Stanley Kubrick's 1960 masterpiece Spartacus is most remembered for its whole "I'm Spartacus" thing. That's great and all, but I'm not here to talk about a shirtless and oiled-up Kirk Douglas - except to say that he looks pretty good in the movie. I'm here for a totally different reason. I want to talk about Laurence Olivier in the movie and his super suggestive gay scene. You didn't know that was in the movie? Then let's take a look.
In the movie, Sir Laurence Olivier plays Crassus, the richest man in Rome. His servant is played by Tony Curtis who gives his master a bath. While he is bathing Olivier, Laurence starts to ask his servant if he has a preference...for snails or oysters. Do you see the sexual metaphor there?
Olivier's character goes on to say that he personally finds both snails and oysters "pleasurable". It's clear to any audience, in the 60s or now, that Olivier is coming on to his servant by admitting that he swings both ways. He likes men and women!
The scene was actually deleted from the film. That really isn't a surprise. In 1960, the loosening Hayes Code was still in effect (remember, 1960 is the same year that Psycho was released and ostensibly broke the code by opening his film with a heavy suggestion of extramarital sex and, most damning of all, including a closeup shot of a flushing toilet). Bisexual metaphors were still too taboo, even for a gladiator movie.
The scene was only remastered and re-edited into the film after Olivier's death in 1989. Universal wanted to put it back into the film to honor Olivier, but for the longest time, no one could find the original sound. It wasn't even in bootlegged prints! Curtis was available to re-record the dialogue, but Olivier was obviously not (hire a medium maybe?). Olivier's widow suggested that Anthony Hopkins do the voiceover since he can do a good Laurence Olivier impression. So, the scene edited back into the movie is actually a mash-up of Laurence and Anthony Hopkins!
Now here's the real question: was Laurence Olivier trying to tell us something? Honestly...maybe. Even Olivier's second wife Dame Joan Plowright commented on his sexuality by saying he was not an ordinary man and since he was not an ordinary man, he did not lead an ordinary life. This may be Joan's way of saying "yeah, of course, he was gay."
His friend, and fellow bisexual, playwright Emlyn Williams once answered the question on whether or not Larry was gay by laughing and saying: "Is the Pope Catholic?"
Laurence's love life is most known for his passionate and tempestuous marriage to Gone with the Wind star Vivien Leigh, but it sounds like it was a fairly open secret that Olivier had several extramarital affairs with men throughout his life. So he really did enjoy snails AND oysters!
