A League of Her Own: The Cinema of Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was a technical and thematic visionary who defied gender dichotomies both on and off the screen.
‘Isn’t it wonderful that you’ve had such a great career, when you had no right to have a career at all?’
– A telegram from Katharine Hepburn, cabled during a Directors Guild of America tribute to Dorothy Arzner in 1975
Dorothy Arzner worked her way up the ranks of Hollywood: from typist to screenwriter and cutter to editor, finally becoming the only woman directing within the studio system. Her films were multifaceted revisions of Hollywood norms, paying sharp attention to the intersection of women’s working and romantic lives. Her protagonists were snappy and headstrong, subverting traditional gender roles on a mission to determine their own identity. She made stars out of Rosalind Russell, Lucille Ball and Katharine Hepburn, and lived openly with her creative partner Marion Morgan for over 40 years. Her legacy of technical innovations is embedded in the fundamentals of filmmaking, which she later taught to students at UCLA. This season celebrates a film pioneer who, despite quitting Hollywood 80 years ago, remains its most prolific woman director.
Caroline Cassin, season curator
With thanks to
Events
UK Premiere: Dorothy Arzner: Pioneer, Queer, Feminist + panel discussion
The UK premiere of a new documentary about Dorothy Arzner, followed by an illustrated panel discussion looking at the life, loves and legacy of Hollywood’s most prolific woman director.
Philosophical Screens: Dance, Girl, Dance
Join our regular film philosophers for a discussion about one of Dorothy Arzner’s best-known films.
Season programme
Blood and Sand
Arzner’s first ‘big picture’ as an editor was also her first directing opportunity.
Sarah and Son
Arzner’s signature ubiquitously shines in this heart-wrenching melodramatic tale.
Paramount on Parade
Paramount’s revue offers a lavish snapshot of a studio in transition from silent to sound.
Anybody’s Woman
Arzner offers a shrewd portrait of gendered class dynamics with this quintessentially pre-Code film.
Honor Among Lovers
Claudette Colbert is caught between two men in Arzner’s cynical play on sex and class.
Working Girls
Arzner’s favourite film had to battle with censors over its explicit treatment of pregnancy.
Merrily We Go to Hell
Arzner’s radical tragicomedy was way ahead of its time, tackling addiction and non-monogamy.
Christopher Strong
Katherine Hepburn captivates in Arzner’s critique of marriage and gender inequality.
Christopher Strong + intro by season curator Caroline Cassin
Katherine Hepburn captivates in Arzner’s critique of marriage and gender inequality.
Nana
Arzner intertwines the worlds of performance and sexuality, in her only film to directly address prostitution.
The Bride Wore Red
Arzner’s sleek romcom is infused with biting insight, exposing the pretence of high society.
Dance, Girl, Dance
Arzner lambasts the male gaze in her backstage study of friendship, ambition and jealousy.
Dance, Girl, Dance + intro by academic Lucy Bolton
Arzner lambasts the male gaze in her backstage study of friendship, ambition and jealousy.
First Comes Courage
Arzner bows out of Hollywood, flipping the conventions of the war genre.
Woman with a Movie Camera
Silent Cinema
Get Your Man + panel discussion on Dorothy Arzner’s silent films
Arzner and Bow’s first collaboration is a triumphant celebration of female sexuality.
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