Tea and Sympathy

At a traditional New England college that prides itself on turning boys into men, Tom Robinson Lee's interests lead him to the arts rather than sports ... and to the derision of his schoolmates and housemaster in this adaptation of the groundbreaking Broadway play Tea and Sympathy, 1956. Sensitive, artistic, confused--and labeled by his fellows as a homosexual - Tom (John Kerr) tries to prove his manhood in a sexual encounter with a local girl, with disastrous results. But the efforts of the students, Tom's father and her own husband to force the young man to conform to "normal" masculine behavior awaken long-suppressed feelings in Laura Reynolds (Academy Award winner Deborah Kerr), the wife of Tom'shousemaster. As Laura becomes aware of the isolation and revulsion she feels in her marriage, she becomes attracted to the sensitive younger man.