The Women Who Run Hollywood

Julia Kuperberg
2016-05-16


7
52 min

The first talkie was directed by Alice Guy, the first color film was produced by Lois Weber, who directed more than 300 films over 10 years. Frances Marion wrote screenplays for the Hollywood Star Mary Pickford and won two Oscars, Dorothy Arzner was the most powerful film director in Hollywood. And what do all of them have in common? They are all women and they have all been forgotten. Incredibly, it also took until 2010 for the first woman, Kathryn Bigelow, to win the Oscar for Best Director. Even if underrepresented women have always played a big part in Hollywood and it is this part of the film history left untold that this documentary sets out to uncover.

Cast

Name Character Team
Paula Wagner Self Unowned
Lynda Obst Self Unowned
Robin Swicord Self Unowned
Ally Acker Self Unowned
Cari Beauchamp Self Unowned
Margaret Booth Self (archive footage) Unowned
Lillian Gish Self (archive footage) Unowned
Alice Guy-Blaché Self (archive footage) Unowned
Lois Weber Self (archive footage) Unowned
Frances Marion Self (archive footage) Unowned
Mary Pickford Self (archive footage) Unowned
Anita Loos Self (archive footage) Unowned
Ida Lupino Self (archive footage) Unowned
Edith Head Self (archive footage) Unowned
Dorothy Arzner Self (archive footage) Unowned
June Mathis Self (archive footage) Unowned
Mabel Normand Self (archive footage) Unowned
Mae West Self (archive footage) Unowned
Virginia Van Upp Self (archive footage) Unowned
Sherry Lansing Self (archive footage) Unowned