Review of Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023) by Tvjerry — 30 Jun 2023

This doc about the famed leading man certainly covers his rise to fame and glorious career, but it spends even more time on his somewhat secret gay life. The film starts with lots of imagery from stills and movies, but the interviews with his long-time collaborators are only audio recordings.

Once we get into more recent years, several of his ex-boyfriends are interviewed on camera (including Armistead Maupin) and many of the details about that lifestyle are surprisingly out, despite his image as a leading man/ ladies man.

Director Stephen Kijak chose to use dozens of clips from his movies taken out of context, to comment on his personal story, often with glaring references to his homosexuality. Rock Hudson is one of the great movie stars of his era and this extensive look into his private life provides fascinating glimpses into Hollywood's homophobia and the incredible ways he and his friends had to cope.