Movie: Rock Hudson: All that Heaven Allowed

ROCK HUDSON: ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWED - Available to download and rent on digital platforms from 23 October

Rock Hudson: All that Heaven Allowed Universal: 1 hr, 45 minutes. Stephen Kijak, Director.

Rock Hudson was one of the most famous Hollywood stars of his day. This documentary draws on a wealth of film archives and personal reminiscence, tracing how he never quite came to terms with his gayness, even as his career reached stellar proportions. The film is also an implicit critique of the American society which compelled him to live a double life until his death from AIDS in 1985.

In his heyday Rock Hudson was regarded as the embodiment of rugged masculinity. His tall frame, chiselled good looks, and apparently effortless charm, guaranteed a slew of film roles. Some were frothy comedies, paired with Dorothy Day for example, while others portrayed more complex characters where his performance skilfully conveyed vulnerability or deep emotion.

Friends and colleagues are interviewed to describe the man they knew, and the cost of his concealment. He knew that exposure could destroy his career, and yet perhaps his years of pretence had the paradoxical effect of lending depth to his acting. In this documentary the voices of those who knew him are cleverly intercut with movie scenes where he portrays characters wrestling with deceit, self-doubt or anguish.

In its early years AIDS evoked great fear. This is encapsulated in a furore involving Rock Hudson's cameo role in the long-running soap opera Dynasty. In one scene he exchanged a passionate kiss with Krystle Carrington (played by Linda Evans). Shortly afterwards his AIDS diagnosis become public knowledge. Such was the panic in Hollywood that even Linda Evans found herself shunned as a possible source of contamination. Yet Rock Hudson's acknowledgement that he had AIDS (after initial denial) helped change the public mood in the United States about the disease. Often in the past he had portrayed the all-American boy, and now the all-American boy had AIDS. AIDS, so to speak, had come home.

In fact, as the years ticked by Hudson had become more relaxed about his homosexuality which was well known in the gay circles where he socialized. Here the documentary contains some very explicit sexual language. The press notes describe him as 'a man unable to find a life-long love, but who was a loyal and beloved friend … Rock lived as openly as is possible for a gay man confined to the prison of worldwide fame.'

The predatory nature of the Hollywood casting system is well known and documented - see, for example, the travails of Tippi Hedren as she evaded Alfred Hitchcock. This documentary hints that Rock Hudson's ascent utilised the same system of favours. This is skated over lightly, a surprising treatment in the age of #metoo.

Underlying his life story is a deep human yearning for love and acceptance. Despite the metaphorical mention of heaven in the title, religion features only briefly with a negative mention of the evangelical Christians. However Wikipedia, citing an article in People magazine, says that Rock Hudson was raised as Catholic, and that a week before he died a priest attended by request and administered the sacraments. Heaven allowed at least that.

You can watch the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzWm5kIfE8c