What was the subtext in the 1963 drama 'The Servant' that disturbed critics of the time?

"The Servant" is a 1963 British drama film directed by Joseph Losey. It was written by Harold Pinter, who adapted Robin Maugham's 1948 novella. The Servant stars Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig and James Fox. It opened at London's Warner Theatre on 14 November 1963.

The first of Pinter's four film collaborations with Losey, "The Servant" is a tightly constructed film about the psychological relationships among the four central characters and examines issues relating to social class.

As the Gardian says, "Homosexuality is everywhere and nowhere in "The Servant". Harold Pinter's superbly controlled, elliptical, menacing dialogue is able to hint, to imply, to seduce, to repulse, in precisely the manner that gay men were forced to adopt in 1963, when homosexuality was still a criminal offence, and when representing homosexuality on screen was forbidden".