Directed by Dorothy Arzner

Judith Mayne (Author)

9780253208965

Paperback / softback, published 22 January 1995

210 pages, 62 b&w photos
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.6 cm, 0.399 kg

Dorothy Arzner was the exception in Hollywood film history—the one woman who succeeded as a director, in a career that spanned three decades. In Part One, Dorothy Arzner's film career—her work as a film editor to her directorial debut, to her departure from Hollywood in 1943—is documented, with particular attention to Arzner's roles as "star-maker" and "woman's director." In Part Two, Mayne analyzes a number of Arzner's films and discusses how feminist preoccupations shape them, from the women's communities central to Dance, Girl, Dance and The Wild Party to critiques of the heterosexual couple in Christopher Strong and Craig's Wife. Part Three treats Arzner's lesbianism and the role that desire between women played in her career, her life, and her films.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I
The Cinderella Girl of the Movies
1. Apprenticeship
2. Successes and Failures
3. The Independent
4. After Hollywood
Part II
Films for Women Made by Women
5. Working Girls
6. Odd Couples
7. Dance, Girls, Dance
Part III
Girl Director Sets New Standards of Beauty
8. Looking for Dorothy
Conclusion: Lesbian Detection
Notes
Filmography
Index