Howard Hawk Essay

811 Words4 Pages
Howard Hawks is one of the best known directors of the Classical Hollywood Cinema era. He was best known economically, as he didn’t require much money for his films because he knew exactly where to edit, therefore, leaving him to depend mostly on the actors. He loved to make movies about tough guys coping with existential threats. Although this is true, he didn’t limit himself to one type of genre. Hawks took in gangster films, screwball comedy, the musical, action film, and so many other genres as he began to make them his own. His style, vision, and edits had an effect on the viewer that caused them to be taken in by the film. In the midst of his career, Hawks gained a new view on women and how he thought they should be portrayed in film.…show more content…
He saw her as extraordinary as she had everything that he idealized and wanted in a woman. Slim knew how to dress, she hung out with the tough guys, smoked, drank, but still she was a lovely feminine lady. She used profanity often, but yet she still held up her image. Hawks adored her traits and bad habits, and he wanted to put more women like Slim in his films. This led to the creation of the Hawksian woman. Hawksian women were known to be beautiful, fearless, and spunky. These were women that supported themselves, both financially and emotionally. They also spoke their minds and were able to keep up with their men co-stars. The nickname (Hawksian) signifies that a woman is able to equally or somewhat untraditionally join the men. Not only did they join men, but they were also accepted to do so. Hawks finally found the perfect actress to adapt the traits of his wife and take on the title of a Hawksian woman. This young lady was known as Lauren Bacall. Hawks had the three of them meet so that Lauren could prepare herself for the role she was about to take on, and to also borrow some of Slim’s clothes to look the part. Lauren Bacall played the character of Betty in Howard Hawks’ film, “To Have and Have Not”. Hawks gave her instructions to imitate his

More about Howard Hawk Essay

Open Document