

He said, "Well,
the letter you sent to me

could have landed us both
in prison."

I was 14 years old,
and I had a boyfriend.

He had written me a letter,
very stupidly,

and I had dropped the letter,

and my father said,
"What's this?"

Um... I can remember him now,
God bless him,

"I'm having no son
of mine a queer.

You're going to the doctor."

So I was taken down
to the doctor, who said,

"You've got a disease,"
which was great...

"You've got a disease."

I never accepted
that I had an illness.

I accepted that I preferred
to go to bed with a man

rather than a woman.

I didn't see that as an illness.

But I did see it as something
which you kept to yourself,

because of the implications,
because of the consequences,

if you didn't.

You are each charged
with gross indecency,

buggery, attempted buggery,
aiding and abetting buggery,

procuring male persons
for acts of gross indecency

and conspiracy to incite
male persons

to commit gross indecency.

To each of these charges,
how do you,

Edward Montagu, plead?

Not guilty.

To each of these charges,

how do you,
Michael Pitt-Rivers, plead?

Not guilty.

And to each of these charges,

how do you,
Peter Wildeblood, plead?

Not guilty.

[keys jangling, door opens]

All right?

I've been better.

Right. The form is basically
we deny everything.

None of us are queer,
we've never dabbled,

never even been tempted.

Right?

It's very hard to prove.

The word "love" on a page
means nothing.

I thought we'd be all right.

We were discreet.

-Why are they doing this?
-Just stay calm, Peter.

The case for the prosecution
begins with Wildeblood.

In March 1952, Wildeblood met

an RAF Corporal in Piccadilly.

His name is McNally and
he'll be called as a witness.

McNally is a pervert.

Wildeblood took him
back to his flat

and there committed an
offence, namely buggery,

with this McNally.

McNally had a friend
called John Reynolds,

also a queer.

You've probably never heard
of that term.

Wildeblood was a friend
of Lord Montagu.

Mention was made to Lord
Montagu of John Reynolds.

Introductions were arranged.

Offences against Reynolds
were committed by Montagu

at Wildeblood's flat in London.

And on a trip to Beaulieu,

joined by Michael Pitt-
Rivers, an orgy took place.

McNally and Reynolds are men

of the lowest possible
moral character.

Taken under
the seductive influence

of the lavish hospitality
of these three men

so infinitely
their social superiors,

they were willing parties
to unnatural acts.

It would be dangerous to convict

any of the defendants

purely on the evidence of men
such as McNally and Reynolds.

We hope to satisfy you by
letters and other documents,

that there is
copious confirmation

that the story these man,
Reynolds and McNally,

are telling is true.

On that date in December when
you attended his property,

did you see Wildeblood?

He came to the door.

-Where did you go with him?
-To the living room.

Did you suggest to him
that he write a statement?

No, sir.

Did you promise him

that if he wrote a statement
he'd just be bound over?

I did not.

And the letters you showed
him, he recognised these

as letters written
by himself and McNally?

Indeed he did, sir.

I didn't think
this could happen in Britain.

I didn't think the police...

Well, now you know.

The rotten apples aren't
the odd ones out, Peter.

They're bastards. Jesus.

Try to stay calm.

You're next, McNally.

Call Edward McNally.

Over there.

-You are Edward McNally?
-Yes.

Do you know the accused,
Peter Wildeblood?

Yes.

Look at the accused and confirm

he is the man known to you.

[softly] Yes.

When you spent the night
at his flat,

where did you sleep?

In the bedroom with Wildeblood.

Did anything occur between you?

We committed buggery
with each other.

Did you write this letter
to him - Exhibit 44?

Yes.

[reads letter] "Dearest Peter,

I've really got it bad,
sweetheart.

In fact I haven't felt so
happy for a long time.

Just to let you know,
I haven't forgotten you,

and I never will."

Did you mean those words?

I thought I did, sir.

Were you what you
would describe as

"in love" with Peter Wildeblood?

Yes, sir.

Did you receive this letter
from him - Exhibit 45?

Yes.

[reads letter] "You are
so much a part of my life

that I do not think
I could ever do without you.

I love you as much now as I did

when we spent our
lovely holiday together,

the happiest time
I have ever known."

Did you believe those words?

I suppose so, sir.

Did you believe Peter Wildeblood

to be in love with you?

Yes, sir.

Why did he do this to me?

Why did Eddie do this?

You know why he did it.

To save his own skin.

Forget him.

[sobs]

[Keith Biddlecome]I joined the Navy

ten days
before my 17th birthday.

It was on HMS Reggio
that I was...

to put it crudely,
caught in the act.

I was court-martialed,

charged with buggery
and gross indecency.

Then I was asked to give
the names of the people

with whom I had slept
or had anything to do with,

and was told,

"If you tell us their names,
you're looking at 12 months.

If you don't tell us
their names,

you're looking at five years."

I gave them the name of
an army officer

with whom
I had spent a night ashore.

They found him,

and one day the warder,
screw, came in and said,

"The chap's
blown his brains out."

And that is something
which I've had to live with

for over 60 years.

Erm... it is still...

I-I hate myself for it,

but it was just
one of those things.

[clerk] Call Peter Wildeblood.

[door opens and shuts]

Place your right hand
on the Bible,

take the card in your other
hand and read the statement.

I swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth

and nothing but the truth.

Counsel for the Defense.

Is your name Peter Wildeblood?

Yes.

Are you a homosexual,
Mr Wildeblood?

Yes, I am.

Thinking back to July 1952,

how would you describe
your relationship

with Edward McNally?

I'd become fond of him.

He is not educated,
but he is intelligent.

My work made me live
in a kind of way

I didn't much enjoy,

and I like to be able to relax

with someone
who is quite simple,

unpretentious and fond of me.

What kind of letters
was he writing to you?

They were emotional letters.

They contained endearments
of an unusual kind

for two men to exchange.

And you wrote similar
letters to him?

I was extremely lonely
at that time.

You are familiar with
what happened to Oscar Wilde?

Oscar Wilde was accused
of gross indecency.

I have never committed
gross indecency

nor buggery with anybody.

You never committed these
offences with Edward McNally?

No.

Mr Wildeblood,
when you went into this box

you took the oath in solemn
form, you realize that?

-Yes.
-To tell the truth,

the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?

Yes.

You know
that we've heard McNally,

your friend of some 21 months,

describe in detail what took
place between you and him.

You've heard the letters
sent by you to him

during this time
read out in this court.

Do you still say
you've told the whole truth?

I do.

Have you any suggestion, then,

as to why McNally would tell
such wicked lies about you?

Well, I should have thought
his motive

was perfectly obvious.

He did it to save his own skin.

Were you attracted to McNally?

I was not physically
attracted to him.

How do you say you were
attracted to him, then?

-Emotionally.
-Emotionally?

This McNally was very much
your social inferior.

-Why then?
-During the war,

I fought alongside men from
many different backgrounds.

I don't recall anyone
objecting then.

Before God, I entirely
commend that sentiment,

but what the jury
may wish to know is this.

Why would you,

a highly intelligent man,
a beautiful writer...

want to spend
21 months of his life

with an uneducated RAF corporal

from the pits of Glasgow?

That night in Piccadilly
when you met,

did you smile at each other?

I cannot remember.

When you got into conversation,

did a smile pass between you?

I should think, possibly, yes.

-You took him to your flat?
-He had nowhere to go.

-Resisted all temptation?
-Yes.

You didn't even kiss him?

No, I did not.

You never felt the need
for physical expression

of a healthy,
emotional young man?

I was incapable
of sexual expression.

Incapable?

[moaning]

Have you consulted a doctor?

No.

"Dearest Peter, I've really
got it bad, sweetheart."

What had he got bad?
Love, was it not?

I don't accept for a moment...

"In fact, I haven't felt
so happy for a long time."

Because of his friendship
with you, yes?

Because of his friendship
with you?

-Yes?
-Yes.

This is being written in bed.

[reads letter]
"Wish you were here,

but the RAF have definite
views on such things."

Would a young man
write those words to you

if you and he
had not been intimate?

Well, this young man would.

[reads letter]
"My dearest darling Eddie,

oh, how relieved I was to
hear from you at last.

You are so much
a part of my life

that I do not think
I could ever do without you."

Was that right?

He was a part of my life.

"I love you as much now as I did

when we spent our lovely
holiday together."

On this holiday,
you spent the whole time

-resisting temptation?
-Yes.

What, then,
made it so happy for you?

The friendship, you know, the...

the conversation, the...

the bathing.

The weather?

[reads letter] "All the love
I've ever known, P."

That was all the love
I have ever known.

The arrest must have placed
a considerable burden on you.

If you're born a sexual invert,

you will always have
a burden on your soul.

If there was any way
of getting rid of it,

I should only be too pleased,

because it has been
a handicap to me

and led to nothing but
loneliness and unhappiness.

I have no further questions.

[clerk] Witness is dismissed.

To the charge of buggery,

do you find the defendants
guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

To the charge of
gross indecency,

do you find the defendants
guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

To the charge of
conspiracy to incite

male persons
to commit gross indecency,

do you find the defendants
guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

To the charge of
procuring male persons

for acts of gross indecency,

do you find the defendants
guilty or not guilty?

-[dialogue fades out]
-Guilty.

[reporter] The Montagu trial
ended today

with jail terms
for all three accused.

Mr Justice Ormerod
passed sentences of

12 months
imprisonment on Lord Montagu

and 18 months each

on Michael Pitt-Rivers
and Peter Wildeblood.

I'd read all about it
in the newspapers

and I thought,
"Good God, it's awful."

They were determined
to get verdicts of guilty

on the three men involved,

Montagu, Wildeblood
and Michael Pitt-Rivers,

and they were sent
to prison of course,

and the two airmen
who testified against them

were given immunity.

I didn't know
how Peter Wildeblood...

how the judiciary
and the police behaved.

I didn't understand that

and I mean, when I read it,
I was filled with terror.

This is the kind of stuff
that was reality.

It was real.

This is what happened to you
if you were gay.

It was pretty heavy-duty.

I don't know how it didn't
deter me completely,

and of course it did
deter lots of people.

There were lots of
very unhappy gay people

really trying hard
to be straight.

Gradually people were talking.

Whereas this been a taboo,

now it was a taboo
that was being discussed.

That gave me an edge of hope

at a time when I didn't have
very much of that around me.

[door clangs]

[knocking]

[guard] Wildeblood!

[low chatter]

I seen you come in.

You look better in real life
than you did in the papers.

Oh.

Thank you.

It looked like
you was dead or something.

How's your porridge going?

It's... ok, it's going.

Yours?

All right. Two more years.

That RAF lad stitched you up
proper, didn't he?

Not on, what he did to you.

[guard] Form up!

Be seeing you.

Be seeing you.

[door closes]

8505 Wildeblood, sir.

Wildeblood, yes.

Have you given any thought
to what you might do

when you've finished
your sentence?

I plan to carry on
as before, sir.

Well, you'll certainly
be returning

to an institution
like this if you do.

I meant, I shall go on writing.

I suspect you'll find that

rather harder than you imagine.

Do you know someone called Iris?

Well, yes, sir.

Quite a common name
in your... circles?

Iris is a woman, sir.

Are you willing to undergo

medical treatment
for your condition?

Yes, sir.

Then you'll see the
psychiatrist in due course.

That'll be all.

[cell door slams]

[typewriter keys clatter]

All the things that once
defined me as a man

have evaporated...

distilled down
to a revolting caricature

of homosexual man.

[hits wall]

[voices arguing]

[buzz of chatter]

Hello again!

Hello.

It's rotten how they did you.

There but for the grace
of God, you know.

I'm sorry?

It's the people who have
a little queer streak

of their own that do us
most damage, if you ask me.

On the plus side, this place
is packed with queers,

receiving mostly.

[door clangs]

I arrived there

with a couple
of other prisoners, I think.

Ah, it really did frighten me.

You had the openly gay people

who didn't seem to care
if anyone knew they were gay.

They flaunted round in groups,

were quite outrageous,
effeminate,

girly names all the time.

On the other hand, there
were the undercover Marys,

as we liked to refer to them,

those who had,
for one reason or another,

good reason
not to be blatantly gay,

and there was certainly a
certain tension between them.

The governor said,
"We know why you're here...

and I want nothing

of a homosexual nature

for you to try and take,

because if you do,
you'll be here forever."

Being homosexual
was such an aberration,

terrible, worse than anything,

worse than a murderer,
much, much worse.

There were times
when one thought,

"Will they ever understand

that there's nothing
unnatural about us at all?

We're perfectly natural
human beings

with a natural desire for love."

And it increased one's sense

of alienation
from society as a whole.

I mean it just destroyed
my... my... my...

personality, really.

I couldn't let...
I couldn't be who I was,

so I had nothing.

[banging on cell door]

[Peter] I now know what it
is like to be a criminal...

to know that everything you
do will be misunderstood,

or used as evidence against you.

[banging on cell door]

It makes me fearful
of my future,

and fear is a terrible emotion.

It's like a black frost,
which blights and stunts

all the other qualities
of a man.

-Dan, that's really...
-Pick it up, then.

Got to keep your strength up.

Pinched it out the garden.

Make your cell feel
a bit more like home.

[sniffs]

[sobs]

[retching]

-[knock on door]
-Come in.

Sit down.

Wildeblood, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

"Openly... homosexual."

Do you attend the orgies?

Orgies?

Yes. In Chelsea
and other places?

Male homosexuals gather together

and engage
in unnatural practices.

-Really?
-So I'm told.

I haven't heard of this, sir.

"Does not attend the orgies."

You want to be cured?

Yes, sir.

Well, there are
a number of options.

I understood
that glandular injections

or hormone treatment...

We've tried estrogen injections

on a couple of cases here,

but with no great degree
of success.

One man underwent
physical changes

of a... a somewhat
alarming nature.

We use aversion therapy.

How does that...?

Electrical aversion,

electrodes fixed to the
wrists, calves, feet.

You'd be told to fantasize,

watch pictures of men
in various states of undress,

receive shocks.

Does it leave... marks?

They fade after a while.

Or chemical aversion,
apomorphine injections.

Produces nausea.

You vomit, then you lie in it,

no cleaning up allowed -

an essential part
of the therapy.

For how long?

Two days, sometimes three,
it depends.

I shouldn't be here.

This shouldn't be
happening to me.

You broke the law, Wildeblood.

Then the law is wrong.

The two treatments,
the kindest one

was that you would go to a
counselor, psychologist.

The... worst one,
the worst option

was that you would have
aversion therapy.

And aversion therapy...

was probably
the three worst days

of my 67 years
on this earth as a nurse.

[Peter Price]They gave me an injection.

I don't know to this day
what it was.

I've been told,
but I can't remember now.

Which made me feel very queasy,

and really started
to react with inside me

and... pretty horrendous.

And I said, "Excuse me,

I think I'm going to be sick."

He said,
"That's fine, just be sick."

So I said, "Well, could I
have a bucket or something,

or a bowl?"

"No, just be sick."

And then I started feeling
queasy down below

and I said, "I've got
to go to the toilet."

"Don't worry about it,
just do it."

There was no talk-to-talk,

about... about your...
what you thought,

like modern therapy
would go into,

no dialogue
between the therapist and you

with regard to your feelings
and so on.

There was no opportunity
to express yourself.

It was simply... It was
simply medical treatments

with tablets that
tried to damp you down.

And for 72 hours, I...
Well, I had nothing left,

there was no sick coming up,
there was no...

poo coming out,
there was nothing,

there was no water coming
out of my penis,

there was nothing.

I was a mental wreck,

and this nurse was embarrassed

and I can see his face now.

He just didn't know
what to say to me,

and I certainly didn't know
what to say to him.

I can only say to you
and all those

that have
had this dreadful treatment,

as a nurse, I'm sorry
that I was complicit in it.

I can't do any more. I can't
undo what's been done.

I can only say I'm sorry.

Ooh, absolutely beastly thing!

I was scared for my life! It
just fell out in front of me.

I thought he was gonna
bite my bottom off!

[giggling]

...on me, bite me on the bottom!

[giggling]

Absolutely beastly thing!

I was scarred for life!

Anyway, I'd dropped my soap...

thought better of it.

"I can't! She'll go for me,
right on the derriere!"

You landed on your feet
there, girl.

He's a lovely bit of stuff.

You get right in there.

Sorry.

Touched a nerve?

Your business, I'm sure.

Seen this?

-Wolfenden.
-A committee.

They might want to change
the law against queers.

They want people to come
forward, have their say.

There's a few things
I could tell them.

We should all do it, don't
you think? Band together.

No!

No. We're not the same,
you and I!

[cutlery clatters]

[metallic scraping]

[Peter] I am a homosexual.

For many years,

I kept this a secret
from my family and friends

and tried privately
to resolve my struggle

in a way as consistent
as possible with moral law.

I do not believe I ever
did any harm to anyone.

If any harm has been done,
the fault lies not with me

but with those who dragged

into the merciless light
of publicity

things which would have been
better left in darkness.

If there is bitterness
in my words,

I hope it will be the
bitterness of medicine,

not of poison.

[Frank Stanton] Just before
he was imprisoned,

he had just bought a house
not far away from our flat.

When he came out of prison,

his neighbours had put up
a big notice, "Welcome home",

and I think that that,
more than anything,

gave Peter
tremendous encouragement.

These ordinary local people

were accepting him
for what he was.

[Peter] I must have my say.

Wolfenden needs
to hear the truth.

I'm trying to get through
to Malcolm Farr,

the Home Office.

Yes, I can wait.

[Derek Granger] I realised,

with the setting up of
Wolfenden and even before,

that there was
a change in the air.

It was the first indication

that the law
against homosexuality

might at least be reconsidered,

the first glimmer of hope.

And so we all knew about it,
straights and gays.

May I say, Mr Wildeblood,

how very grateful we are to you

for finding time
to talk to us this afternoon.

Not at all.

But I was particularly
aware of it

because it so happened
I was having an affair

at the time
with Jeremy Wolfenden,

who was the son
of Sir John Wolfenden,

who was Head of the Committee.

[chuckles]

You say there are three
distinct types of homosexual.

Yes.

The men who regard
themselves as women,

through glandular or
psychological maladjustment.

-Group A?
-Yes.

Group B: pederasts.

I cannot speak on their behalf.

I regard them the same way
a normal man might regard

those pederasts
who prey on young girls.

And Group C? Men like yourself?

Homosexuals
in the strictest sense:

adult men who are attracted
to other adult men.

Men who desire
to lead their lives

with discretion and decency.

Neither corrupting others

nor publicly flaunting
their condition.

We are by far the largest
group of homosexuals.

-The discreet homosexual?
-Yes, my Lord.

We seek to find
another of our own kind

and if possible,

form a permanent attachment
in private.

But the law, as it stands,

makes this kind of arrangement

fraught with risk.

A promiscuous
and temporary liaison

is far less likely to provide
corroborative evidence,

letters, that kind of thing,
in court

than an association
in which genuine trust

and fidelity play a part.

[Wolfenden] I see, yes.

[clears throat]

I was going to ask
a little more about Group A,

the glandular category.

They're known as pansies.

[soundtrack drowns out dialogue]

People of that kind
are born like that.

To that extent I suppose
they're not responsible.

What they are responsible for
is their nuisance value.

They cause a lot of
bad public feeling

towards the other,
more discreet homosexuals.

When I ask for tolerance...

it is for men like us.

Not the corrupters of youth,

not the effeminate creatures

making an exhibition
of themselves.

I speak for the men who,

despite their tragic disability,

try to lead their lives
as decent citizens.

There are many thousands of us,

how many we do not know.

I believe that
we would be better

and more useful
members of society

if we were allowed
to live in peace,

instead of being condemned
to live outside the law.

What did you do that for?
Stop it! Stop!

Because you're a fucking homo!

Thank you, Mr Wildeblood.

You've been most helpful.

Thank you, sir.

You know, I was very pleased
at the recommendations made

and I thought,
"Well, the law will change,"

but it wasn't changed for
another nine or ten years.

And when it did change,
you know, as I said earlier,

I thought, "Oh, yeah, nice
condescending thing to do."

I was quite irritated by it.

-[interviewer] Why was that?
-Yeah.

Because I thought, you know,

all this "consenting adults
in private..."

If you had a threesome, say,

you know, you could be
brought up, sent to prison.

Not that people
wanted threesomes,

but you know what I mean.

It had to be in private
in a house,

and if there were other
people in the house,

you know,
you were breaking the law.

The change in the law
that took place in 1967

I'm quite sure had
an enormous effect

on a huge number of gay people.

But the problem was,
it was a minor change.

They weren't going to turn round

to their parents and say,

"By the way, I'm gay,
and it's legal now,

so you can't do
anything about it."

They were still going to be
hiding, hiding themselves.

It would take a social change
to bring real freedom

to these people,
not a legal change.

That is not to minimise the
benefit the legal change made

if nothing else, to stop people

going to prison for something

that was nobody's business
but their own.

My mother was saying, "I know
what you're going to do.

Later on, when I go, you'll
marry a non-Jewish girl."

I said, "Mum,
I won't marry a girl at all."

It must have been
a shock to her,

but she just called
me a dirty dog.

I did hold back particularly

because I knew my family
would disown me, pretty well,

and here I am now.

And fortunately...

I mean it was only literally

since September of last year,

that I was able
to come out to my family,

well, to my sister,
my younger sister.

Even now, I sometimes
pinch myself and think,

"Is it true, has it happened?"

And I'm... I'm astonished.

I would never have thought
that the law would change,

that public opinion
would change.

-Hello, darling.
-Hello, darling.

-How are you?
-Not bad.

-Oh, good.
-And yourself?

-All right, thank you.
-Good.

-You had a good time?
-Very good time.

Oh, good.

Well, we were the first
couple in Westminster

as well as in the country

to actually form
the civil partnership,

which was very
exciting actually.

["Dry the Rain"
by the Beta Band playing]

Lee died two years ago.

We'd been together 66 years

and I found that letter
that I wrote to him

amongst his effects,

and the address, his name,
my name, had been cut out.

So I folded the letter up
and placed it in his coffin

so that it went with him
wherever he went.

Queer.

Homosexual.

Poofta.

♪ Say it out loud, it'll be OK ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ If there's something inside
That you want to say ♪

Hello.

Shirt lifter. [laughs]

[interviewer] Flamer.

Never heard that one. Slamer?

-"Flamer", as in a flame.
-Flame, Flamer.

Never... Not one
I've ever heard of.

I hadn't heard "brown hat".

-Nancy boy.
-Queen.

Friend of Dorothy.

♪ I need love ♪

-Fag.
-Bender.

Batty boy.

Fairy.

-You're very good at that.
-[laughs]

I've heard it once or twice.

♪ It'll be OK ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ If there's something inside
That you want to say ♪

♪ Say it out loud, it'll be OK ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪

♪ I will be your light ♪