SassMouthDames: Recent Episodes
Sass Mouth Dames
Before the Stanislavski 'Method' overtook Hollywood in the 1950s, each studio had their own in-house drama coach to develop talent. The drama coaches were women: Phyllis Loughton Seaton (Paramount), Lela Rogers (RKO), Josephine Hutchinson (Columbia), Helena Sorrell (20th Century Fox), Sophie Rosenstein (Warner Bros.), and Anita Colby was 'feminine director' for Selznick Studio. But the most influential drama coach of all was Lillian Burns. Miss Burns established the drama school in Republic Pictures in 1935. She then did the same for MGM in 1936. She eventually left Metro to work as Harry Cohn's right hand in Columbia. She was a star maker who inspired loyalty among Lana Turner, Donna Reed, Janet Leigh, and Debbie Reynolds that shaped the century of American acting.
In Robert Wise's Born to Kill (1947), Claire Trevor veers between planning a future with Lawrence Tierney and curating his downfall. She gives one of her best performances in a picture that was initially dismissed as lurid but has since been reclaimed as a classic. Beneath the smart suits, metallic-stud accessories, and mink coat beats the heart of 'the coldest iceberg of a woman' who is utterly compelling to watch.
After struggling for years under the controlling grip of Harry Cohn, Kim Novak was finally able to relax once the Columbia boss had a heart attack and turned up his toes three weeks into production of Bell Book and Candle. In a few months, she would also be free of Muriel Roberts, the studio publicist who had pretended to be a close friend, when she was nothing more than a spy for Harry Cohn. Novak would not learn the extent of Muriel's betrayal until 1961.
During production of Johnny Guitar, Joan Crawford wrangled a lacklustre script, a mercurial director, a chaos agent, and columnists who put a bounty on her head. Johnny Guitar is a parable about the persecutions of McCarthyism, but it's also about the perils in store for an aging film star.
Constance Bennett's deal with Warner Bros. became a Hollywood scandal after Louella Parsons estimated that the star would earn $30,000 a week. Few reporters told the whole story. Two Against the World (1932) was her second picture on the deal. In the first half. Connie's performance anticipates the bratty screwball heiress types which were later portrayed by Claudette Colbert and Carole Lombard. And in the second half, she embodies the noble women of Depression-era melodramas starring Margaret Sullivan and Irene Dunne. Special thanks to Thomas O'Mahony for sound editing the episode.
During a turbulent era in Hollywood, Joseph L. Mankiewicz reinvigorated woman's pictures when they might have easily been cast aside. Ann Sothern's storyline, about a woman who scrambles to balance her career with her family life, is as relevant today as when the film premiered. Sothern had a series of false starts in her own career and she also struggled with the limitations of typecasting.
Showgirls on Broadway keep Old Man Depression from the door with a repertoire of gags to squeeze money from men. Satin Rackets is written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins plays Kitty AdareM. Shawn plays IrisPatrick McGurk plays Buzz and TalbotShane McCormack plays Joe and CarstairsOlympia Kiriakou plays DinahSavannah Monroe plays PansyBeatrix Herriott O'Gorman plays LaurelJack Warren plays Mad Dog HealyArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Thomas O'Mahony
Showgirls on Broadway keep Old Man Depression from the door with a repertoire of gags to squeeze money from men. Satin Rackets is written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins plays Kitty AdareM. Shawn plays IrisPatrick McGurk plays Buzz and TalbotShane McCormack plays Joe and CarstairsOlympia Kiriakou plays DinahSavannah Monroe plays PansyBeatrix Herriott O'Gorman plays LaurelJack Warren plays Mad Dog HealyArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Thomas O'Mahony
Showgirls on Broadway keep Old Man Depression from the door with a repertoire of gags to squeeze money from men. Satin Rackets is written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins plays Kitty AdareM. Shawn plays IrisPatrick McGurk plays Buzz and TalbotShane McCormack plays Joe and CarstairsOlympia Kiriakou plays DinahSavannah Monroe plays PansyBeatrix Herriott O'Gorman plays LaurelJack Warren plays Mad Dog HealyArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Thomas O'Mahony
When women ruled Hollywood, gigolos grew on palm trees.Catch up with the new show about starlets in 1933.Betty Compson's Diamonds is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Art design by Mot Collins. Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony.Starring:Clara Higgins is Betty CompsonOlympia Kiriakou is Lila LeeM. Shawn is Sally EilersSavannah Monroe is Claudia DellRenee Smith is Genevieve TobinShane McCormack is Finn RedmondPatrick McGurk is Chick Gallagher
When women ruled Hollywood, gigolos grew on palm trees.Catch up with the new show about starlets in 1933.Betty Compson's Diamonds is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Art design by Mot Collins. Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony.Starring:Clara Higgins is Betty CompsonOlympia Kiriakou is Lila LeeM. Shawn is Sally EilersSavannah Monroe is Claudia DellRenee Smith is Genevieve TobinShane McCormack is Finn RedmondPatrick McGurk is Chick Gallagher
When women ruled Hollywood, gigolos grew on palm trees.Catch up with a new show about starlets in 1933.Betty Compson's Diamonds is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Art design by Mot Collins. Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony.Starring:Clara Higgins is Betty CompsonOlympia Kiriakou is Lila LeeM. Shawn is Sally EilersSavannah Monroe is Claudia DellRenee Smith is Genevieve TobinShane McCormack is Finn RedmondPatrick McGurk is Chick Gallagher
Under contract with Paramount, Tallulah Bankhead made six pictures in less than two years. Although they all have their charm, only Faithless (1932), which she made on loan-out to Metro, was a hit at the box office. Tallulah plays a character who loses everything but her wit after the Stock Market Crash. She trades caviar for soup and learns to like it.Thanks to sound editor Tom O'Mahony!
Earl Carroll ran the hottest night spot in Hollywood headlined by Beryl Wallace and the Most Beautiful Girls in the World.Seven showgirls chip in for a mink coat.What could go wrong?Mink Syndicate was written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Beryl WallaceOlympia Kiriakou as Sheba LeMaireM. Shawn as Rocky BeaumontSavannah Monroe as Olga FuryRenee Smith as Esme ChiffonLaura Mawson as Libby BranchPatrick McGurk as Earl CarrollShane McCormack as SullyMegan McGurk as Pam DeasyArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
Earl Carroll ran the hottest night spot in Hollywood headlined by Beryl Wallace and the Most Beautiful Girls in the World.Seven showgirls chip in for a mink coat.What could go wrong?Mink Syndicate was written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Beryl WallaceOlympia Kiriakou as Sheba LeMaireM. Shawn as Rocky BeaumontSavannah Monroe as Olga FuryRenee Smith as Esme ChiffonLaura Mawson as Libby BranchPatrick McGurk as Earl CarrollShane McCormack as SullyMegan McGurk as Pam DeasyArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
Earl Carroll ran the hottest night spot in Hollywood headlined by Beryl Wallace and the Most Beautiful Girls in the World.Seven showgirls chip in for a mink coat.What could go wrong?Mink Syndicate was written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Beryl WallaceOlympia Kiriakou as Sheba LeMaireM. Shawn as Rocky BeaumontSavannah Monroe as Olga FuryRenee Smith as Esme ChiffonLaura Mawson as Libby BranchPatrick McGurk as Earl CarrollShane McCormack as SullyMegan McGurk as Pam DeasyArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
Diana Barrymore plays five different roles in her third production at Universal, following in her great-grandmother's footsteps. Louisa Lane Drew became a star in 1828 when she played five characters in the stage production Twelve Precisely. Diana had the 'Barrymore Curse,' which her father Jack defined as 'pillows and false faces.'Although her career in Hollywood was brief, Diana had the family spark.
Joan Crawford gets away with murder mostly because she's dressed like a high fashion gladiator in a silver shield designed by Adrian. Joan gives a boldly physical performance which showed women in the audience how to confront a dangerous man and come out on top.
In Part Three, Dot investigates a cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills who claims that he can give any gal Myrna Loy's nose for $200.
Myrna Loy's Nose is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Dot Riordan Olympia Kiriakou as Fay Bishop M. Shawn as Peaches Carmichael Savannah Monroe as Bijou Silk Renee Smith as Doctor Lockhart Patrick McGurk as Jim Grady Peter Bryant as Leo Hickey Shane McCormack as Dutch Brennan Art design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
In Part Two, Dot's sob sister column gives honest advice to women in trouble. But Grady, the city editor, isn't too excited by the circulation boost. And why is the late shift filled by women with busted noses?
Myrna Loy's Nose is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Dot Riordan Olympia Kiriakou as Fay Bishop M. Shawn as Peaches Carmichael Savannah Monroe as Bijou Silk Laura Mawson as Maude Warren Patrick McGurk as Jim Grady Peter Bryant as Leo Hickey Shane McCormack as Dutch Brennan Art Design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
In Part One, a heart balm suit divides the newsroom. Is a breach of promise case just a legal way for women to bilk men and hit the jackpot? Myrna Loy's Nose is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Dot Riordan Olympia Kiriakou as Fay Bishop M. Shawn as Peaches Carmichael Savannah Monroe as Bijou Silk Patrick McGurk as Jim Grady Peter Bryant as Leo Hickey Shane McCormack as Dutch Brennan. Art Design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
Rosemary Clooney glided into Paramount studio with a hit record, a successful nightclub act, and popular appearances on radio and television. She received the star treatment from day one. But her career in Hollywood was cut short by discrimination within the studio system. Paramount dropped her contract in 1955 because she was pregnant. Red Garters, her third picture, shows how she could carry a picture on her back.
Lou scrambles to get back on her feet after a close call in the studio. When a third man from Minerva winds up in the morgue, she looks for the killer closer to home. Who was the gal on the night boat?Hollywood Medusa is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Lou MulreanyOlympia Kiriakou as SmittyM. Shawn as Irene BreyerSavannah Monroe as Poppy JordanRenee Smith as Gina GalloLaura Mawson as Kate LawlorPatrick McGurk as Winston MontgomeryPeter Bryant as Cyril HardwickeShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
Lou's investigation leads her to the night boat to San Francisco.What happened during the studio wrap party on the night boat?Did the studio boss shack up with the queen of the lot?Will Lou lose her head over her publisher client?Hollywood Medusa is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Lou MulreanyOlympia Kiriakou as SmittyM. Shawn as Irene BreyerSavannah Monroe as Poppy JordanRenee Smith as Gina GalloLaura Mawson as Kate LawlorPatrick McGurk as Winston MontgomeryPeter Bryant as Cyril HardwickeShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
Move over, Philip Marlowe!There's a new detective in Hollywood.Before the boss of Minerva Pictures died suddenly, he received troubling letters. Did blackmail hasten his death? Lou Mulreany investigates. Lou also agrees to work for a tabloid publisher whose wife had an affair.Find the letters. Find the wife's lover.A lady Shamus is on each case!Hollywood Medusa is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Lou MulreanyOlympia Kiriakou as SmittyM. Shawn as Irene BreyerSavannah Monroe as Poppy JordanRenee Smith as Gina GalloLaura Mawson as Kate LawlorPatrick McGurk as Winston MontgomeryPeter Bryant as Cyril HardwickeShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt design by Mot CollinsSound editing and special effects by Tom O'Mahony
If you look beyond the usual gossip about a feud between stars, you'll find that Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn had a lot in common. Both stars had something to prove. Ginger wanted to show the front office that she was more than Fred Astaire's dancing partner. Kate needed a hit after a series of costume pictures died at the box office. Director Gregory La Cava brought his trademark off-the-cuff production method to help them make one of the most memorable pictures from the 1930s. Special thanks to sound editor Tom O'Mahony.
Joan Crawford was considered a washed up actress by the time she left Metro in 1943. After a two-year absence from the screen, she returned in Mildred Pierce, making the most significant come back of the studio era. In flashback, Mildred is like one of the cakes she bakes for extra cash: Decorative, domestic, and made for other people's pleasure. By the end of the picture, she's had an education and learned her lessons the hard way. She is glorious.Thanks to Tom O'Mahoney for editing the episode.
Your dream is in the cards.Brigid helps Sue and Yvette settle problems in their studios. Trouble erupts on the set of Reggie Fitz's new production. Mary and Tess struggle over what to do about Brigid.Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Brigid BannonM. Shawn as Mary BannonOlympia Kiriakou as Tess BannonSavannah Monroe as Sue RollinsRenee Smith as Yvette ValentineLaura Mawson as Grace CarmodyShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
Your dream is in the cards.Mary makes a hit on the radio. Tess finally gets more than a stolen afternoon with Reggie. And Brigid learns the identity of the woman in her nightmare.Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Brigid BannonM. Shawn as Mary BannonOlympia Kiriakou as Tess BannonSavannah Monroe as Sue RollinsRenee Smith as Yvette ValentineLaura Mawson as Grace CarmodyShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
Your dream is in the cards.Brigid moves from New York to Hollywood to live with her fortune teller cousins. Who's the woman in Brigid's recurring nightmare?Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.Starring:Clara Higgins as Brigid BannonM. Shawn as Mary BannonOlympia Kiriakou as Tess BannonSavannah Monroe as Sue RollinsRenee Smith as Yvette ValentineLaura Mawson as Grace CarmodyShane McCormack as Reggie FitzArt Design by Mot CollinsSound Editing and Special Effects by Tom O'Mahony
House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936.In Part Three, women in the Garbo House find a way to get even with Jack Steward.House of the Seven Garbos is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.CLARA HIGGINS PLAYS PAT MORRISONOLYMPIA KIRIAKOU PLAYS GLORIA DOUGLASM. SHAWN PLAYS BUNNY ST JAMES AND ODETTE MCBRIDESAVANNAH MONROE PLAYS NAN POTTERLAURA MAWSON PLAYS FLORENCE CROZIER AND FERN RENEE SMITH PLAYS CYNTHIA LATTIMER SHANE MCCORMACK PLAYS JACK STEWARD (AND VARIOUS MEN) MEGAN MCGURK PLAYS MADAME VIOLA Art design by Mot Collins.Sound editing and special effects by Thomas O’Mahoney
House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936, celebrating women who tried to catch a break in the film colony.In Part Two, Pat Morrison finds a pink slip waiting for her at the gates to MGM.A very special guest comes for tea.House of the Seven Garbos is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.CLARA HIGGINS PLAYS PAT MORRISONOLYMPIA KIRIAKOU PLAYS GLORIA DOUGLASM. SHAWN PLAYS BUNNY ST JAMES AND ODETTE MCBRIDESAVANNAH MONROE PLAYS NAN POTTERLAURA MAWSON PLAYS FLORENCE CROZIER AND FERN RENEE SMITH PLAYS CYNTHIA LATTIMER SHANE MCCORMACK PLAYS JACK STEWARD (AND VARIOUS MEN) MEGAN MCGURK PLAYS MADAME VIOLA Art design by Mot Collins.Sound editing and special effects by Thomas O’Mahoney
House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936.In Part One, Pat Morrison is the only one in the house with a studio contract. How long will it last?House of the Seven Garbos is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.CLARA HIGGINS PLAYS PAT MORRISONOLYMPIA KIRIAKOU PLAYS GLORIA DOUGLASM. SHAWN PLAYS BUNNY ST JAMES AND ODETTE MCBRIDESAVANNAH MONROE PLAYS NAN POTTERLAURA MAWSON PLAYS FLORENCE CROZIER AND FERN RENEE SMITH PLAYS CYNTHIA LATTIMER SHANE MCCORMACK PLAYS JACK STEWARD(AND VARIOUS MEN) MEGAN MCGURK PLAYS MADAME VIOLA Art design by Mot Collins.Sound editing and special effects by Thomas O’Mahoney.
Janet Leigh's indelible performance as Marion Crane creates a palpable absence when she's murdered in the shower. Audiences feel her presence not only in the picture once she's gone, but in cinema over the last sixty-two years, ever since the point of view shifted away from a woman who knows all the answers. Janet's bits of business with a pile of dough are a revelation, no matter how many times you watch.
In the series finale, Cleo discovers that having script approval in her contract is meaningless once the Production Code is enforced. Under the new rules, Cleo must argue over every page and justify her artistic choices to men who don't care about the integrity of woman's pictures. At the same time, Tully's star rises.
A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan McGurk Art design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects by Tomás O Máthúna STARRING Clara Higgins as Cleo Longe Danny Reid as Rick Tully Jeanne Sutton as Babe Dempsey Olympia Kiriakou as Phyllis Blake M. Shawn as Maxine Raymond Peter Bryant as Hank Webber Matt Harris as Carter Hilary Megan McGurk as Edel Geary
In part two, Cleo finds a story for her next picture from an unlikely source. From the ground up, she builds the plot, takes a chance on a new screenwriter, casts the picture, and presents creative opportunities for her crew. Meanwhile, Cleo's romance with Tully takes a serious turn.
A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Art design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects by Tomás O Máthúna STARRING: Clara Higgins as Cleo Longe Danny Reid as Rick Tully Jeanne Sutton as Babe Dempsey Olympia Kiriakou as Phyllis Blake M. Shawn as Maxine Raymond Peter Bryant as Hank Webber Matt Harris as Carter Hilary Megan McGurk as Edel Geary
In 1931, Warner Bros. star Cleo Longe tops the box office in pictures where she gets away with it: no strings sex or sending men to the morgue. One night at a party, she meets Richard Tulliver, a new contract player who is cast as the juvenile in her next production. Cleo coaches him through the part and suggests a new name for his screen billing. A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan McGurk Art design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effects byTomás O Máthúna STARRING: Clara Higgins as Cleo Longe Danny Reid as Rick Tully Jeanne Sutton as Babe Dempsey Olympia Kiriakou as Phyllis Blake M. Shawn as Maxine Raymond Peter Bryant as Hank Webber Matt Harris as Carter Hilary Megan McGurk as Edel Geary
Jane Wyman started out as a platinum blonde chorine and became a top star in melodrama through the education of 'B' pictures. She worked hard, hit the marks, and built her craft, which made her one of the most durable stars in Hollywood. Wyman's Oscar win for Johnny Belinda proved her intelligence and sensitivity as a performer.
Joan Crawford did not have to wonder what it was like to be married to a man who suddenly changed overnight--she was living it as a newlywed bride to corporate tycoon Al Steele. Joan's fourth husband turned from Jekyll to Hyde once vows were exchanged. In Robert Aldrich's picture, Joan channels the fear many women have about waking up next to a monster.
In the series finale, the intrepid stenographers case a joint in Beverly Hills and a canyon ranch in search of their missing friend. Will they get there in time?
Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.
Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O'Meara is Fiona Clarke and Client Jeanne Sutton is Margaret O'Donnell Olympia Kiriakou is Ivy Miller and Waitress M. Shawn is Dolly DePeyster and Cici Pine Megan McGurk is Kay Carroll and Alice Lawson Art Design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and Special Effects by Dan McAuley
In the second instalment of an original series, clues lead Terry and Margaret to a beer garden in downtown Los Angeles. Terry spots a dame wearing Kay's necklace. Did she steal it? Meanwhile, Ivy, Fiona, and Dolly try decode a poorly written letter.
Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O'Meara is Fiona Clarke and Client Jeanne Sutton is Margaret O'Donnell Olympia Kiriakou is Ivy Miller and Waitress M. Shawn is Dolly DePeyster and Cici Pine Megan McGurk is Kay Carroll and Alice Lawson Art Design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and Special Effects by Dan McAuley
A heart-shaped locket. Bad grammar. A beer garden. After a stenographer goes missing, the women in the office investigate the clues. Join us for the first instalment of a spy caper set in 1934. Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk.
Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O'Meara is Fiona Clarke and Client Jeanne Sutton is Margaret O'Donnell Olympia Kiriakou is Ivy Miller and Waitress M. Shawn is Dolly DePeyster and Cici Pine Megan McGurk is Kay Carroll and Alice Lawson Art Design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and Special Effects by Dan McAuley
Linda Christian could have been Hollywood royalty, and not just because she was discovered by Errol Flynn and married to Tyrone Power. An internationally educated woman who spoke six languages, Linda was talented and a tastemaker. She could have had a career similar to Anita Colby, a former model who became 'Feminine Director' at Selznick studio, developing stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Jennifer Jones. Linda is a standout in each film she made, especially in the delightful MGM musical Athena from 1954. Unfortunately, Hollywood never figured out what to do with her.
After twenty years in front of a camera, Loretta Young walked out of her contract with Twentieth Century Fox and became a freelance star. Darryl Zanuck blackballed her as a result, which lead to months without any script offers. She began her independent film career in Columbia studio, because Harry Cohn was one filmmaker brazen enough to defy Zanuck. Loretta made two pictures: The Doctor Takes a Wife (with Ray Milland) and He Stayed for Breakfast (with Melvyn Douglas). Both pictures were critical and commercial successes and established her facility with light comedy.
After Virginia Bruce walked out on her contract with Metro, she made on of the biggest gems of her career starring in Universal's update to a classic starring Claude Rains. Unlike the Invisible Man, Virginia's character isn't driven mad by her power of invisibility. Instead, she finds out how the other half lives. Disembodied, she can settle scores, and get men to listen to her rather than focus on her beauty. Curt Siodmak created a glorious satire about being a woman in a man's world.
In 1935, Marlene Dietrich was at a turning point in her career. Paramount studio had decided to end her professional collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg. Marlene needed to prove that she could carry a picture without her reported 'Svengali'. She renewed her contract with a provision that she would have Ernst Lubitsch as director, but he was made head of studio production and had no time to direct. Marlene chose Frank Borzage as a replacement. With Gary Cooper cast as co-star, the picture was a critical and commercial success, and demonstrated that Marlene had a knack for light romantic comedy.
Claire, Lois, and Cash finish replacement costumes for the screen test in Goldwyn's studio while Helen and Gail sneak into Monogram's lot as extras to find out what Dmitri has planned. An unexpected visitor to Claire's shop gums up the works. Join us for the story's conclusion.
Mannequins is written and directed by Megan McGurk Starring: Clara Higgins as Claire Delahunt and Lilyan Tashman Jennifer O'Meara as Lois Kenny Jeanne Sutton as Helen Flaherty Olympia Kiriakou as Gail Lindstrom M. Shawn as Princess Casimir (Cash) Megan McGurk as Miriam Thorndyke and Frances Goldwyn Art design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and special effects by Dan McAuley
Dress designer Claire, along with her fitter, Lois, and mannequins Helen, Gail, and Cash have worked hard getting ready for the screen test in Goldwyn studio. Our story picks up three days before the screen test. When the ladies return from lunch, twenty costumes have disappeared. Was it the fashion pirates who try to steal Claire's designs? Or was it Dmitri Cosmo, the shady costumer from Monogram?
Mannequins is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Claire Delahunt and Lilyan Tashman Jennifer O'Meara as Lois Kenny Jeanne Sutton as Helen Flaherty Olympia Kiriakou as Gail Lindstrom M. Shawn as Princess Casimir (Cash) Art design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and special effects by Dan McAuley
Dress designer Claire Delahunt receives an invitation to audition for a contract as head designer in Goldwyn studio. Will she be able to beat the competition from Dmitri Cosmo, the costumer from Monogram on Poverty Row? Our story opens on 3 January, 1934. Mannequins is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Claire Delahunt and Lilyan Tashman Jennifer O'Meara as Lois Kenny Jeanne Sutton as Helen Flaherty Olympia Kiriakou as Gail Lindstrom M. Shawn as Princess Casimir Megan McGurk as Frances Goldwyn Art design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and special effects by Dan McAuley
By the time Patricia Neal signed with Warners in 1948, the studio system had changed. Contract players were no longer given time to develop in smaller parts until they learned the craft. Jack Warner built so much publicity around Neal as the next Bette Davis and the greatest thing since Garbo, that when her second picture.The Fountainhead, did middling business, he took it out on her(instead of Rand's turgid dialogue). Warners dropped Pat's option three years into a seven-year contract. But during production, Pat met the love of her life. She was with Gary Cooper for almost four years. Decades later, when she was in despair, the love she had for Cooper brought her peace through a reconciliation with Rocky and Maria Cooper.
Judy Holliday's career was tragically short, but she left an indelible imprint on motion pictures. Bells are Ringing (1960) showcases her incredible gift for making every bit of business look spontaneous and of the moment, even though she had performed the part over 1000 times on stage. She teamed up with her old theatre kid partners, Betty Comden and Adolph Green to play the part of the Good Samaritan of the Susanswerphone agency.
Our story concludes! Mae finds a way to fix Mrs Howard's wagon. Polly makes an important connection. Cora finds a way to live with what happened at the circus party. Ruby has a scene to prepare. June looks forward to greener pastures. Mimi gets a new role. Starring: Clara Higgins as Mae Devine Jennifer O'Meara as Polly Trainor Jeanne Sutton as Cora Smith Olympia Kiriakou as Ruby Dawn M. Shawn as June Winter Megan McGurk as Mimi Stone
Salon Devine was written and directed by Megan McGurk Art Design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and sound effects by Dan McAuley
In episode two, Polly talks about her date with Bennett Cerf. Cora reveals what happened at the circus party. Mae receives a visit from Mrs Howard. June's 'rafter romance' takes a turn. And will Ruby have a shot at a screen test? Starring: Clara Higgins as Mae Devine Jennifer O'Meara as Polly Trainor Jeanne Sutton as Cora Smith Olympia Kiriakou as Ruby Dawn M. Shawn as June Winter Megan McGurk as Mrs Howard
Salon Devine was written and directed by Megan McGurk Art design by Clara Higgins Sound editing and special effects by Dan McAuley
Our story opens on 1 September 1933 in Salon Devine, located at Broadway and 45th. Meet the dames: Mae Devine is played by Clara Higggins Polly Trainor is played by Jennifer O'Meara Cora Smith is played by Jeanne Sutton Ruby Dawn is played by Olympia Kiriakou June Winter is played by M. Shawn Mimi Stone is played by Megan McGurk
Salon Devine is written and directed by Megan McGurk Cover art by Clara Higgins Sound editing and special effects: Dan McAuley
In 1939, Joan Crawford attempted to rebound from personal and professional setbacks by taking a risk on a small part an ensemble picture where even the roles of maids were fought over. Studio boss Louis B Mayer didn't want Joan to take the part. She stuck to her guns and made Crystal Allen a standout. Joan uses four different New York accents to show that a social climber needs to not only look the part, but sound it, too. And I'll tell you about the real backstage power struggle--between men.
Before the craze for mob syndicates became all the rage in Hollywood, Frank Capra's picture with Barbara Stanwyck and Marie Prevost argued that rich men were the real gangsters. Men in the society register could serve caviar in office orgies and maul gals on the night boat to Albany. Kay Arnold (Stanwyck) and Dot Lamarr (Prevost) are just two working girls trying to make a living on the edges of society graft. Their friendship is more compelling than the romantic angle. When the chips are down, you can rely on a dame like Marie Prevost. Stanwyck's star vehicle is still one of her best performances.
Lana Turner received her only Oscar nomination for her performance as a single mom who runs a dress shop in a conservative small town. The picture showcases the acting techniques she developed over 18 years in MGM with drama coach Lillian Burns. The screen adaptation of the bestseller by Grace Metalious was one of the biggest hits of her career. Peyton Place also coincided with the biggest scandal of her life.
Doris Day made a big splash in her screen debut. Armed with hipster sass, a great wardrobe, and songs that rocked the hit parade, she is every bit the star. Doris was so successful at the box office that the studio worked her like a dog until she had a nervous breakdown. Despite the pressure of being a star and the men who exploited her sunny persona, Doris Day was a survivor.
Esther Williams turns the life story of Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman into a big Hollywood spectacle that also has something to say about a woman's right to work and define her own life. The backstage drama surpassed what occurs on the screen. Esther enjoyed a lusty affair with co-star Vic Mature and performed dangerous stunts throughout production. She was probably the only star in MGM the front office could not threaten to replace.
Elizabeth Taylor had nearly as many problems with her health during production of Cleopatra as she had costume changes. Although she negotiated a sweet deal to star as the legendary queen, the pressure from studio executives, investors, and insurance agents was ruinous. They made bad decisions that endangered her life. And then the affair with Burton nearly ended it--twice. Elizabeth Taylor rose above calamity like a queen.
Muriel and Sydney Box's Oscar-winning script offers a potent fantasy for women. Byronic James Mason believes in Ann Todd's artistic gift for the piano. He devotes himself to her transformation into a world-class pianist. He waits for her to become great and he waits for her to realise she loves him. This is a heady combination that makes only one ending possible. Ann Todd admitted years later that they had a passionate affair during production.
In Hitchcock's narrative economy, men can't see past the nose on their face. Women, on the other hand, have keen powers of observation. If not for an older governess, a nun, and a society dame in a monogrammed scarf, all would be lost. Margaret Lockwood gets stuck into political intrigue in a picture that made her an international star. Like her character, Iris Henderson, Margaret knew her own mind, and remained steadfast to her vision of dramatic arts during a long an illustrious career in film, theatre, and television.
One night, Temple Drake loses the security and privilege she has always known when a date takes her to a bootlegger's den in the woods. After being penned like an animal and sexually assaulted, Temple summons the courage and fortitude to rise above the brutality she experienced. Instead of hiding behind tradition which would sacrifice a man's life to spare her honour, Temple has a moral awakening during courtroom testimony. Miriam Hopkins gives the performance of her life as Temple Drake.
As the first queen of Twentieth Century Fox studio, Alice Faye shines in a frothy musical made up of glamour, lust, and mistaken identity. That Night in Rio (1941) fires on all cylinders from cast, costume, and story. Alice had worked her tail off from the age of 13 when she became a chorine in New York City and didn't stop until her dramatic exit from the studio in 1945. Alice Faye was the voice of hope and twinkling lights for a generation.
Angela Lansbury was typecast as an older woman when she was still a girl under contract in MGM. She was only 21 when Louis B Mayer insisted she play an unhappily married woman of 35. Lansbury had her own real-life romantic misadventure to draw on when she created the character. The seeds of later roles of villainous women Kay Thorndyke (State of the Union)and the 'Red Queen', Mrs Shaw-Iselin, are here in Angela Lansbury's performance as Mabel Sabre.
Before Grace Kelly grew tired of juggling wolves and left Hollywood, she made an indelible imprint playing Lisa Fremont as a woman of style and action. The silver fox photographer (Jimmy Stewart)has a negative view of glamour and thinks he sees everything, but Lisa Fremont shows him another angle of vision. Lisa's style extends to the way she moves about the world. In a dress and heels, she's more brave than most men. Hitchcock gives viewers a persuasive argument for the power of style.
In her second starring role, Barbara Payton not only holds her own against a leading man with 20 years of experience, she also manages to steal scenes with James Cagney. Barbara's character Holiday might appear to submit to commands such as the blood curdling 'make me a sandwich' but she also throws everything at him except the kitchen table. Barbara Payton is more than the tabloid coverage which sensationalised her sex life and struggle with addiction. She had a rebel spirit that put the Hollywood wolves on notice.
During the studio era, you can find sass mouth dames quietly stealing any picture, even one loaded to the teeth with armed men itching for oblivion. Virginia Mayo plays a fashion merchant who brings style to a frontier town. Ruth Roman plays Boston, a saloon gal with a cash register where her heart should be. Director Jacques Tourneur initially presents them as polar opposites. then makes the distinctions ambiguous, and finally beside the point.
Jacqueline Susann's life was more dramatic than any of the novels she wrote. She made her Broadway debut in Clare Boothe Luce's landmark The Women, worked in theatre, as a showgirl, in radio and television for more than twenty years. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Jackie wrote for her life, and finally achieved wealth and fame. She wrote each day from 10 to 5 for 18 months. Jackie's media and marketing savvy was instrumental in the success of Valley of the Dolls. Jackie's first love, comedian Joe E. Lewis always told her never go to Hollywood unless they send for you. When they sent for Jackie, she went in style for her Hitchcock moment, a cameo in the screen version of her novel. The production may have been chaos, but the women in the cast agreed on one thing--they all hated director Mark Robson.
In Daisy Kenyon (1947), Joan Crawford lives a bachelor gal's dream as a commercial artist. Her favourite model tells Daisy 'you cook like you paint, honey--fast, colourful, and glib'. Living in a man's world, Joan has adopted a hardboiled exterior from her married lover, the ruthless tycoon played by Dana Andrews. Soon she's in a three-cornered love affair, with Andrews and a widowed veteran, played by Henry Fonda. We're in proper adult territory: people cheat, lie, play games, and have emotional baggage. But Joan Crawford isn't here to save a man or make him worthy. Grown ups tend to their own ghosts. Daisy Kenyon is a prestige picture, from start to finish.
Geraldine Fitzgerald fought with studio boss Jack Warner for better parts. She refused to play by the rules of stardom and ultimately walked out of Hollywood in 1946. Although her career never matched the size of her talent on the big screen, Geraldine turned in outstanding performances in pictures such as The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) where she plays a venomous hot house flower. And what of the gossip about a love child with Orson Welles? I get to that, too.
For decades, Hedda Hopper argued that Hollywood was unfair to women. She campaigned for more women screenwriters, producers, and directors. She used her influence to boost the career of many women, including Joan Crawford, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Shelley Winters. She put the fear of god into Louis B Mayer when he tried to shove Ida Koverman into the Motion Picture Country Home. Glowing press features and the cover of Time magazine in 1947 probably encouraged Hedda Hopper to sink her teeth into the Anti-Communist debate. Hedda played a shameful role in the blacklist years, but she should be remembered for more than that.
After Louella Parsons lost a monopoly over publicity department exclusives, she initially struggled as a result of competition from Hedda Hopper and other columnists. But Louella captured two of the biggest scoops of the post-war studio era when she reported a global exclusive on Rita Hayworth's marriage to Prince Aly Khan and then when she verified rumours about Ingrid Bergman's 'out of wedlock' pregnancy. In the 1950s, she kept up with a new massive teenage fan base by covering their stars and adopting their slang. Louella had pioneered celebrity journalism and continued to roll with the punches to remain relevant.
A palm reader once told Hedda Hopper that she was in the wrong profession--she wasn't an actress--she was a writer. By the time she was 50, Hedda was considered a failure by Hollywood standards. She was a washed up actress when a newspaper publisher dropped a column in her lap. Hedda approached her work as a columnist like it was a dramatic performance, which she acted out while dictating copy to a secretary. Within two years, she was a formidable rival to gossip queen, Louella Parsons.
During the 1930s, Louella Parsons had the power to drag a mogul or producer out of bed in the middle of the night. If she rang a studio to talk to a star, they would stop production in the middle of a scene to answer Louella. Barbed attacks appeared in the press, mostly from men who could not swallow the fact that a middle-aged dame was at the top of their profession. By the end of the decade, Louella was toppled by bad press and lost scoops.
Born Elda Furry, she toiled from dawn to bedtime because her father believed women were beasts of burden. She ran away and joined a chorus line, and fell for a middle-aged Broadway star, DeWolf Hopper. He was a notorious skirt chaser with no body hair and blue skin. She made her film debut in 1916, and changed her name to Hedda Hopper in 1918, Hedda advanced her career by using glamorous style to upstage stars. At one point she asked for $1000 a week salary--the producers didn't blink. DeWolf Hopper was furious that the showgirl he picked up suddenly matched him in salary.
Louella Parsons overcame a bad marriage, raised her daughter on her own, and became one of the most powerful writers in a modern celebrity culture. She started as the first scenario editor in Essanay studio, and extended her career as a daily film columnist in Chicago and New York. She was an influential voice in film journalism by the time she met William Randolph Hearst. Part One closes with Louella travelling to Palm Springs to recover from tuberculosis on Hearst's dime.
No More Ladies (1935) is a highbrow take on how to turn the tables on a cheating husband. It has style for days--in the dialogue, performances, fashion. Even better, the picture boasts a collection of sass mouth dames such as Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick, and Joan Fontaine, in her screen debut. After Joan's through with Bob Montgomery, he's more submissive than the giant sheepdog on a leash.
Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar by playing a brave woman who declared sexual independence. What makes her performance a stand out is the rage that anchors her libido. When Taylor appears in a fury, stomping around in a slip, high heels, and a stolen mink, with a bottle of hooch under her arm, she gives you the strength to fight another day. After 18 years in MGM, four marriages, three children, and a tabloid scandal, all before she turned 30, Elizabeth Taylor earned the Oscar, before the Vatican condemned her for 'erotic vagrancy'.
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) was one of MGM's biggest box office hits. Susan Hayward earned rave reviews and her fourth Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Based on the life story of Lillian Roth, the production brought Susan Hayward her share of sorrow. The strain on set, a bitter divorce, and a custody battle drove her to a breakdown. Susan overdosed on sleeping pills and nearly died. She made headlines once again in a row with another woman over morning coffee at a lover's house. Let's not forget that she had also recently received radiation poisoning, thanks to ex-lover Howard Hughes.
Paris Model (1953) isn't the best of Eva Gabor's pictures, but it has a delightful spoof of her older sister, Zsa Zsa, and is a true gem. Eva Gabor stars in the best of four stories about the fortunes of one dress in the lives of different women. Eva had years of studio system training before she developed serious acting ambition for the stage. She should be better known if not for her family name, for her dedication to the craft and a writerly memoir.
Dancing was often used as a stand-in for sex on the big screen, as it was for Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, but when Carole Lombard and George Raft move to Ravel, it is sex on the dance floor. Their ecstasy makes Bolero (1934) the filthiest pre-Code on record. Sally Rand performs her famous fan dance to add to the lusty flavour of the picture. Ray Milland appears in his first film with Paramount.
An executive in Universal studio turned down Yvonne De Carlo's request for the part of the waitress in A Double Life. He explained the way the system worked--Yvonne was rock candy, not dipped chocolates. They wanted to keep her in the stuff that sold and sold. Robert Siodmak felt otherwise and fought to keep her in the role for Criss Cross that producer Mark Hellinger had promised her before his tragic death. Siodmak doesn't ask Yvonne to play rock candy or a paint by numbers noir dame. In this picture, she proves she was a great actress--and wasted in those sand and sandals pictures.
Zsa Zsa Gabor belongs to a legacy of modern wit from sass mouth dames such as Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker, Mae West, and Tallulah Bankhead. She argued for a career--that there was more to life than just being a wife--three years before Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique. By her third picture, Moulin Rouge, Zsa Zsa became a star. She is uncorked champagne, bubbly and vivacious. And she steals everything but the camera.
Dolores del Rio choreographs a plot for revenge against Pat O'Brien with as much style as she exhibits in a Busby Berkeley dance number. In Caliente (1935) has a steady 'soak the rich' theme, along with a woman's thirst for revenge. Add in a superb cast and amazing white gowns from Orry-Kelly, the picture is as soothing as a day by the pool.
Carole Landis referred to her role in Turnabout (1940) as the only time she had 'more than an even chance to demonstrate ability rather than matter'. In a screwball picture where husband and wife swap bodies, Carole moves differently and takes up space. Carole's performance makes a farce of the decorous feminine ideal. Joseph Breen and the Legion of Decency gave Hal Roach so much grief over the production that the studio nearly shut down for good.
Film historians often point out that 1946 was a record year at the box office. Producer Joan Harrison offered to remind the moguls and audiences that Hollywood was still a woman's town after the men returned from the war. Nocturne is jammed with women who make the dream factory run. In one scene after another, George Raft talks to a collection of sass mouth dames who put him on notice during his murder investigation. Lynn Bari might be as hardboiled as they come, but she's no film noir cardboard cut out. She gets the best lines and the best of George Raft.
Although many critics dismiss A Woman's Secret (1949) as a misfire in the Ray canon, it gives viewers something we don't see often enough on the big screen--an intense relationship between two women that men find inscrutable. The coded affair between Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame sours and ends up with a shot fired. Unfortunately, production was distracted by the drama of Howard Hughes's takeover bid for RKO, which resulted in a delayed release at the box office.
My guest for this episode is Matt Harris, archivist and fellow Joan Crawford obsessive. Matt raises questions about camp, stardom, and how fans engage with a star's legacy. My biggest preoccupation in the film is with the Erik Guide Haupt portrait of Joan from 1931 that appears throughout the picture. Joan Crawford stands in front of it to remind the audience that she's the real work of art.
Before she became the first woman television mogul, Lucille Ball was queen of the 'B' pictures in RKO studio. Beauty for the Asking might have a low budget, but it carries a far more subversive message than many prestigious 'A' pictures. Loosely based on the life of Helena Rubenstein, it shows how Lucy moves from beauty operator to a business magnate once she invents a cold cream. Just imagine what The Women (1939) would have been like had Mary Haines and Crystal Allen joined forces and showed Stephen the door. That's what we find here in this little gem.
As part of the 'unholy trio' of gossip columnists, including Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, Sheilah Graham wrote juicy articles about the stars during the golden age of Hollywood. In 1937, she began a passionate affair with F Scott Fitzgerald that lasted until the author's death in 1940. The film version, based on Sheilah's bestselling memoir, gives us a glossy romance, rather than the reality of Scott's addiction. Deborah Kerr gives a lush performance as the columnist. Gregory Peck gets to the heart of why Sheilah fell for him, and why she stayed, despite his epic benders.
Whether in a rubbish heap or grey industrial horizon of the Panama Canal, love blooms wherever Carole Lombard shines her blonde halo. Carole plays Maggie King, a nightclub singer who poses as a beauty operator for free passage to California. When she meets a soldier on his last day in the Army, she falls for him like a ship's anchor. Swing High, Swing Low balances screwball and melodrama better than any other picture, and arguably, Lombard gives her best performance. Maggie King makes a star out of a mug, played by Fred MacMurray. And what does he do to thank her? He forgets about her the minute it happens.
After Gypsy Rose Lee finished the biggest show of her career for the 1940 World's Fair, she decided to finally write that novel she had in mind--a murder mystery set in a Burly-Q theatre. Gypsy's book, The G-String Murders, became a massive bestseller. It was adapted to the screen with Barbara Stanwyck playing Gypsy's role, renamed 'Dixie' to appease the scolds in the production code office. The result is an epic sass mouth dames crossover. The backstage dialogue is bawdy, deliciously bitchy, and a tribute to hard working dames who always made the curtain.
Not since Joan Blondell vowed that she knew all the answers and the only thing worthwhile was dough have we seen a more vital queen of the rackets than June Havoc in The Story of Molly X (1949). Molly takes over a crime syndicate. She plans the heists, hires the muscle, and even joins them for the safe cracking. June Havoc was a performer from the age of two and grew up as a headliner in the vaudeville circuit. And boy could June write. I close the episode with a scene from her memoir about her first dance marathon, which lasted for four months. She's the definition of trouper.
In her best picture from the 1930s, Joan Crawford absorbs slings and arrows from men. Men call her cheap, a chiseller, a tramp. She's abandoned on her wedding day. Punched in the face by a drunk husband. But with the help of Jean Dixon, who plays a hardboiled dame, Joan's Sadie fortifies herself with courage and exquisite style. I live inside the scene set in the Automat, where Joan conceals her desperation with great style. Sadie McKee (1934) has everything a woman's picture needs.
The subtext of Virginia Van Upp’s script asks what kind of a society forbids ex-cons to fall in love and marry? Sylvia Sidney paid her debt to society, then risks her freedom for marriage with George Raft. Both are employed at a busy department store owned by a man who thinks good works mean more than a donation to the community chest. Once Raft learns that his wife was a jailbird, his double standards stink worse than clams at low tide. Who could give out to Sylvia Sidney, who has a face like a Valentine, heart-shaped with bow lips?
Instead of going for an obvious three-hanky approach for a story about a single mother out of work at Christmas, screenwriter Norman Krasna gift wraps a screwball delight. Ginger Rogers was riding high at the box office in a series of hits for RKO. Bachelor Mother proved that Ginger’s comic timing was as steady and accomplished as her foxtrot or carioca. As a shop girl with a sass mouth, she shows a man that he doesn’t know half as much as he thinks.
Among the stars of woman's pictures, Irene Dunne was arguably the most scandal-proof, even when she lived apart from her husband during the first six years of her career in Hollywood. But Irene often played women who were carried away by passion. During a transatlantic voyage, her character meets Charles Boyer, a man whose romantic conquests dominate international news. Irene shakes up the great lover's flirt game with some quality sass mouth. Boyer is the ultimate swoon merchant, a man who starts out with pick up lines, yet in time, transformed by love, wants nothing more than to be worthy of her. Love Affair remains a standout because of its fearless embrace of love, faith, and pure emotion.
Mary Astor plays an American living alone in Italy. She embodies the fantasy Bette Davis had in Now, Voyager to 'live alone in single blessedness'. A chance encounter with an American businessman (Walter Huston) leads to a surprise romance. The hardship her character endured onscreen paled in comparison with the real drama in Mary Astor's life. After filming all day, she spent the evenings in a courtroom locked in a vicious custody battle. Astor's ex-husband attempted to sway the ruling in his favour by feeding excerpts from Mary's diary to the press. You can imagine the media frenzy at the news that Mary kept a scorecard which ranked the sexual performance of Hollywood's top leading men. The episode closes with a brief passage from Astor's memoir.
If stories about glamorous women who destroy men make your heart gladsome, Ruby Gentry will be your queen. Sure, she's sexually obsessed with Charlton Heston, but she's also willing to ruin him for being a grubby developer who pumps chemicals into the land, She's the hero we need these days. Ruby survives the men who wanted to control her, just like Jennifer Jones survived the controlling men in Hollywood.
Next time you hear someone blather on about method acting, please remind them that it wasn't all a boy's club. Brando and Jimmy Dean had a lot to learn from Shelley Winters. She gives a bravura performance as a woman in a post-war malaise of self-loathing in My Man and I (1952). Shelley's character Nancy uses men to pay the bar tab. When a decent man comes along (Ricardo Montalban) she snaps 'I'm poison for saps'. An ink-worthy line if there ever was one.
Theresa Harris played supporting roles next to some of the biggest names in woman's pictures: Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow, and Bette Davis. But in The Flame of New Orleans, she steals the picture outright from Marlene Dietrich, without the benefit of elaborate makeup and costumes. Harris's character Clementine speeds the plot forward with a vibrant joie de vivre. Criminally overlooked by Hollywood, left to languish in thankless roles playing a maid, Theresa Harris shines the brightest in Rene Clair's picture.
Best known for being fancied by a gigantic ape, in real life, Fay Wray contended with a beast far worse--her first husband, screenwriter John Monk Saunders. She gave strong performances even when her home life was less than desirable. In Ann Carver's Profession, she plays a hot-shot attorney who routinely lands on the front page. As her career progresses, her on-screen husband (played by Gene Raymond) suffers untold misery because she forgets that he doesn't take sugar in his coffee. I close the episode with a brief passage from Fay Wray's memoir, On the Other Hand: A Life Story.
Only a few months after she signed a contract with Fox Studios, Joan Collins landed the coveted role of Evelyn Nesbit, in a story adapted from a notorious society murder in 1906, which had been billed 'the trial of the century'. Although the picture makes Ray Milland's Stanford White into a paragon of virtue (rather than a serial abuser), The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing reminds viewers that Evelyn Nesbit survived the men who dragged her name through the mud. I share two brief excerpts from Nesbit's memoir 'Prodigal Days' (1934).
After decades of men who couldn’t keep it zipped, tried to cheat her, undermined or underestimated her professionally, Joan Crawford stored enough wattage behind her eyes to illuminate Madison Square Garden. By the time Joan made Female on the Beach in 1955, she developed an intense glare that had more force than the tracking beams of a prison yard on lock down. Joan wields a pair of snow-white eyes so cold that polar bears caught frostbite. Matched with luxuriant brows, strong ridge cheekbones, and a chiselled jawline, Joan Crawford has in real life what the men on Mount Rushmore needed granite and scale to achieve: she is monumental.
I finish the episode with a passage from A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford
Between 1940 and 1950, Rosalind Russell made a dozen pictures that explored the challenges for career women. Too many critics view the careerist plots in woman's pictures as terribly dated. In our current era of precarious work and short term contracts, the allure of watching a smart woman tackle problems on the job with finesse and style should not be underestimated. As a literary agent who dabbles in Hollywood casting, Roz learns not to judge a book by its cover.
I close the episode with a brief passage from her memoir, Life is a Banquet.
The number and variety of stories collected about Paulette Goddard far exceed the wildest plot of any picture she starred in. Paulette was a siren with a serious business acumen. She parlayed her beauty, charm, and intelligence into a very comfortable living. In her first picture for MGM, the year before the crown jewel of woman's pictures (The Women), she takes a cue from Katharine Hepburn's imperious performance in RKO's gem Stage Door.
I close the episode with a brief excerpt from 'Anatomy of a Siren', an essay by Anita Loos.
Soldiers are equipped with helmets, rifles, and uniforms to fight in the trenches in James Whale's picture set during WWI in London. Sass mouth dames such as Mae Clarke's Myra have lipstick, a cloche hat, and an ermine stole to survive the blackouts and shortages. Myra keeps her chin up when a string of bad breaks wear a groove into her tiny attic flat. When she meets an innocent recruit, does she dare hope for a fresh start?
Mae Clarke's life story is more dramatic than the plots of her pictures. After the crushing demand of dual studio contracts left her physically and emotionally shattered, she was confined to an asylum against her will, and financially ruined by shady doctors. Mae was a ride or die performer who deserves a greater legacy.
If we look at Otto Preminger's adaptation of Vera Caspary's novel as a woman's picture, instead of film noir, we gain insight about the obstacles in store for a professional woman. Laura Hunt rose from a 17 year-old girl in the steno pool to an advertising executive in only five years. She earned a plum office, stylish New York flat, a home in the country, a glamorous wardrobe, and her own portrait over the mantle. And yet men either want to own her or see her dead. They traipse about her flat like they own the joint. The characters, dialogue, setting, props and the standout score all contribute to an exquisite production
One way to bypass the scolds in the Production Code Administration was to set a picture in the tropics instead of Park Avenue. A dame of nature can have sex on the brain all she wants because she hasn't been indoctrinated into shame and double standards (or what the censors called 'morality'). Dorothy Lamour's star vehicle is an enduring classic woman's picture, because she is self-possessed, and just so happens to be besties with a tiger. I close the episode with an excerpt from Dorothy Lamour's memoir 'My Side of the Road', from 1980.
Before she put her trademark on screwball comedies, Irene Dunne was the queen of melodrama. Irene's Sarah Casanove decides she's had enough of a husband (Nils Asther) who holds her at gunpoint. What saves her in this picture is work. Sarah opens an antique shop and finds purpose. Since this is a Pre-Code, she can take up with a married man (Clive Brook) without any consequences. Irene Dunne showed women in the audience how to absorb the slings and arrows from living in a man's world without losing their wits.
Somehow Parnell (1937) is often included on 'worst ever' film lists, but there's much about this MGM production to recommend. Pearl Quinn (RTE archives) and Celina Murphy (One Fab Day podcast) join me to discuss the picture that Myrna Loy said contained Clark Gable's best romantic performance.
Instead of looking at Joan Fontaine as a noir dame, let's think of her as a post-war Baby Face. Somewhere along the line, Fontaine's character Christabel Caine internalised the mantra 'use men to get the things you want'. Men fall for the sweet looking blonde without second-guessing her true motivation. I wrap it up with a chapter from Fontaine's memoir No Bed of Roses (1978) where she talks about Howard Hughes, her boss at RKO.
This picture boasts a trinity of sass mouth dames: Ruth Chatterton as the star, it was directed by Dorothy Arzner, with a screenplay by Zoe Akins. Chatterton plays a high-stepper who confesses the only man she ever loved was the lawyer who had defended her against public indecency charges, after she danced half-naked in a burlesque. When she winds up married to the lawyer (Clive Brook), it's nothing like the fairy tale she had imagined. Dorothy Arzner made cautionary tales about marriage her business. I close the episode with a brief passage from The Pride of the Peacocks, the novel Ruth Chatterton published in 1954.
Joseph Losey’s creepy noir stars Evelyn Keyes as an unhappy wife who spends every night alone, a captive audience to her husband’s voice on the radio. Losey’s picture blends a thoughtful social critique, which anticipates ‘the problem that has no name’, as well as men who chase material wealth, and the pernicious way the line between entertainment and advertisement is blurred by the media. I close the episode with two chapters from Scarlet O’Hara’s Younger Sister, the juicy bestseller from Evelyn Keyes, where she recalls the time when her boss Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Studio, vowed to make her a star.
Hands Across the Table (1935), strikes the perfect balance of screwball antics and romantic drama between Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, the first of four pictures they made together. It was a hit that confirmed Carole Lombard’s stardom. This was the first project Ernst Lubitsch supervised in his role as head of production for Paramount Studio. Mitch Leisen directs a gem full of brilliant gags, sets, and costumes. I read a brief interview with Mitch Leisen and Fred MacMurray, included in David Chierichetti’s brilliant mix of biography, criticism, and interview, Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director.
For this episode, I'm delighted to welcome Pearl Quinn (an archivist), and Sandra Godkin (a librarian), to talk about the film where Bette Davis plays a small town librarian who safeguards free speech. Bette refuses to fold when the city council full of stuffed shirts orders a book removed from the shelves. This picture offers so many contemporary parallels on issues such as freedom, privacy, scapegoating, and sexism.
By this point in her career, Barbara Stanwyck was such a pro that she could have done the picture blindfolded and still hit every emotional nuance required for the part. Frank Capra was dead right when he called her the greatest emotional actress the screen has known. Watching Stanwyck absorb men's low opinions of her and carry on is devastating. Enmeshed in criminal rackets on one side and married into a snobby blue blood family on the other, it seems as though Stanwyck's character is the only one with a functioning moral compass. Supported by Joel McCrea, Pat O'Brien, Claire Dodd, and C. Aubrey Smith, Gambling Lady showcases Barbara Stanwyck's supreme craft at the close of the Pre-Code era.
Ryan Murphy's show Feud may have created new fans of Joan Crawford's film career, but one episode suggests that Above Suspicion was a bomb that doesn't merit viewing. On the contrary, Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, and Conrad Veidt deliver a rock-solid spy caper filled with bawdy comedy and moments of suspense. It may have been the end of Joan's career in MGM after 18 years as a star of the studio, but she sails out on a high note. And two days after she left, Joan started a new contract with Warner Brothers.
Dr Gwenda Young joins me to discuss her study of Clarence Brown's life and work. Often overlooked or dismissed as the consummate MGM company man, Brown had a singular talent for blending artistic flourishes into formula pictures. He also forged innovative techniques that relied upon symbolic images to show the story rather than tell it with wordy dialogue. Young's book illustrates how integral he was in woman's pictures. Clarence Brown coaxed fascinating performances from Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy and many other women. Young's book is an important contribution to film studies. Add it to your collection.
Adela Rogers St Johns was a triple threat at the typewriter. She was a reporter, screenwriter, and novelist. In this episode, I talk about the time her boss, William Randolph Heart, asked her to debate the leader of a woman's club on the question 'Is the Modern Woman a Failure?' One of her best screenplays, The Red Kimona, from 1925, feels like a modern treatment of the 18th century sentimental novel, which taught women how to wise up to male seduction. I also compare her novel The Single Standard with the screen adaptation, starring Greta Garbo from 1929. Adela's long writing career, one of the most influential in American media, began when she was only a teenager and stretched into her eighties. She was a sass mouth dame for the ages.
Rene Clair's modern fable depicts Veronica Lake as a sass mouth dame who would no more wait for a man to make the first move than she would take a bus when she can fly on a broomstick. Forget Lake's noir femme fatales. She was born to be a comedian. Her bit of business with the matches in this picture never fails to be marvellous. I close the episode with an excerpt from an interview with Rene Clair.
Once the production code forced its hand and censored what sass mouth dames said on screen in 1934, subversive material popped up oddly enough in Hollywood musicals. Set in tune, women might complain about double standards, and they confessed their heart's desire. They could sing what they could not say. In Fox's lush colour extravaganza, Carmen gives voice to woman's sexual ecstasy with her song 'South American Way'. Betty Grable puts her fantasy into a melody for Don Ameche. Then she flies 6000 miles for a hook up. Down Argentine Way celebrates women's sexual agency.
Dr Jennifer O'Meara (@J_OMeara_), film lecturer from Trinity College Dublin, joins me to discuss a classic Hollywood tale about the pursuit of fame. Lana doesn't receive top-billing, but she should have. Sign us up for an alarm clock by way of perfume spritzer. Also, Adrian's costumes are a stand-out as both spectacle and a means of complementing character and plot. You can find Ziegfeld Girl online.
Good stories are made to be remade in Hollywood. Vincent Sherman updates The Letter (1929 and 1940) in context of the post-war divorce trend. Women like Eve Arden's character had their fill of sacrifice and home fires burning, and instead, filled proceedings and threw a cocktail party to celebrate. Eve Arden protects the ethos of woman's pictures amidst the noir and patriotic traditions. Instead of a husband, she chooses a cute roof-top flat with a view. I conclude with a short passage from Vincent Sherman's Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director.
Stereotypes about 'good' and 'bad' women are dismissed in Cabin in the Sky(1943) through stylish turns in costume and musical numbers. The all African-American production makes it possible to draw similar conclusions about racial stereotypes. Vincente Minnelli's directorial debut was a star vehicle for Lena Horne, but the picture also claims success through the nuanced performance of Ethel Waters. Ethel Waters plays a woman with a hotline to the lord as well as the ability to perform a nightclub song about female sexual desire. I close the episode with an excerpt from Lena by Lena Horne.
Marion Davies could have done this picture in her sleep, since she had plenty of experience onscreen playing a woman who has a makeover and wins the man she loves. After two grifters doctor a composite photo of leading studio glamour queens (Garbo, Harlow, Dietrich, and Francis), Marion assumes the role with less fuss than it took to apply her eyelashes. The supporting cast are the best from Warner Brothers. I close the episode with Marion talking about when she left MGM to make Page Miss Glory, her first picture with Warner Brothers.
Man-Proof could describe the women of MGM's lot who resisted the studio executive efforts to divide and conquer women with type-casting politics. This woman's picture is a standout because it gives Myrna Loy a chance to be bitchy and sullen, rather than playing the wife. And I say Glory Be to that. Also, Rosalind Russell's wedding veil is a design marvel. I end the episode with a passage from Myrna's memoir about when she asked for more money in her contract and they tried to humiliate her. She raised hell in response.
1932 was a banner year for platinum blondes, but none dazzled more than the ethereal glow Mae West cast with white hair, a lavish gown from Travis Banton, and dripping with her own diamonds. In her first screen role, Mae West wrote her own material and set the bar very high for sass mouth dames set loose in a nightclub. She's modern, funny, and a total sex bomb. I close the episode with an excerpt from her juicy autobiography 'Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It'.
More than any other actor in classic Hollywood, Jean Arthur showed audiences the inner workings of her moral compass When goodness flew out the window, Jean Arthur shines as a woman trying to do her level best. In this classic screwball comedy, Jean embodies the contradictions of modern life, playing a woman in a sable coat who can't afford the price of a good dinner. At the end, I read a brief passage from interviews with director Mitch Leisen and his right hand, Eleanor Broder.
Unfairly branded as one of the stars who couldn't make the transition to sound, Pola Negri was in desperate need of a hit when she went to Germany in 1935 to make the film. Pola delivered her greatest triumph in talking pictures, with a gut-wrenching performance of a singer on trial for killing a composer. Unfortunately, Jack Warner bought the rights and suppressed her film, so no one in Hollywood saw it. The episode concludes with a passage from Pola Negri's 'Memoirs of a Star'.
One of the most durable storylines in a woman's picture explores the search for a fresh start. Can women leave their past behind and start over? What happens when Baxter tries to move from being a madame in a brothel to a lady? Add in swoon merchant Rock Hudson, Julie Adams as a bitchy rich girl, and baby Natalie Wood and you have exquisite melodrama. I close the episode with an excerpt from Anne Baxter's smart and hilarious memoir 'Intermission', about the time when she left Hollywood to start over in the Australian Outback.
Lifelong friends, the rapport between Joan and Glenda translated to their onscreen work together in eight films. In five masterclass scenes, they become the ultimate tricksters, serving court summons to witless men who only see two hot blondes. I close the episode with an article Joan Blondell wrote in 1936, 'My Pal Glenda'.
Gloria Swanson was no stranger to ruthless men. She was crafty and figured out how to get permission for a banned production. Later, she fought the studio moguls who tried to stop her. Let it be said the bastards couldn't keep a good woman down. I close the episode with an excerpt from her memoir Swanson on Swanson, which tells the story of real conversion in Gloria's life, when she became an advocate of natural food for wellness.
For episode 20, I'm pleased to welcome my first guest, Matt Harris, an archivist and hardcore Joan Crawford fan (@Glamorous_Matt on Twitter). We disregard the lukewarm critical reception and celebrate one of Joan's best films from her tenure in Warner Bros. Anyone who insists on calling Joan too old for the part should remember her character's salvo 'You just wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to dispose of a dead elephant'.
Although she takes third billing, Mayo Methot shines as the true star of Vanity Street (1932). With the face of a Pre-Code angel, she runs the gamut from hard as nails to raw vulnerability. Gertrude Purcell’s riveting script illustrates how quickly fortunes turn when your name lights up Broadway. This picture—a true gem—doesn’t receive half as much attention as it should. The episode concludes with a passage from Bogart, by Ann Sperber and Eric Lax.
Instead of glass slippers and a poofy ball gown, Claudette Colbert receives a trunk full of glamorous clothes from her fairy godfather, played by John Barrymore. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder offer a modern update to the classic Cinderella fairy tale. They replace the old standby wicked stepmother and evil spawn with a formidable high society adversary played by Mary Astor. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, it’s an outstanding pictures from one of the most celebrated years in Hollywood history. I close the episode with an excerpt from Mary Astor’s memoir A Life on Film.
Ava Gardner saves this picture. There's no question that without her, it would have gone down in the annals of cringeworthy productions. Forget about the Spanish Civil War and a bounty on priests. Instead, read this picture as an allegory for how Hollywood wasted her in simple sexy dame parts. At the end, I read a brief passage from Mearene Jordan's book Living with Miss G. Mearene lived with Ava for decades as her friend and personal assistant.
Joan Bennett demonstrates that ignoring a man can be as effective as having an expert sass mouth. Her natural champagne blonde hair suits the icy character she plays. George Raft exhibits more range here than in any other film of his career. He cracks jokes, sings, and tries to be worthy of Joan Bennett. I close the episode with an excerpt from Tay Garnett's memoir Light Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights, which recalls the time when he was hired by Harry Cohn to direct the picture. This one is an overlooked gem.
Olivia de Havilland won her first Oscar for Best Actress in Mitchell Leisen's drama about unrequited mother love. Through attention to detail of the period and emotional finesse in underplay, the picture explores the way women carried on despite personal sacrifice. Olivia's performance has so much depth and nuance that she never renders the character as simply a noble cardboard cutout. The episode ends with a portion from an interview with de Havilland, Leisen and John Lund.
Barbara Stanwyck once told a reporter 'I hate whiners. You have to fight life and make it work for you'. When she yells blue murder at a man onscreen, it serves as an instant mood elevator and restores order to the universe. In The Gay Sisters, Stanwyck protects her sisters from a pack of men who wish to rob them of their land. Irving Rapper's picture blends comedy and drama for another standout picture in Stanwyck's long career. I close the episode with an excerpt from Victoria Wilson's extraordinary biography Steel True.
Mitchell Leisen’s Lady in the Dark (1944) may rate as one of the most troubled productions in Hollywood history, but none of the backstage drama translates to the finished picture. Ginger Rogers exhibits so much range in her role as a fashion magazine editor who has a psychological breakdown when she suddenly can’t make a decision. In the middle of her crisis, Ray Milland, as the head of advertising, lobs insults and competes for her job as the boss. Dream sequences include snappy dance numbers and out of this world costumes. I close Ep 13 reading interviews with cast and crew members collected by David Chierchetti in his book Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director.
What do you do when your lover sells you into the sex trade? If you are Kay Francis, you become ‘Spot White’ and learn how to use men to gain freedom. In Mandalay, from 1934, directed by Michael Curtiz, Kay Francis becomes ‘Spot White’ and develops coping strategies to survive the fate Ricardo Cortez consigned her to in the beginning, all while wearing exquisite designs by Orry-Kelly. A bad penny always turns up, and sure enough, she crosses paths with her inconstant lover. Ricardo Cortez receives his comeuppance, but this episode is spoiler-free. I finish with an excerpt from 'Kay Francis ‘I Can’t Wait to Be Forgotten’: Her Life on Film and Stage' by Scott O’Brien, which summarises the awful treatment she received from Warner Brothers at the end of her contract.
Marlene Dietrich, as glamorous Concha Perez, carries on the Pre-Code tradition of emptying men's pockets. In her last of seven pictures with von Sternberg, Marlene lives by her wits, beauty and charm to stay ten steps ahead of men. I close the episode reading from Marlene by Marlene Dietrich, about when she tried to turn her blue eyes black for the production.
After her father tossed her on the street, Anna Lucasta, played by Eartha Kitt, does her level best to survive a waterfront hellscape. When her family attempts a reunion to marry her off to a greenhorn with a fortune, Anna struggles with society's expectations and her own dream for love. I close the episode with an excerpt from Kitt's memoir 'Confessions of a Sex Kitten,' where she recalls first meeting co-star Sammy Davis Jr.
In this Gothic tale, Ida Lupino plays a housekeeper who manipulates the lady of the house, a former chorine played by Isobel Elsom, into letting her two 'eccentric' sisters stay for a prolonged visit. A large bread oven sits in the parlour like Chekhov's gun. This episode is spoiler-free.
At the end, I read Ida Lupino's essay 'Me, Mother Directress' from the book Hollywood Directors 1941-1976, edited by Richard Koszarski, published in 1977.
In The Joyless Street (1925), Pabst overlaps the stories of three desperate women to highlight the post-war catastrophe in Vienna during 1921. In a climate of scarcity and exploitation, women are appraised and traded like any piece of meat in a butcher's shop. The director asks us to consider what value morality has when people starve. While the men speculate on stocks with reckless abandon, women worry about feeding the family and paying the bills.
I close the episode with a brief passage from Garbo by Barry Paris.
Susan Hayward learns that fortunes turn on a dress. She makes her debut in New York City in a dress that screams 'Boise'. If not for stiff competition from Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress, Hayward would have won the Oscar for Best Actress in her stirring portrayal. I close the episode with a brief passage from Beverly Linet's bio Susan Hayward: Portrait of a Survivor.
Ann Dvorak plays a character who inherited her mother's bad reputation. On the run from the law, and down on her luck, she falls for a fast-talking reporter played by Lee Tracy. Molly Louvain side-steps a romantic triangle to present a woman who draws strength from forgiveness to do the right thing. I close the episode with a brief excerpt from Christina Rice's biography Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel.
William Wyler's modern fairy tale charms viewers at every turn. Margaret Sullavan looks like a Dickensian waif but carries a deep woodsy voice that makes her a standout. I close the episode with an excerpt about their romance during production that led to nuptials, from Jan Herman's bio 'A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler.'
Joan Crawford demonstrates how women can remain relevant in middle age through high standards and a champion work ethic. I discuss Torch Song (1953) and then read an excerpt from A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford.
In a standout script from Anita Loos, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable play scam artists who fall in love and then separate when a plan goes sour. Loos shakes up the usual sexual competition between two women in film to create allies instead of rivals. Stay tuned at the end when I share choice excerpts from Today is Tonight, the novel Harlow wrote in 1933. It's smoking hot.
Lana Turner gives an outstanding performance in George Cukor's picture about a small-town girl who becomes a top model. But what happens after you get what you want? Ann Dvorak delivers an earth-shaking depiction as the ghost of modelling past. The episode closes with an excerpt from Turner's memoir about the production.
Miriam Hopkins stars in this elegant screwball classic. She plays a starving architect who falls for Joel McCrea. Miriam always let you know when her characters were gasping for it, and she could make a Peter Pan collar look as sexy as a silk bias-cut gown. I close the episode with an excerpt from Vincent Sherman's memoir where he talks about directing Miriam Hopkins and Bette Davis in Old Acquaintance (1943).