Dorothy Arzner (1897-1979) was the first woman to direct a film with sound.
All month, we're celebrating Pride. Tune in to hear about amazing members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know -- but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Leading Ladies, Activists, STEMinists, Local Legends, and many more. Encyclopedia Womannica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Encyclopedia Womannica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard and Lindsey Kratochwill. Special thanks to Shira Atkins, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, and Sundus Hassan.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at jenny@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today we are celebrating the first woman to direct a film with sound. Over the course of her career, her role evolved from script typist to film editor to scriptwriter to most notably, director. At a time when women’s opportunities were even more limited behind the camera in Hollywood, this woman defied norms. She became the only woman to compile a substantial catalog of work in the 1930s and 40s. Let’s talk about Dorothy Arzner!
Dorothy Arzner was born on January 3, 1897, in San Francisco, California. At a young age, her parents Jenetter and Louis Arzner moved the family to Los Angeles. Louis owned a restaurant, Hoffman Cafe, a hot spot for famous actors and filmmakers such as Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin, and Mary Pickford, who we’ve previously highlighted on this show. Dorothy spent a great deal of time at the Cafe and was therefore introduced to show biz early on.
After graduating from Westlake School for Girls, Dorothy chose to study medicine at the University of Southern California. During World War I, she worked as an ambulance driver in a local Southern California unit. But her aspirations for a career in medicine ended after she spent a summer working in a surgeon’s office.
Instead, after World War I, Dorothy turned her attention back to the world of show business. It was a time in which every industry needed more workers. Dorothy saw this as her opportunity to break into film. Through a friend, Dorothy was able to get a meeting with the director, William DeMille, who worked for Paramount’s parent company Famous Players-Lasky Corporation.
Due to the newness of the film industry, women were not immediately relegated to assistants or secretaries. In 1919, Dorothy began her film career as a typist in the script department. But there was clearly room for growth. After six months, she advanced to the editing department where she cut approximately 52 movies.
In 1922, while working as an editor, Dorothy was presented with the opportunity to shoot a few scenes and write scripts for the film Blood and Sand. It was during this experience that she realized the power of a director. In a later, 1977, interview, she said “If one was going to be in this movie business, one should be a director because he was the one who told everyone else what to do. In fact, he was the ‘whole works.’”
Dorothy wanted to be the whole works.
After threatening to quit and take her talents to a rival company, Columbia Pictures, Dorothy convinced Paramount executive and producer Walter Wanger to give her a directing job on a major picture. In 1927, Dorothy directed her first film Fashions For Women, a silent comedy featuring movie star Esther Ralston. That same year, she directed two more silent films, Ten Modern Commandments and Get Your Man.
Around that time, Dorothy began dating her longtime partner Marion Morgan. Dorothy made no efforts to hide her sexuality, but also never spoke publicly about it. On set donned in skirt suits and pantsuits, she flirted with her leading ladies. Dorothy and Marion maintained a 40-year relationship peppered with affairs conducted between Dorothy and several actresses, allegedly including Joan Crawford, Billie Burke, and Alla Nazimova.
In 1929, Dorothy transitioned to talking pictures with the film The Wild Party. The movie featured Clara Bow who played a popular, loud-mouthed student at an all-female college who has a crush on one of her teachers. It was Bow’s first talking movie, so she was awkward and uncomfortable moving around with bulky sound equipment. As a quick fix, Dorothy attached a microphone to the end of a fishing rod, subsequently inventing the boom microphone. That said, she is not always credited as the inventor because Dorothy did not patent the invention.
This movie further solidified Dorothy’s reputation for directing pieces centered around bold and independent female characters. Her leading ladies were often lauded and awarded for their strong performances in these roles.
In the 1930s, Dorothy directed Honor Among Lovers, Christopher Strong, Craig’s Wife, and The Bride Wore Red. All four films tell unconventional love stories with queer subtext involving female protagonists in love triangles or illicit affairs. Her stars, including Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, and Lucille Ball, got to play complex, intellectual women who often found themselves having to be brave and self-determined when faced with moral dilemmas.
Dorothy’s directorial talents were recognized in 1936 when she became the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America.
Her most acclaimed film Dance, Girl, Dance, was released in 1940. It starred Lucille Ball as a risque burlesque dancer and Maureen O’Hara as an elegant ballerina. The two strike up an unlikely friendship and compete for the spotlight as well as for the attention of the same male suitor, all while trying to preserve their integrity. The movie became known as a feminist film, commenting on the dynamic nature of female relationships, social mobility, and the male gaze. In an iconic monologue, O’Hara’s character stops in the middle of her performance to call out the objectification of women.
Dorothy directed her final film, First Comes Courage in 1943. She did not know this would be her final film. She fell ill with pneumonia and was bedridden for more than a year. When she regained her health, it was difficult to return to the industry. The societal changes that came after World War II resulted in Hollywood turning into more of an old boys club. Women were not offered as many opportunities as before and Dorothy decided to leave the business. During her directorial years, Dorothy directed 20 films.
She pivoted to teaching filmmaking, first at the Pasadena Playhouse and later at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. One of her students was distinguished filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, director of “The Godfather”. During the 1950s, Dorothy worked as the entertainment and publicity consultant for Pepsi. At the time, Joan Crawford was married to the chairman of Pepsi and was able to get Dorothy hired as the director for over 50 TV commercials for the soda company.
Dorothy officially retired in 1965 and lived quietly for the rest of her life in La Quinta, California.
On October 1, 1979, Dorothy died at the age of 82.
All month, we’re celebrating Pride.
For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, check out our newsletter Womannica Weekly.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @encyclopediawomannica.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!