Female (1933)

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.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Gene Markey (screen play), Kathryn Scola (screen play),

Stars:

Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Lois Wilson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ruth Chatterton	...	Alison Drake
George Brent	...	Jim Thorne
Lois Wilson	...	Harriet
Johnny Mack Brown	...	Cooper
Ruth Donnelly	...	Miss Frothingham
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Pettigrew
Phillip Reed	...	Freddie Claybourne
Gavin Gordon	...	Briggs
Kenneth Thomson	...	Red
Huey White	...	Puggy
Douglass Dumbrille	...	George Mumford (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Spencer Charters	...	Tom

Storyline

Alison is owner and successful manager of an automobile factory. She also has a good relation to her employees - especially the male ones, which she is known to invite to her bed for some time and then dump quickly. Only the inventor Jim Thorne refuses her offers - will she fire or marry him?

---

Plot Keywords:

automobile factory | factory | engineer | sexual equality | seduction | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Boß ist eine schöne Frau

Filming Locations:

Ennis-Brown House - 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$286,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sign on a restaurant window advertises sandwiches "with beer" in large letters. The amendment ratifying the repeal of prohibition had been ratified just weeks prior to the film's release.

---

Goofs

Approx 4 minutes in: (While Alison is talking with Harrier Brown) The placement of the crane, and the puffs of dark smoke outside the window change abruptly; it is obvious that the filming was not done in a continuous take.

---

Quotes

Alison Drake: [throwing a pillow onto a "lounging area"] Are you naturally enthusiastic?

---

Connections

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)

---

Soundtracks

"Painting the Clouds with Sunshine"
(1929) (uncredited)
Music by Joseph Burke
Played when Alison parks her car and walks over to the shooting gallery

User Reviews

A Classic Of Gender Reversal

A powerful FEMALE tycoon is accustomed to getting everything she wants

• including men - until she meets a fellow utterly unimpressed by her

wealth.

Ruth Chatterton completely dominates this brilliant, fascinating little film, until off-screen spouse George Brent shows up midway through the proceedings. Deftly handling the details of her life - from controlling her commercial competitors to adroitly arranging her next romantic conquest, Chatterton never lets up for a moment. Suave & composed, Brent arrives on the scene, calmly pegging targets in a sideshow, and presents the immovable object to her irresistible force.

Definitely pre-Code, the script throws a few zingers into the face of complacent modern viewers, with Chatterton & Brent doing all they can to entertain their audience. If her toughness turns into compliant conformity at the fadeout, it's a small price to pay for an hour's amusement.

Impish Ferdinand Gottschalk steals several scenes as Chatterton's fey factotum, while Ruth Donnelly makes the most of her tiny role as a spinster secretary. Johnny Mack Brown & Philip Reed are two of Chatterton's discarded young men.

Movie mavens will recognize Robert Greig & Rafaela Ottiano as Chatterton's butler & maid, as well as elderly Charley Grapewin as a sidewalk inebriate, all uncredited.

Warner Brothers gave the film a first-rate production; the terrific sets use detail to add to the story, rather than detract from it. Also, notice the ironic use of the Harry Warren tune during the seduction scenes; by the end of 1933 it would be famous as 'Shanghai Lil,' (with lyrics by Al Dubin) climaxing Warner's FOOTLIGHT PARADE.