Female (1933)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Donald Henderson Clarke (story)
Gene Markey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.

Plot Keywords:

Automobile Factory | Factory | Wise Crack | Picnic | Rubdown

Cast

Ruth Chatterton	...	Alison Drake
George Brent	...	Jim Thorne
Lois Wilson	...	Harriet Brown
Johnny Mack Brown	...	George P. Cooper
Ruth Donnelly	...	Miss Frothingham
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Pettigrew
Phillip Reed	...	Freddie Claybourne
Gavin Gordon	...	Briggs
Kenneth Thomson	...	Red, Alison's Dance Partner at Party
Huey White	...	Puggy, Alison's Chauffeur
Douglass Dumbrille	...	George Mumford (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Spencer Charters	...	Tom, a Doorman

Runtime:

60 min | Germany:58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Ennis House - 2607 Glendower Avenue, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

William A. Wellman replaced the original director, William Dieterle, when Dieterle became ill. Michael Curtiz took over as director when Wellman had to start directing College Coach (1933).

Quotes:

[last lines]
Jim Thorne: What about you?
Alison Drake: Oh, you didn't know? I'm gonna have nine children.
Jim Thorne: Is that all?
Alison Drake: That's all.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

Old Man Sunshine (Little Boy Bluebird)

Female 1933, hilarious, yet typical 1930's gender roles that they placed on women.

I loved this movie right away, Allison Drake is empowering, beautiful, courageous, outspoken, everything that was not typical for women in the 1930's, and I thought that maybe the film maker was helping to promote this new breed of woman. She even goes as far as to deny a marriage proposal from her top sales exec George Mumford who wants a marriage out of convenience "picture it...you make them, I'll sell them, we'd sweep the country!" Allison is not swayed "I'm not very fond of sweeping; I'm not a bit domestic." Love it!! But I was greatly disappointed when in the end, she gives in to a man who calls her "pathetic" when she doesn't given in to his idea of "what women are born for!" Which is to get married, and have babies. I think that it must have been degrading to women to watch this back then, but those were the times, and what can I say, the movie is fun, seductive, and enchanting. Definitely a movie to add to my collection.