Nobody's Girl Friday

February 5, 2018
Smyth (Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance) presents a timely study built on detailed research into Golden Age Hollywood. She examines women’s roles in Hollywood from the 1920s up to 1960, challenging second wave feminist ideas of female disempowerment in the industry during this time. The book showcases women in a variety of positions, “from secretaries to stars,” and Smyth argues that “the studio era remains the most important and empowering chapter in women’s employment in the film industry.” Smyth’s effort to “name as many names as possible,” at times creates a roll call effect, hindering reader engagement with the overarching argument. The strongest sections focus more intently on specific people, both famous ones, such as the “Fourth Warner Brother,” Bette Davis, who fought both for better roles and for progressive causes like the Equal Rights Amendment, first introduced in 1923, and lesser-known figures like Mary McCall, a screenwriter turned Screen Actors Guild head. Smyth reveals that McCall proved one of the union’s most effective presidents, securing writers’ rights, developing the Motion Picture Relief Fund, and negotiating pay increases during WWII. Smyth’s work stands out as especially meaningful in the era of #MeToo and revived resistance of women in Hollywood to gender inequality.

March 15, 2018

In this carefully researched title, Smyth (history, Univ. of Warwick; Edna Ferber's Hollywood) introduces scores of women who held high-ranking creative and managerial positions in Hollywood during its studio era (1930-50). The author explores their lives, remarkable achievements, and the studio culture in which they operated, while examining the reasons for this phenomenon, from the impact of the war years to an increased focus on the Equal Rights Amendment. Familiar names appear, including Bette Davis and Ida Lupino, who were versatile producers, writers, and directors in addition to being great actors. Others are not as well remembered: top producer Joan Harrison, award-winning film editor Barbara McLean, and Screen Writers Guild president Mary C. McCall Jr., among them. The incisive analysis of the political, social, and cultural factors that contributed to the end of the era and long-term recognition of these women is thought-provoking. Countless behind-the-scenes anecdotes, an overview of specific studios and productions, and fascinating biographical details are set in an informative historical framework. VERDICT A thorough treatment of a vital and overlooked subject, this fine academic resource will be welcomed by readers with a deep interest in film history.--Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
A history of women who held prominent positions in Hollywood from 1930 to 1950.In a fresh, lively examination of women's places in film history, Smyth (History/ Univ. of Warwick; Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance, 2015, etc.) has uncovered abundant evidence for their significant roles as producers, writers, agents, editors, designers, union leaders, and, of course, performers. Besides focusing on a few well-known actresses--e.g., Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn--the author brings to light scores of women whom many film critics and historians have relegated to "obscure footnotes." By focusing on "director-auteurs and glamorous stars," these critics fail to account for the diverse, collaborative nature of film production. "Nearly two dozen women worked as producers or associate producers," writes Smyth, and more than 60 as film editors. They served on executive committees of the Screen Writers Guild (where they made up a quarter of the membership), the Academy's Board of Governors, and the Women's Press Club, among other organizations. The author identifies many women whose influence was well-known by their contemporaries: in 1938, newspaper columnist Ida Koverman, feisty assistant to Louis B. Mayer at MGM, was "one of the most powerful personages in the entire motion picture industry; when she pulls the strings, world-famous stars dance, like puppets." In 1942, prolific screenwriter Mary C. McCall Jr. was elected as president of the Screen Writers Guild, where she demonstrated "a take-no-prisoners commitment to collective bargaining." Fired from Warner Bros., where she was one of only two women writers, she happily moved to Columbia Pictures, where Harry Cohn eagerly promoted women's careers "at all levels of production." Although the infamous "casting couch" and sexist attitudes posed challenges, the women Smyth profiles "proved that Hollywood was not a man's world and that hard work, mental toughness, and professionalism were not inherently masculine." The studio system offered "a negotiable artistic hierarchy" in which women's perspectives were welcomed and rewarded. Even "classic patriarchs" like Sam Goldwyn admitted "Women Rule Hollywood."An exuberant celebration of empowered women.

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March 1, 2018
History professor Smyth takes a look at Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, when women held positions of power behind the scenes in the booming film industry. The careers of women profiled here run the gamut, from actresses who were influential off camera, as well, such as Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn, to significant but largely forgotten female writers, producers, editors, and costumers who wielded just as much power as their male counterparts. For every recognizable name, such as legendary costume designer Edith Head, there are numerous mentions of women whose contributions have been neglected by historians, such as Mary C. McCall, Jr., a gifted writer and two-time president of the Screen Writers Guild, who saw her career snuffed out by the persecution of Communists, despite the fact that she was a political moderate. Aimed at readers with a knowledge of and keen interest in Hollywood of yesteryear, Smyth's enlightening tome reveals the power and influence women wielded in Tinseltown during the Great Depression, WWII, and the postwar era.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)