Woman with a Movie Camera

The Wild Party

+ intro by season curator Caroline Cassin

Arzner invents the boom mic on the set of her first talkie.

  • Director

    Dorothy Arzner

  • With

    Clara Bow, Fredric March, Marceline Day, Jack Oakie

  • USA 1929. 72min

  • 35mm

The first talkie for both Arzner and Clara Bow, then Paramount’s biggest star, further cemented Arzner’s reputation for innovation after she fashioned the first boom microphone – using a fishing rod! Bow dazzles as college student Stella, a party girl who is as compassionate as she is passionate, as she navigates friendship and romance. The Wild Party proved Arzner could turn a conventional flapper story into a lively analysis of the trappings of traditional gender roles.

+ The Wild Party party

To celebrate our Dorothy Arzner season, on 13 February we invite you to the ultimate prohibition party this Galentine’s Day. Party like it’s 1929 as we bring you a decadent evening of unbounded revelry and subversive femininity.

35mm preservation print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Woman with a Movie Camera is generously supported by Jane Stanton.

See other screenings of The Wild Party.

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