Queering Mogambo

I’ve never really noticed before how much queer reading you can put into the way Grace Kelly looks at Ava Gardner in Mogambo (1953). Or, perhaps, mostly in the stills and image results from it. 

I know, I know: I'm setting this up for one big wallop of queerbaiting but this is an inevitable part of queer coding, I'm afraid. The queerness is not something overly present during the film itself since their relationship pivots around petty fighting for the attention of Clark Gable’s character. On the surface, it’s the same old Hollywood story of a heteronormative love triangle where the women fight over the man and only one of them ends up with him. You’d have to dig into the Pre-Codes to find an actual ménage à trois portrayed on screen from around that era (e.g. Design for Living). 

But I find it interesting, while re-watching the film and the stills from it, how Grace and Ava ‘squares off’ and, in particular, how Grace 'side-eyes’ Ava. Even something so small as how her body language angles towards her. Or when Clark is positioned, literally and figuratively, between them. In terms of awareness, I've certainly come a long way since my first piece on the film where my lingering, starry-eyed infatuation with Gable pervades while I offer an oddly two-faced review of the women in it (talk about blind spots!).

Sure, on the surface, we’re dealing with the most basic of female archetypes/stereotypes in Mogambo: ‘the madonna’ and ‘the virgin’. While Ava's character, who is a showgirl or something like that, is comfortable in her own sexuality and flaunts it with confidence, Grace's character is supposed to be this mousy, virginal housewife (let's not even get into how paradoxical that is) who unleashes her sexuality in the jungle. 

And while these archetypes are ALWAYS centered around the man (after all, he invented them) - and the fact that we have the man's man, Clark Gable, in the center here - I also see the two actresses having enough agency and depth to outshine Gable's somewhat stale presence; giving them individual character and growth (not a lot *sigh* but it is there) throughout the film. Thus, in the end, though the film fights hard against it, their sexuality becomes their own; a little less anchored to Gable (though not much).

From that, one is able to derive something more than the heteronormative set-up that (old) Hollywood is all too happy to provide (always and constantly to the point of tedium). 

I cannot help but queer code the tension in the way Grace's suppressed, yet budding sexuality plays against Ava's sexual confidence; the way they are both upended, not only by this man but also by the presence of another beautiful woman, their seemingly opposite. They are sizing each other up and in the process taking into consideration the level of attraction that the other woman provides, not just for the man but on her own, comparing themselves and not purely for competition. Here, I view Grace's character to be potentially more curious and timid than purposeful and competitive, while Ava's character is a more 'if I want something I go for it'-sort of type, thus their sexuality does not have to limited to a purely heterosexual pursuit for that matter.

The idea of the woman being wholly possessive of the man in a love triangle or vice versa has always irritated me somewhat. Rarely, we see a more open-minded relationship portrayed. But, that's mainstream media for you. Not big on being too radical (too soon).

And, sadly, the story can only provide so much subtext. The film itself is not particularly extraordinary, mostly carried by the performances by Kelly and Gardner, in my opinion. Not the most fully formed characters on paper. Sometimes, you have to rely on the actors and/or directors to pull through with what they've got.

So... Is it really just me seeing the images out of context and reading too much into it?

Or what do you think?

I mean, just look at the heart eyes Grace is sending Ava when not filming (who can blame her though?) 😍😍😍