Dorothy
Arzner
ca.1897-1979
Dorothy Arzner grew up in L.A., the daughter of middle-class restaurateurs. She entered the film industry in 1919 as a typist, after meeting director William DeMille in the volunteer ambulance corps. Soon she was a script girl (in men's clothes), then a film cutter, then chief editor (52 films). In the directing career that followed, she was respected in Hollywood for her competence in all aspects of her trade (artistic, technical, and financial), and for her knack as a "star-maker" for actresses. She valued collaboration but always insisted on getting her way, and she left Hollywood due to various professional clashes that occurred as the studio system shifted control from directors to producers. She did few projects in the mass media after 1943 (most notably a series of commercials for Pepsi), and spent the rest of her life with partner Marion Morgan. There has been a renewed interest in her films since the 1970's, and modern film criticism recognizes a particular focus on strong female characters in her work.
films
Fashions
for Women (1927)
Ten Modern Commandments (1927)
Get Your Man (1927)
Manhattan Cocktail (1928)
The Wild Party (1929)
Sarah and Son (1930)
Anybody's Woman (1930)
Honor Among Lovers (1931)
Working Girls (1931)
Merrily We Go To Hell (1932)
Christopher Strong (1933)
Nana (1934)
Craig's Wife (1936)
The Bride Wore Red (1937)
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
First Comes Courage (1943)
links
The Director's View Film Festival: The Dorothy
Arzner Prize
Zoetrope Virtual Studio: The Dorothy
Arzner Theater
The Internet Movie Database: Biography for Dorothy
Arzner
QueerTheory.com: Dorothy
Arzner
Women in American History (Encyclopedia Britannica): Dorothy
Arzner
Amazon.com: "Directed by Dorothy Arzner" by Judith Mayne
Google search for "Dorothy
Arzner"