A complete revelation for me was the film The Children’s Hour. I started watching it because of the unusual combination of Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn. It was 1961. An unhappy schoolgirl in a private school accuses two teachers, Karen and Martha, of being lesbians. Even though this was untrue, a terrible scandal broke out. The teachers sued the school principal, who had relayed the accusation, but lost the case because they couldn’t prove they weren’t lesbians, despite one of them (Karen) having a fiancé (a man).
The most surprising part happens afterward. After the three (the two teachers and the fiancé of one of them) go through social condemnation, loss of social benefits such as good jobs (for the fiancé) and even jobs at all for the teachers, as well as the society’s unspoken rejection of the women—who couldn’t even leave their homes without being stared at (the story became known throughout America)—it turns out that Martha truly loved Karen all along. She had never been married, she was not attracted to men, but she loved Karen the way she had never loved anyone else in the world.
After this confession, Martha took her own life, even though just before that, the principal, who had accused them, came to them with the news that the girls had confessed to everything, admitting that they had lied about the lesbian relationship between the teachers. Public apologies were already arranged to be published in the press, and the money spent on the lawsuit would be refunded. It’s an amazing film, with Audrey and Shirley playing their roles in such a subtle and powerful way. Throughout the film, they never touched each other except in a friendly manner, yet they managed to show love in all its strength. For those who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching it.