Tab Hunter Confidential

TCM ran a night of Tab Hunter's movies back in July on what would have been his 88th birthday, and kicked the night off with the documentary Tab Hunter Confidential.

The movie was introduced by Eddie Muller and Allan Glaser. Glaser was the producer of the movie and Hunter's partner for the last 30-plus years of Hunter's life, while Muller actually co-wrote Hunter's autobiography, also called Tab Hunter Confidential, which is the basis for this documentary movie, so it was quite nice to hear the two of them talking about Hunter before and after the movie.

Nowadays, of course, everybody knows a good portion of the Tab Hunter story. He became an actor in the early 1950s, and a teen idol who even sang a Billboard #1 hit. But he was also homosexual in a time when the fear of losing one's livelihood should such a secret came out was a big deal; that's why other Hollywood gays like Rock Hudson or Anthony Perkins weren't known to be gay until much later in their lives. Perkins and Hunter actually did have a relationship.

As for Hunter, he was protected while he was under contract at Warner Bros., as it was the thing at the time for the studios to protect their stars by keeping bad publicity from coming out. But Hunter wanted to more more serious work, so he bought out his contract, after which all that bad publicity came out. Hunter, of course, would have a Hollywood comeback of sorts with John Waters in the 1980s.

But the movie also focuses on Hunter's pursuits outside of Hollywood. I didn't know that he was a fairly accomplished figure skater, at least accomplished enough to get to regional qualifying and be the partner of a contender for the world championship. He was also an accomplished equestrian, and the movie covers that stuff in a fair amount of detail, since it was clearly Hunter's passion after leaving Hollywood.

There are a whole bunch of interiews with people who worked with Hunter, including a few who are no longer with us (notably Debbie Reynolds, and Hunter himself), as well as a great deal of archive footage, all of which combines for a fascinating story and one that's well worth watching. I think anybody interested in Hollywood's past will thoroughly enjoy Tab Hunter Confidential.