''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is a 1967 play and 1971 film written by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

Plot of the play

The plot follows Smitty, a 17-year-old, after he is sentenced to six months in a youth reformatory. His cellmates are Rocky, a "dangerous and unpredictable" 19-year-old serving time for stealing a car from his male lover; Mona, an 18- or 19-year-old who is sentenced for making a homosexual pass at a group of boys; and Queenie, a flamboyant homosexual serving time for robbing an old woman. The only other character who appears onstage is a corrections officer. Smitty, who asserts that he is heterosexual, seems to get along with his new cellmates quickly. Queenie, who has friends amongst the "politicians" of the prison, informs him of what to expect, and warns that Mona has been gang-raped because he did not have an "old man" looking out for him. Rocky later manipulates Smitty into becoming his sexual subordinate by threatening to arrange a similar treatment for him if he refuses. Smitty tries to make the best of his new situation, and he learns that Rocky knows a secret about the Guard taking a bribe and uses that secret to influence the guard as needed. Smitty also learns of further horrors to which uncooperative inmates can be subjected. Queenie encourages Smitty to beat up Rocky and spread the news so he can win a better protector from amongst the "politicians" in the guard house; Queenie makes this suggestion for his own benefit rather than Smitty's. At Christmas time, the inmates prepare to perform in a pageant. Queenie has planned a drag act, and Mona intends to read Shakespeare. Mona's act is rejected at the last minute, and Smitty uses the information he knows to get the guard to leave him alone with Mona while everyone else attends the show. Mona admits he was falsely accused of the crime for which he is serving time, and Smitty admits unhappiness that Queenie is now choosing his lovers for him. Smitty makes an offer to become Mona's "old man", which Mona refuses. Smitty becomes upset, but Mona comforts him with Shakespeare's poem ''When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes''. The two are laughing and embracing when Rocky and Queenie return from the pageant: Rocky and Queenie immediately begin to beat Mona, accusing him of making a sexual advance on Smitty. The Guard takes Mona away to be tortured, despite Smitty's pleas. Angrily, Smitty threatens both Queenie and Rocky, establishing himself as the new dominant male in the cell. The play ends with Smitty listening to Mona's punishment offstage and swearing to "pay them back".

History

The title of the play comes from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's Sonnet 29, which begins with the line, "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes...". It has been translated into 40 languages and produced in over 100 countries. It is the most published Canadian play, and won the

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

's Massey Award in 1968 (an award which Herbert refused) and the

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

in 1975. ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' was inspired in part by Herbert's own experience. In the 1940s, he was attacked outside a gay bar while dressed in drag and then convicted of indecency based on the testimony of his attackers. Following the conviction, he was imprisoned in the Ontario

Reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

in Guelph.John Herbert
at the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. The character of Queenie in the play is an authorial

self-insertion Self-insertion is a literary device in which the author writes themselves into the story under the guise of, or from the perspective of, a fictional character (see author surrogate). The character, overtly or otherwise, behaves like, has the p ...

. Herbert encountered difficulties in getting the play staged. After being rejected by several directors, Herbert, on the recommendation of

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

, who frequented the University Club at which Herbert worked as a waiter, sent the script to Douglas Campbell at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

. Campbell accepted the play for the festival's young actors workshop and assigned it to

Bruno Gerussi Bruno Santos Gerussi (7 May 1928 – 21 November 1995) was a Canadian stage and television actor, best known for the lead role in the CBC Television series '' The Beachcombers'' from 1972 to 1990. He also performed onstage at the Stratford Fest ...

to direct, but the Stratford Festival's board of directors forbade the production from being staged publicly. Herbert sent a copy of ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' to renowned Canadian theatre critic Nathan Cohen, who replied, "I hope you understand that there's not a chance in the world of this getting a professional production in Canada. I've taken the liberty of sending it to a producer of my acquaintance in New York and, of course, promise nothing." Cohen recommended the play to Broadway press agent David Rothenberg, who in turn recommended it to

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

. Hoffman workshopped the play at the New York Actors Studio in 1966, taking the role of Rocky, while

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations ...

played Smitty. The play, produced by Rothenberg, premiered

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in New York City at the Actors Playhouse from February 23, 1967, to January 1968. Reviews were mixed, and many reviewers were shocked by the subject matter. Reviewer Herbert Whittaker wrote in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' that the play was "the art of washing our dirty linen in the neighbor's yard." Cohen wrote in the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' that the play "lifts the carpet and shows what is underneath"; he added that it "asks deeply disturbing questions about long-established personal and social assumptions. It does not enrich our vision. It undermines it". ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' inspired the creation of the Fortune Society, a New York City-based advocacy and support organization for former prisoners. The play toured to Chicago, San Francisco, Montreal, and Toronto. In 1969, the play was produced and directed by

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award ...

at the Coronet Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

played the lead role of Smitty and Michael Greer played the role of Queenie, Smitty's cellmate. Mineo took the role of Rocky. This production garnered more critical approval, but included additional scenes which had not been approved by Herbert.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' was released in 1971. Directed by

Harvey Hart Harvey Hart (March 19, 1928 – November 22, 1989) was a Canadian television and film director and a television producer. Hart studied at the University of Toronto before being hired by the CBC in 1952.Rist, Peter Harry (2001). "Harvey Hart ...

, it starred

Wendell Burton Wendell Ray Burton (July 21, 1947 – May 30, 2017) was an American television executive and actor. He is best known for his co-starring role with Liza Minnelli in the 1969 movie ''The Sterile Cuckoo'' (1969). Biography Burton was born in S ...

as Smitty, Michael Greer as Queenie,

Danny Freedman Danny Freedman was a Canadians, Canadian actor. He was best known for his performance as Mona in the film ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'', for which he won the Canadian Film Award for Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Acto ...

as Mona, Hugh Webster as Rabbit and Zooey Hall as Rocky. Freedman won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for Best Supporting Actor at the 23rd Canadian Film Awards in 1971. At the same time, editor Douglas Robertson won the Canadian Film Award for Best Film Editing."New Quebec film sweeps 8 Canadian film awards". ''

'', October 2, 1971.

References

External links

*
''Fortune and Men's Eyes''
at Internet Off-Broadway Database
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune And Men's Eyes 1967 plays Canadian plays adapted into films 1971 films Canadian prison drama films English-language Canadian films Cross-dressing in Canadian films American LGBTQ-related films 1971 LGBTQ-related films Canadian films based on plays Canadian LGBTQ-related plays Off-Broadway plays Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Harvey Hart Films about rape 1970s prison drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1970s Canadian films Gay-related films LGBTQ-related crime drama films English-language crime films