Dorothy Arzner
Throughout film history, the amount of female voices within the industry were always outweighed by that of their male counterparts. But this was even more true during the introduction of sound to film in the 20’s. The few female directors that were there in Hollywood we’re dwindeld down to one, the great Dorothy Arzner.
Women in Film In the documentary Fantastic Female Filmmakers it describes a film industry with a predominantly female voice. During the rise of industrialism women gained acquired more income. Because of that they became the largest audience of films in the early 1900’s. Because of that the production companies started hiring more and more female directors in order to legitimize their movies to the women watching…show more content… Her father owned a restaurant frequented by all the big stars of the era. While she argued that this if anything, put a damper on her wish to enter the industry, it is for certain that it opened her eyes to the possibility. As she aged she went into nursing, only to decide to give it up to pursue a career in film. She worked many different low industry jobs until being offered her first directorial spot on Blood and Sand in 1922. Arzner’s film career spans from 1919 to 1943, making her the only woman to make the transition from silent film to sound film.
Arzner’s directorial career lasted 19 years. And in nearly two decades she managed to create 21 movies. Although her career had more flops than successes, her movies like Dance Girl Dance and Working Girls are still popular films that still can forge a connection with an audience today. And her topics were so progressive that they are still relevant to modern women.
Arzner’s Success As an LGBQT…show more content… She was well known for her suits and otherwise manly styles. Which while now wearing pants isn’t exactly the symbol of a out lesbian, back at the peak of her career this was the wide held belief. She has become an LGBQT icon now-a-days due to the thought that she may or may not have been an out-and-proud lesbian in a time where that was not something to be spoken of. In addition to have been successful in her field on top of that. And as Judith Mayner argues in her book Directed by Dorothy Arzner, “Being a woman and a “woman’s director” is a little like being a lesbian: one is assumed to be a woman acting like a man acting like a woman.”
Although within the Hollywood community her lesbianism seemed very open, it seems that to the general public it was pushed aside and not focused on for the fear of it ruining her career. There we’re rumors of her various female partners though out her years, mainly actress’s and such. But her long-term partner that she spent a large portion of her life with, Marion Morgan, was a dancer who clearly was a big influence her films, as many of them either were about dancers, had dance numbers, or supporting characters who were