Rebels at the Typewriter on the Criterion Channel

The ever-valuable Criterion Channel added some fantastic new films to stream in September—including a curated group of special interest to 1930s Hollywood buffs. Rebels at the Typewriter: Women Screenwriters of the 1930s looks at the contributions of Frances Marion, Anita Loos and many unsung women who wrote a multitude of entertaining and thought-provoking novels and movies of that era. I’ll let the folks at Criterion fill in the details: 

The 1930s were a golden age for women writers, who penned some of the most outrageous provocations of the pre-Code era and created memorable, true-to-life female characters for the period’s reigning stars. While writers like renowned humorist Anita Loos (RED-HEADED WOMAN) and two-time Academy Award winner Frances Marion (DINNER AT EIGHT) have been justly celebrated, others like the prolific Jane Murfin (WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD?), best-selling novelist turned screenwriter Viña Delmar (MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW), and pioneering writer-director Wanda Tuchock (FINISHING SCHOOL) played a significant but underrecognized role in shaping the first decade of sound cinema. Bringing wit, sass, and a personal perspective to stories about women navigating modern attitudes toward work, sex, family, and marriage, these trailblazing screenwriters ensured that women’s voices and perspectives were a vital part of early Hollywood. 

The program’s sixteen films run the gamut as far as subject matter goes, although nearly all of them are recommended. I’ve already checked out the excellent, quick-paced Frances Dee college drama Finishing School (1933), and currently I’m enjoying the only film I haven’t seen before—Tugboat Annie (1933) with the delightful Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Joyce Compton shows up in one of these films, the unusual drama-musical hybrid You and Me (1938) directed by Fritz Lang and starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft. Joyce appears briefly as a customer at the elegant department store where much of the film takes place. I'm looking forward to seeing this one again, and will write up a detailed review later on. Happy watching!