Jacob, Kieran, and Sam explore topics in film history, criticism, and theory through weekly movie reviews!
Second Cut
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5.0(3 reviews)
103 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Jacob, Kieran, and Sam explore topics in film history, criticism, and theory through weekly movie reviews!
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
6/22/2021
1 verified contact email on file for Second Cut
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Recent Episodes
July 1, 2026
Hitchcock’s Closet: Rebecca, Rope & Strangers on a Train
<p>Hitchcock is a perfect director for queer-coding conversations because his movies already live in the space between what is visible and what is hidden. His thrillers are full of secrets, doubles, coded behavior, dangerous intimacy, social performance, and people trying to keep private desires from becoming public facts.</p><p><br></p><p>This week on Second Cut, Jacob, Sam, and Kieran discuss Rebecca, Rope, and Strangers on a Train as three different versions of queer-coded Hitchcock.</p><p><br></p><p>In Rebecca, we look at Mrs. Danvers, Daphne du Maurier, gothic atmosphere, Manderley, and the way Rebecca’s presence haunts the film without ever appearing as a ghost. In Rope, we discuss Brandon and Philip, Leopold and Loeb, Arthur Laurents, queer casting, the one-shot gimmick, Jimmy Stewart, and why the film’s subtext feels unusually open for a Code-era Hollywood movie. In Strangers on a Train, we get into Robert Walker’s Bruno, Farley Granger, Vito Russo, The Celluloid Closet, Patricia Highsmith, Raymond Chandler, the “perfect murder,” and how Hitchcock turns Bruno’s obsession with Guy into one of his strangest and most suggestive thrillers.</p><p><br></p><p>Support the show and read our deep-dives on Substack:</p><p>https://secondcutpod.substack.com</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Second Cut:</p><p>YouTube: @SecondCutPod</p><p>Socials: @SecondCutPod</p><p>Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com</p><p><br></p><p>CHAPTERS:</p><p>00:00 Cold Open</p><p>00:28 Introduction</p><p>01:09 Why Hitchcock Fits Queer Coding</p><p>04:01 Hitchcock and Deviance</p><p>07:26 Straight Normality in Hitchcock</p><p>09:48 Vito Russo and Hitchcock</p><p>10:47 Rebecca</p><p>13:10 Manderley</p><p>17:46 Mrs. Danvers</p><p>22:14 Rebecca and the Hays Code</p><p>24:34 Rebecca’s Gothic Atmosphere</p><p>29:57 Olivier and the Rebecca Remake</p><p>33:12 Rebecca’s Score</p><p>37:08 Rope</p><p>40:19 The Long-Take Gimmick</p><p>44:18 Leopold and Loeb</p><p>45:36 Rope’s Queer Subtext</p><p>47:25 Arthur Laurents and Queer Casting</p><p>54:30 The Lovers Were Implied</p><p>57:33 David in the Closet</p><p>58:05 “Come Straight Out With It”</p><p>01:01:16 Murder Philosophy</p><p>01:03:28 Jimmy Stewart in Rope</p><p>01:05:56 The Chest Shot</p><p>01:06:57 Rope’s Camera Tricks</p><p>01:11:50 Strangers on a Train</p><p>01:13:50 Hitchcock and Raymond Chandler</p><p>01:15:49 Guy and Bruno</p><p>01:17:40 Robert Walker’s Bruno</p><p>01:19:06 Vito Russo’s Gay Villain Pattern</p><p>01:22:12 Bruno, Guy, and Consent</p><p>01:24:46 The Glasses Murder</p><p>01:27:49 The Lighter and Tennis Match</p><p>01:30:23 Bruno at the Party</p><p>01:31:39 Bruno’s House</p><p>01:33:58 The Carousel Finale</p><p>01:38:10 Final Thoughts on Strangers</p><p>01:39:46 Outro</p><p><br></p><p>Music:</p><p>Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi</p><p>https://soundcloud.com/wataboi</p><p>Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0</p><p>Music promoted by FDL Music</p><p>https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k</p>
June 24, 2026
Hays Code Queer Coding: Dracula’s Daughter, The Uninvited & Tea and Sympathy
<p>Classic Hollywood cinema wasn’t empty of queer stories. Under the Hays Code, filmmakers just had to make audiences work for the subtext.</p><p>In this episode of Second Cut, Jacob, Sam, and Kieran look at queer coding in classic Hollywood through Dracula’s Daughter (1936), The Uninvited (1944), and Tea and Sympathy (1956). We discuss the Production Code, The Celluloid Closet, queer film history, censorship, lesbian vampire imagery, gothic haunting, the “gay villain” archetype, masculinity, homophobia, the Lavender Scare, and how old Hollywood used implication when open representation was forbidden.</p><p>Support the show and read our deep-dives on Substack:<br><a href="https://secondcutpod.substack.com">https://secondcutpod.substack.com</a></p><p>Follow Second Cut:<br>YouTube: @SecondCutPod<br>Socials: @SecondCutPod<br>Email: <a href="mailto:secondcutpod@gmail.com">secondcutpod@gmail.com</a></p><p>CHAPTERS:<br>00:00 Cold Open: Masculinity and Queer Subtext<br>00:26 Introduction to Hays Code Queer Coding<br>02:01 The Rules of Hollywood Self-Censorship<br>05:48 The Celluloid Closet and Subtext as Survival<br>09:23 The Gay Villain Archetype and Film Noir Cues<br>15:42 Dracula’s Daughter (1936) and Lesbian Vampire Cinema<br>39:46 The Uninvited (1944), Rebecca, and Spectral Lesbianism<br>58:32 Tea and Sympathy (1956), Masculinity, and Conformity<br>01:05:25 The Lavender Scare and 1950s Social Panic<br>01:07:13 Stage vs. Screen Under the Production Code<br>01:18:39 Vincente Minnelli, CinemaScope, and Melodrama<br>01:24:52 Compromise, Reception, and the Code’s Limits<br>01:31:12 Outro</p><p>Music:<br>Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi<br><a href="https://soundcloud.com/wataboi">https://soundcloud.com/wataboi</a><br>Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0<br>Music promoted by FDL Music<br><a href="https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k">https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k</a></p>
June 17, 2026
Colonial Nostalgia on Film: The Drum, King Solomon’s Mines & Edge of the World
<p>Adventure cinema has often made empire look romantic: faraway lands, lost treasure, noble explorers, dangerous “savages,” and white men discovering themselves in places they intend to control.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of Second Cut, we look at imperial romance and colonial nostalgia through The Drum, King Solomon’s Mines, and Edge of the World. We discuss how colonial adventure stories turned empire into spectacle, how The Drum sells a “good colonizer” fantasy in British India, how King Solomon’s Mines helped shape the lost-world adventure template, and how Edge of the World somehow revives many of these myths in the 21st century through the story of Sir James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak.</p><p><br></p><p>Along the way, we talk about H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Orientalism, Sabu, Deborah Kerr, Allan Quatermain, Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now, Sarawak tourism, the Brooke Heritage Trust, white savior stories, colonial propaganda, and why adventure films can be fun, beautiful, influential, and deeply uncomfortable all at once.</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations.</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Second Cut:</p><p>YouTube: @SecondCutPod</p><p>Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com</p><p>Socials: @SecondCutPod</p><p>Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 Intro: Imperial romance</p><p>01:33 Defining imperial romance</p><p>04:23 Adventure fiction and empire</p><p>06:48 Colonial cinema history</p><p>10:16 Empire as spectacle</p><p>12:43 The Drum</p><p>15:48 Technicolor and production</p><p>19:38 Colonial anxiety</p><p>23:08 Casting and representation</p><p>26:51 Reception and propaganda</p><p>30:17 Frontier myths</p><p>35:13 Reading The Drum today</p><p>40:38 Final thoughts on The Drum</p><p>45:09 King Solomon’s Mines</p><p>47:38 H. Rider Haggard</p><p>50:28 Adventure-story template</p><p>52:19 Lost-world influence</p><p>54:40 What the film cuts</p><p>56:34 The 1950 adaptation</p><p>59:05 The Deborah Kerr problem</p><p>01:00:49 Location spectacle</p><p>01:03:27 The missing payoff</p><p>01:05:12 White expertise</p><p>01:08:17 Colonialism in the background</p><p>01:13:35 Oscars and legacy</p><p>01:16:58 Edge of the World</p><p>01:17:59 Sir James Brooke</p><p>01:21:30 The white savior plot</p><p>01:23:08 Sarawak tourism</p><p>01:26:35 Brooke family mythmaking</p><p>01:29:13 Heart of Darkness envy</p><p>01:31:08 Empty jungle filmmaking</p><p>01:41:56 Headhunting and fear</p><p>01:46:15 What the film skips</p><p>01:48:56 The real Brooke</p><p>01:52:42 Piracy and Parliament</p><p>01:54:22 The closing cards</p><p>01:58:40 Final thoughts on Edge of the World</p><p>02:00:43 Ranking the films</p><p>02:02:02 Plugs and outro</p><p><br></p><p>Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi</p><p>https://soundcloud.com/wataboi</p><p>Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0</p><p>Music promoted by FDL Music</p><p>https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k</p>
103 total episodes available
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- What is Second Cut?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates inactive.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
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