The Woman Herself
Big-budget women’s films from early Hollywood that identified the contradictions of femininity— transgressions and limitations, boundary-pushes and retreats to tradition. Specifically interesting type of film from the period that isn’t paid enough attention, and has no post-60s/modern equivalent.
List activity
73 views
• 8 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
44 titles
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsNorma ShearerRobert MontgomeryChester MorrisWhen a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichClive BrookAnna May WongA notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMiriam HopkinsKay FrancisHerbert MarshallA gentleman thief and a lady pickpocket join forces to con a beautiful perfume company owner. Romantic entanglements and jealousies confuse the scheme.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsWarner BaxterBebe DanielsGeorge BrentWhen the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsMae WestCary GrantGregory RatoffCircus performer Tira seeks a better life pursuing the company of wealthy New York men with improbable comic complications along the way.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge BrentDonald CookA young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsFredric MarchGary CooperMiriam HopkinsA woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.
- DirectorStephen RobertsStarsMiriam HopkinsWilliam GarganJack La RueA wealthy but neurotic Southern belle finds herself trapped in the hideout of a gang of vicious bootleggers. The gang's leader lusts after her, and is determined not to let anything stand in the way of his having her.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJoan CrawfordGene RaymondFranchot ToneA working girl's fortunes improve when she marries into money, but happiness is not so easily won.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBette DavisFranchot ToneMargaret LindsayAn alcoholic actress who is considered a dangerous jinx is rehabilitated, but she then shows that she's as dangerous as ever.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanJack ConwayVictor FlemingStarsJanet GaynorFredric MarchAdolphe MenjouA young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, and achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMarlene DietrichHerbert MarshallMelvyn DouglasA woman and her husband take separate vacations, and she falls in love with another man.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsCarole LombardFredric MarchCharles WinningerAn eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsClaudette ColbertGary CooperEdward Everett HortonAfter learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantRosalind RussellRalph BellamyA newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsCarole LombardJack BennyRobert StackDuring the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsBette DavisPaul HenreidClaude RainsA frumpy spinster blossoms under therapy and becomes an elegant, independent woman.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsJoan CrawfordJack PalanceGloria GrahameAfter an ambitious actor insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged playwright and marries her, he plots with his mistress to murder her.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJane RussellMarilyn MonroeCharles CoburnShowgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsKatharine HepburnRossano BrazziIsa MirandaAn American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome--but married--Italian man while vacationing in Venice.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsTyrone PowerMarlene DietrichCharles LaughtonA veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.