In 1969, the film Staircase was released. Based on a play by Charles Dyer and directed by Stanley Donen, it starred Rex Harrison and Richard Burton as an ageing gay couple who own a barbershop. They discuss their long and often volatile relationship while contemplating what life would be like without each other.
In the film, Burton plays Harry, who has alopecia and wears a bandage around his head to conceal the condition. His partner of 20 years is Charles, an actor whose only acting credit is a television commercial he appeared in many years earlier. Charles is due to appear in court on a charge of lewd conduct after being arrested for appearing in public in drag.
The film was notable at the time of its release because it featured two of Hollywood’s leading actors, was directed by an acclaimed filmmaker, and was produced by the major studio Twentieth Century Fox. Few mainstream films of the era placed LGBTQIA+ characters at the centre of their storytelling.
Although the film received poor reviews and was a significant box-office failure, it helped pave the way for future stories featuring LGBTQIA+ characters. Jean Poiret and Michel Serrault later cited Charles Dyer’s play as an inspiration for La Cage aux Folles, which became a successful film and musical and eventually inspired the English-language adaptation The Birdcage.
