“Prologue: This picture takes place in Paris in those wonderful days when a siren was a brunette and not an alarm – and if a Frenchman turned out the light it was not on account of an air raid!” “Garbo Talks!” hailed ads when popular…
In 1924, MGM was formed by a merger of Louis B. Mayer’s Metro Pictures Company with the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation. Under Mayer’s influence, MGM productions were characterized by elaborate sets, gorgeous costuming and pretty girls. Such pictures as Ben-Hur, Grand Hotel and The Good Earth…
I wrote this essay several years ago as part of a course I took on women directors. Since the essay was submitted, women have made some strides in the movie industry. The most significant being Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Best Director’ Academy Award win for The Hurt…
