Category: When Women Wrote Hollywood

Writers waiting to speak “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing via Instagram

Writers waiting to speak “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing via Instagram

Writers waiting to speak “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing during Citizen Jane Film Festival 2018

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Citizen Jane Film Festival 2018

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  2. Waiting to have their books signed – When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event
  3. At @lakotacoffee Prepping for When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Reading and Signing next door at @skylarkbookshop via Instagram
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  5. Scenes from When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event via My Instagram

When Women Wrote Hollywood – Zoë Akins – 40 in a series

To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch

When Women Wrote Hollywood – Zoë Akins – 40 in a series

When Women Wrote Hollywood - Zoë Akins – 40 in a series

Her first major dramatic work was Papa, written in 1914. The comedy failed even though it greatly impressed both H.L. Menckenand George Jean Nathan,[3] and she continued to write.[4] She followed up with two other plays, The Magical City and Déclassée. The latter play, which starred Ethel Barrymore, was not only a great success but “something of a sensation, and her days of waiting were over.” [5] During this time several of her early plays were adapted for the screen. These adaptations were mostly failures, released as silent films in a time when the industry was transitioning to sound. While some “talkie” stars had notable roles in the films (Walter Pidgeon and a young Clark Gable), most of the films are now believed to be lost. In 1930, Akins had another great success with her play, The Greeks Had a Word For It, a comedy about three models in search of rich husbands [6]

In the early 1930s, Akins became more active in film, writing several screenplays as well as continuing to sell the rights to plays such as The Greeks Had a Word for It(1930), which was adapted for the movies three times, in 1932 (as The Greeks Had a Word for Them), 1938 (as Three Blind Mice), and 1953 (How to Marry a Millionaire). Two highlights of this period were the films Sarah and Son (1930) and Morning Glory (1933), the latter remade as Stage Struck. Both films earned their respective female leads (Ruth Chatterton and Katharine Hepburn) Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (Hepburn won).

In 1935, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her dramatization of Edith Wharton’s The Old Maid, a melodrama set in New York City and written in five episodes stretching across time from 1839 to 1854. The play was adapted for a 1939 film starring Bette Davis.

In 1936, Akins co-wrote the screenplay for Camille, adapted from Alexandre Dumas’s play and novel, La dame aux camélias The film starred Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, and Lionel Barrymore, and earned Garbo her third Oscar nomination. — Wikipedia

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More about Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman

Buy a signed copy of when Women Wrote Hollywood

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library.
Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library

Related posts:

  1. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 9 in a series – A Woman of Affairs (1928), Wr: Michael Arlen and Bess Meredyth, Dir: Clarence Brown
  2. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 13 in a series – The Lying Truth & The Lost World, Wr: Marion Fairfax
  3. When Women Wrote Hollywood – Little Women (1933) – 39 in a series – Wr: Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman
  4. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 8 in a series – Bess Meredyth
  5. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 12 in a series – Marion Fairfax

A Crowd Forms! via Instagram

A Crowd Forms! via Instagram

A Crowd Forms!

“When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing during Citizen Jane Film Festival 2018

Video coming soon!

Follow me on Instagram

Buy a signed copy of when Women Wrote Hollywood

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Citizen Jane Film Festival 2018

Related posts:

  1. Introducing some of the authors for the “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing @skylarkbookshop 
  2. Books for Sale! – When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event via Instagram
  3. Waiting to have their books signed – When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event
  4. Good crowd table read of “Kismet” by Amelia Phillips by A Table Read with Greenhouse Theater Project via Instagram
  5. A morning at @lakotacoffee to start our @citizenjanefilmfestival day! Fun today, work tomorrow! via Instagram

Introducing some of the authors for the “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing @skylarkbookshop 

Introducing some of the authors for the “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing @skylarkbookshop 

Introducing some of the authors for the “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Reading and Signing @skylarkbookshop 

Video coming soon!

Follow me on Instagram

Buy a signed copy of when Women Wrote Hollywood

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

 

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

 

Citizen Jane Film Festival 2018

Related posts:

  1. At @lakotacoffee Prepping for When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Reading and Signing next door at @skylarkbookshop via Instagram
  2. Citizen Jane Film Festival Information and a Mention of “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Book Signing During the Festival
  3. Scenes from When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event via My Instagram
  4. Scenes from When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event
  5. Waiting to have their books signed – When Women Wrote Hollywood Book Launch Event

When Women Wrote Hollywood – Little Women (1933) – 39 in a series – Wr: Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman

To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch

When Women Wrote Hollywood – 38 in a series – Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman

Little Women is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film, directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee and Jean Parker. The screenplay, by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, is based on the 1868 novel of the same name, by Louisa May Alcott. — Wikipedia 

More information about Little Women (1933)

More about Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman

Buy a signed copy of when Women Wrote Hollywood

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Related posts:

  1. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 38 in a series – Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman
  2. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 15 in a series – “The Ancient Mariner” (1925), Wr: Eve Unsell, Actor: Clara Bow, Dir: Henry Otto/Chester Bennett
  3. Sarah Phillips, Author of “Screenwriter, Producer, and Director: Marion Fairfax” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (3:04)
  4. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 8 in a series – Bess Meredyth
  5. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 14 in a series – Eve Unsell

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Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 10 in a series – Smart Girl In Charge

Do you know about these women screenwriters? Many don’t. Learn more about them today!

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood - 10 in a series - Smart Girl In Charge

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“In London one of Eve Unsell’s first employees was a young Alfred Hitchcock who designed title cards presumably under Unsell’s tutelage on such films as The Call of Youth (1921). Unsell is credited with teaching Hitchcock ‘the ins and outs of story and screenplay mechanics as well as adapting novels for film.'”

Smart Girl In Charge: Eve Unsell
Laura Kirk

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

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  1. Laura Kirk, Author of “Smart Girl In Charge: Eve Unsell” and “Marriage of Words: Bella And Sam Spewack” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (2:59)
  2. “When Women Wrote Hollywood” In The News: Uncovering the secret history of women in Hollywood, University of Kansas
  3. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 14 in a series – Eve Unsell
  4. Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 7 in a series – “From acting to screenwriting”
  5. Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 2 in a series – Forgotten Women Screenwriters

When Women Wrote Hollywood – 36 in a series – Joan Harrison

To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch

When Women Wrote Hollywood – 36 in a series – Joan Harrison

When Women Wrote Hollywood - 36 in a series - Joan Harrison

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Harrison studied at St Hugh’s College, Oxford and reviewed films for the student newspaper. She also studied at the Sorbonne. In 1933, she became Alfred Hitchcock’s secretary. Eventually she began reading books and scripts for him and became one of Hitchcock’s most trusted associates. Harrison appears in a scene in Hitchcock’s original version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), eating dinner with Peter Lorre’s character. She was among the screenwriters for the film Jamaica Inn (1939) based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier.

When Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in March 1939 to begin his contract with David O. Selznick to direct films, Harrison went with him as an assistant and writer.[1] She continued contributing to the screenplays for Hitchcock’s films Rebecca (1940), also adapted from a du Maurier novel, Foreign Correspondent(1940), Suspicion (1941), and Saboteur (1942). She was also credited as one of the screenwriters for Dark Waters (1944). — Wikipedia 

More about Joan Harrison

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Related posts:

  1. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 20 in a series – Lois Weber
  2. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 33 in a series – The Little Foxes (1941) – Wr: Lillian Hellman
  3. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 8 in a series – Bess Meredyth
  4. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 12 in a series – Marion Fairfax
  5. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 14 in a series – Eve Unsell

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 9 in a series – Marion Fairfax In Demand

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood - 9 in a series - In Demand

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“The Lost World was an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous dinosaur novel, and the film itself did the story justice. Fairfax both wrote the adaptation and directed the editing.

After the massive success of The Lost World, which broke records, Fairfax was more in demand than ever.”

Silent Screenwriter, Producer and Director: Marion Fairfax
Sarah Phillips

Buy a signed copy of when Women Write Hollywood

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Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

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  1. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 12 in a series – Marion Fairfax
  2. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 13 in a series – The Lying Truth & The Lost World, Wr: Marion Fairfax
  3. Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 2 in a series – Forgotten Women Screenwriters
  4. Sarah Phillips, Author of “Screenwriter, Producer, and Director: Marion Fairfax” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (3:04)
  5. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 17 in a series – “It” (1927) Starring Clara Bow, Wr: Elinor Glyn , Hope Loring , and, Louis D. Lighton , George Marion Jr.

When Women Wrote Hollywood – 35 in a series – “A Star Is Born” (1937), Wr: Dorothy Parker

To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch

When Women Wrote Hollywood – 35 in a series – “A Star Is Born” (1937), Wr: Dorothy Parker

When Women Wrote Hollywood - 35 in a series -

A Star Is Born is a 1937 American Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick, directed by William A. Wellman from a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell, and starring Janet Gaynor (in her only Technicolor film) as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March(in his Technicolor debut) as a fading movie star who helps launch her career. The supporting cast features Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, and Owen Moore.

It was originally made in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, and then remade three times: 1954 (starring Judy Garland and James Mason), in 1976(starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), and in 2018 (starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper).

North Dakota farm girl Esther Victoria Blodgett yearns to become a Hollywood actress. Although her aunt and father discourage such thoughts, Esther’s grandmother gives Esther her savings to follow her dream.

Esther goes to Hollywood and tries to land a job as an extra, but so many others have had the same idea that the casting agency has stopped accepting applications. Esther is told that her chances of becoming a star are one in 100,000. She befriends a new resident at her boarding house, assistant director Danny McGuire, himself out of work. When Danny and Esther go to a concert to celebrate Danny’s employment, Esther has her first encounter with Norman Maine, an actor she admires greatly. Norman has been a major star for years, but his alcoholism has sent his career into a downward spiral. — Wikipedia 

A Star is Born (1937) Trailer

More About “A Star Is Born” (1937)

More about Dorothy Parker

More books by and about Dorothy Parker

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Buy a signed copy of when Women Wrote Hollywood

 

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

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  2. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 28 in a series – Ida May Park
  3. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 11 in a series – The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), Story: Frederica Sagor Maas
  4. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 1 in a series – “The Red Kimono” – Story by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Directed and Starring Dorothy Davenport
  5. When Women Wrote Hollywood – 8 in a series – Bess Meredyth