Was Libby Holman the Real Norma Desmond? (The Bisexuals, Part 5) / by Karina Longworth

Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in a still from A Place in the Sun (1951), Paramount Pictures, directed by George Stevens

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Karina will be presenting films featured on this season of You Must Remember This at theaters across the country in October and November! See where she'll be and get your tickets on our Fall Tour 2026 page.

Check out our new merch for "The Bisexuals" including hats, shirts, and an exclusive fragrance designed to evoke Libby Holman's signature perfume, "Jungle Gardenia."

With Red River and A Place in the Sun, Montgomery Clift becomes a new kind of movie star, projecting a new kind of sexuality – while still figuring out how he wants to express his own sexuality. Meanwhile, Libby becomes entangled with bisexual couple Jane and Paul Bowles, whose globetrotting becomes an inspiration to Libby’s teenage son, ending in tragedy. Plus: did Libby forbid Monty from starring in Sunset Boulevard because the story of a young man and a haunted older woman hit too close to home?

(00:00) Affair with Nick Ray and Influence on Key Largo

(09:42) Digging Deeper into Black Folk Music

(14:32) Jane and Paul Bowles

(25:00) The Tragedy of Libby’s Son, Topper

(32:15) Montgomery Clift’s Bisexuality

(40:34) Red River as Queer Melodrama

(48:53) The Heiress and Monty Reconnects with Libby

(57:48) Did Libby Bar Monty From Starring in Sunset Boulevard?

Poster for Key Largo (1948), Warner Bros. Pictures, directed by John Huston

This episode contains archival audio sourced from the Libby Holman collection at Boston University, digitized by Paul Adams.

Some preliminary transcriptions of audio interviews were produced with aTrain. These transcripts were checked and corrected by Karina Longworth and Brendan Whalen. More information about aTrain can be found here.

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Montgomery Clift and Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949), Paramount Pictures, directed by William Wyler

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Cantor Street - Splints

Musique Libre de Droit Club - Easy Listening in Jazz

Reflections - River Lapse

Chris Zabriskie - Readers Do You Read

Kevin MacLeod - Blue Feather

Cantor Street - Empty Hall Monitor

Evan Viola - Red River

Rustland - Dusty Yard Runner

The Onyx - Romantic Start

Architect - Lunette Interlude

Bluegold Gardens - Crunchy Petal

Evan Viola - Exposition A (Ambient)


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Special research assistance provided by Audrey Fox

You Must Remember This and “The Bisexuals” Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Lobby card for Red River (1948), United Artists, directed by Howard Hawks