Dorothy Arzner
Nacimiento : 1897-01-03, San Francisco, California, USA
Muerte : 1979-10-01
Historia
Directora de cine norteamericana nacida en San Francisco. Creció rodeada de figuras del cine, que solían pasar por el café que llevaba su padre fue, por ejemplo, compañera de juegos de Charles Chaplin. Tras ser conductora de ambulancia durante la primera guerra mundial y dejar la universidad, se puso a trabajar como tipógrafa de guiones. Poco a poco aumentó su status y experiencia, tras cortar y editar 52 películas, llegó a convertirse en directora, en 1927. Se hizo un nombre en la meca del cine como editora de la mítica película de Rodolfo Valentino “Sangre y Arena” donde introduce por primera vez, gracias al “inntercutting” la alternancia de las secuencias grabadas para la película con imágenes de archivo (lo que ahorrará miles de dólares a los estudios). Su poco renombre no es merecido, fue ella quien, en 1929, tuvo la idea de colgar un micrófono en una caña de pescar e inventar así la jirafa. Entre 1927 y 1943 dirigió 18 películas, entre ellas, The Wild Party y Craig’s Wife.
Herself (archive footage)
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.
Director
Merle Oberon plays a Norwegian resistance figure in a small town, married to a Nazi commandant. When his superiors begin to suspect her, the Allies land an assassin to kill him -- an assassin who happens to be her former lover.
Director
Judy O'Brien forma parte de un grupo de baile y aspira a dedicarse al ballet clásico. Bubbles, compañera suya deja el grupo para centrarse en la comedia. Cuando el grupo se deshace, Bubbles le ofrece a Judy un ingrato trabajo: ser la telonera de su espectáculo.
Director
A poor singer in a bar masquerades as a rich society woman thanks to a rich benefactor.
Director
A chic jewel thief in England falls in love with one of her marks.
Director
Harriet, Walter Craig's wife, is an upper-class woman obsessed with control, material possessions and social status whose behavior makes difficult her relationship with domestic service and family members.
Director
Nana (Anna Sten) es una joven que sueña con triunfar en el mundo del espectáculo. Por ese motivo trabaja sin descanso en París. Un día tiene un golpe de fortuna, y un admirador suyo se decide a crear una revista musical donde Nana sea la única estrella. Esto le lanza a la fama, y pronto se ve rodeada de numerosos fans, que están ansiosos por conocerla en persona. Entre sus admiradores están el veterano Gran Duque Alexis, y un joven galán con quien no tarda en iniciar un romance. Pero el hermano mayor de su amante también anda enamorado de Nana, y los celos se cruzan en su camino. El Gran Duque se entera de la relación de Nana con el joven teniente, y destina a éste a un peligroso emplazamiento en Argelia. Nana, desesperada y presionada por el Gran Duque, abandona el espectáculo y se refugia en los brazos del hermano mayor de su antiguo amante. Un tiempo después, éste regresa de Argelia para luchar contra los prusianos.
Director
En una fiesta, el parlamentario Sir Christopher Strong, un hombre casado, conoce a la elegante piloto de avión Lady Cynthia Darrington. Al principio, su trato es inocente pero poco a poco empiezan una relación que afectará la felicidad matrimonial del parlamentario y las carreras profesionales de ambos.
Director
Un escritor alcohólico se dispone a estrenar su primera obra en Broadway, pero le conlleva tanto trabajo que le crea problemas matrimoniales...
Director
Two sisters from Indiana, the wide-eyed and innocent Mae Thorpe, and her sister June, more streetwise, move into the Rolf House for Homeless Girls in New York. With June's help, Mae obtains a job as a stenographer for scientist Joseph von Schraeder, while June gets work as a telegraph operator at Western Union.
Director
Jerry Stafford falls for his secretary, Julia Traynor, but instead she marries a shady character who causes trouble for both of them.
Director
A lawyer, left by his wife gets drunk and marries a chorus girl, or so he learns the morning after.
Director
Una serie de números musicales interpretados por estrellas bajo contrato de la Paramount, haciendo cosas que nunca habían hecho en sus películas habituales.
Director
A ne'er-do-well husband, after years of abusing his wife, disappears with their son, and winds up selling him to a wealthy family. Years later, the wife, now a world-famous opera singer, finally has enough time and money to begin a search for him.
Director
Gardoni, a down-on-his-luck vaudeville performer, is taken in by a fellow performer, a clown who has a bicycle riding act. Gardoni shows his appreciation by stealing the clown's act and his girlfriend, whom he marries.
Director
Charming Sinners was a stilted adaptation of Somerset Maugham's play The Constant Wife. Robert Miles (Clive Brook) starts the ball rolling when he falls in love with Anne-Marie Whitley (Mary Nolan), the best friend of his own wife Kathryn (Ruth Chatterton). In retaliation, Kathryn begins a flirtation with her former boyfriend Karl Kraley (William Powell). After reels and reels of verbal fencing, the status quo is re-established, and Robert and Kathryn are reunited.
Director
Wild girls at a college pay more attention to parties than their classes. But when one party girl, Stella Ames, goes too far at a local bar and gets in trouble, her professor has to rescue her. Gossip linking the two escalates until Stella proves she is decent by shielding an innocent girl and winning the professor's respect.
Director
Nancy Carroll stars in Manhattan Cocktail as Babs, a college coed who dreams of becoming a famous actress. Joining up with her campus chums Fred (Richard Arlen) and Bob (Danny O'Shea), likewise aspiring thespians, Babes heads to Broadway with stars in her eyes. The winsome threesome are quickly disillusioned by the heartless machinations of nasty producer Renov (Paul Lukas) and his harridan wife (Lilyan Tashman). Before the plot proper gets under way, the audience is regaled with a cute "mythological" prologue, featuring the same three leading actors. Manhattan Cocktail was a silent picture, except for two brief musical numbers showcasing Nancy Carroll.
Director
A young American girl in Paris falls in love with a handsome nobleman, but he is about to wed in an arranged marriage. She hatches a plan to overcome that obstacle and get her man.
Director
A chorus girl falls in love with a budding composer.
Director
Celeste de Givray is renowned throughout Europe as the most beautiful and best-dressed model in all Paris. Her press agent DuPont concocts an attention-getting publicity scheme by having Celeste undergo cosmetic surgery, then unveiling her "new" face at a posh fashion show. But thanks to a delay in the surgery, DuPont is forced to hired a substitute for Celeste, a look-alike American girl named Lulu Dooley
Editor
En 1797 se produjo la botadura del "Constitución", una de las primeras fragatas estadounidenses diseñada, en principio, para acabar con la tiranía de los piratas berberiscos, que asolaban los mares y exigían tributo a las naciones. A partir de este dato histórico, se mezcla la ficción: un joven de Salem trata de embarcar en el "Constitución", pero por el camino encontrará a un par de lobos de mar embaucadores. Los tres, por distintas vías, se reunirán en una nave que, sin proponérselo, seguirá la estela del "Constitución".
Adaptation
A woman is abandoned by her lover and prostitution is the only way she has to survive.
Editor
Inez Laranotta is an actress who is notorious for her vamp roles and for the wild parties she attends. But images are deceiving -- the parties (and police raids) are staged by Inez's press agent, and she is actually very devoted to her innocent younger sister, Fay Bartholdi.
Writer
Inez Laranotta is an actress who is notorious for her vamp roles and for the wild parties she attends. But images are deceiving -- the parties (and police raids) are staged by Inez's press agent, and she is actually very devoted to her innocent younger sister, Fay Bartholdi.
Editor
A wannabe film star journeys to Hollywood, but soon finds his dreams do not pan out.
Editor
Two wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and Indian attack. To complicate matters further, a love triangle develops, as pretty Molly must chose between Sam, a brute, and Will, the dashing captain of the other caravan. Can Will overcome the skeleton in his closet and win Molly's heart?
Assistant Director
Juan es el hijo de una pobre viuda sevillana y, a pesar de eso, conseguirá llegar a ser un gran torero, reconocido en todo el país. En su ascendente carrera conocerá y se casará con Carmen, una mujer honrada, bella y casta. Pero toda su suerte se truncará con la aparición de la hija del Marqués de Guevara, Doña Sol, que será capaz de hacer cambiar sus convicciones y arrastrarlo a una pasión desenfrenada que pondrá en peligro su reputación.
Editor
Juan es el hijo de una pobre viuda sevillana y, a pesar de eso, conseguirá llegar a ser un gran torero, reconocido en todo el país. En su ascendente carrera conocerá y se casará con Carmen, una mujer honrada, bella y casta. Pero toda su suerte se truncará con la aparición de la hija del Marqués de Guevara, Doña Sol, que será capaz de hacer cambiar sus convicciones y arrastrarlo a una pasión desenfrenada que pondrá en peligro su reputación.
