Against the Law

WHISTLING

DOOR SLAMS SHUT

Any man who takes a criminal path...

..should be mindful of the consequences.

My name is Peter Wildeblood.

CHEERING

Order! Order!

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?

Much of my private life has already been made public

by the newspapers. So I have nothing left to hide.

Roughly 5,500 offences have been recorded

and over 600 offenders

sent to prison.

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.

So as long as I hold office, I shall give no countenance to

the view that they should not be prevented from being such a danger.

MUFFLED MUSIC AND CHATTER

CHATTER AND LAUGHTER

Whisky, please.

Thank you.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS

INDISTINCT RAILWAY ANNOUNCEMENT

I wonder, could I buy you a drink?

Doesn't work that way, darling.

Unless you're willing to play the part.

Oh, 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 don't know.

I'm not sure I like it.

Come along, Fanny dear.

See you later, dear heart.

Coming, Ducky.

DOOR CLOSES

At that particular time

there was a, you might call it a purge,

on people who were gay.

We were considered sick.

We were considered, er, you know, child molesters.

The police went out of their way to catch you and...and...

and the Members of Parliament, "This filth and this...

"This is going to ruin the nation, we must...we must stub it out."

I can't remember the name of the, erm,

the Home Secretary at the time, but he was one of the worst.

David Maxwell Fyfe, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe,

later Viscount Kilmuir.

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, er, 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, er, avoiding the police,

keeping a look out. It's like being a member of an underground sect,

or something, er, and you get a great kick out of it.

Wherever you went was liable to be raided...

..um, 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.

Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! Oh.

It's... It's fine.

Um, do you need directions?

No.

No, I'm, erm... I'm just... I'm down off leave from Ely.

And, er, it's going to rain again.

Any minute.

So, um, 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, er, fuck here.

Live a little.

HE CHUCKLES

What?

"You and I could fuck maybe?"

What?

The romance of it.

Dead romantic.

That's one of my best lines.

You 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.

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... All right, then.

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. Erm...

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 that 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, erm, so I've been used to it, since...since childhood,

being a loner. Never enjoyed it, I can tell you, it was awful.

But that's the way it is.

KNOCK ON DOOR

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

Fancy a kickaround?

You're joking.

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.

Is that you? Oh, stop it!

We have to be a lot more careful than that.

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?

To be honest, I never thought you'd come out of your shell far enough.

Neither did I.

What's his appeal?

He's...confident...

..physical,

a bit...dim, sort of.

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.

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.

Just a small party...

God, you are such a...

Live a little.

Yes?

MUSIC PLAYS

INDISTINCT CHATTER

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

Boring? Boring as fuck?

Yes. That's about the size of it.

I thought the aristocracy knew how to let its hair down.

Uh-uh. You thought wrong.

What happened to "be careful"?

No-one about, you daft ape.

# You took the part that once was my heart

# So why not take all of me? #

Three weeks. I know.

# ..All of me

# Why not take all of me?

# Can't you see... #

You're blossoming, Mr Wildeblood.

# ..I'm no good without you?

# Take my lips

# I want to lose them... #

TRAIN RUMBLES PAST

# ..Take my arms

# I'll never use them

# Your goodbye

# Left me with eyes that cry

# How can I go on, dear, without you? #

My dearest, darling Eddie, I love you so much.

# ..You took the best Why not take the rest? #