The Female Gaze by Alicia Malone

The Female Gaze
Essential Movies Made by Women
by Alicia Malone
Various Contributors
Hardcover ISBN: 9781633538375
Mango
November 2018

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“I think there is still a misconception that all directors are Cecil B. De Mille types with a loud voice and a whip. Perhaps maybe that’s why there’s always been some puzzlement about a woman in the director’s role.” – Gillian Armstrong

TCM host and film expert Alicia Malone's follow-up to her book Backwards and in Heels, is a comprehensive guide to the history of female directors in Hollywood and beyond. The Female Gaze: Essential Movies Made By Women catalogs over 50 films, directed by women, in chronological order from 1906 to present day. The book is a mix of articles written by Malone as well as a variety of female film critics and experts.

Malone's articles in particular are in-depth studies of particular films with an examination of the plot, behind the scenes information and biographical details on the woman director. Malone also focuses on the director's career, especially before, during and after making the discussed film. A common thread in her research, something Malone will tell you herself, is that the success of a movie made by a woman director does not necessarily open doors to other work. Looking at the chronological order of the book we see far more female directed films in this century than in the previous one. However, even today, women directors still face an uphill battle to get their movies made.

“With conversations about women’s experiences in Hollywood currently at fever pitch, I am often asked how to best support women in film. The answer? Watch movies made by women.” - Alicia Malone

Why does this matter? If you're a woman on film Twitter, you've had a man try to explain to you (i.e. mansplain) that there is no difference between a male and female director in terms of the end product. But the truth is that there is a difference. A big one. Representation matters and having a diverse group of voices helps us avoid the reinforcement of stereotypes and caricatures and gives us new perspectives that both enlighten and inform. Malone's book is invaluable not only in that it spotlights the female filmmakers but it also explains how their visions made their film unique. Reading each essay, especially about the films I hadn't seen, felt like uncovering a new treasure.

In addition to Malone's articles are a variety of short form pieces by other female film critics. I was happy to see familiar names including friends Marya Gates, Farran Smith Nehme, Danielle Solzman and so on. In a few cases one movie is discussed twice and because the pieces are by two different writers it gives a nice balance of perspectives. And for those of you worried that the book is too one-sided, there are quotes from male voices too including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Osborne, Roger Ebert, Barry Jenkins, etc.

The Female Gaze is more skewed to 21st century films but there are some fine articles about early movies that classic film fans will enjoy. Pieces on Alice Guy-Blache's The Consequences of Feminism (1906), Germaine Dulac's La Souriante Madame Beudet (1922), Dorothy Arzner's Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), Ida Lupino's The Hitch-Hiker (1953). I wish there were a few more articles about classic female film directors. Maybe one on my favorite early female director Nell Shipman would have been a nice addition. If you picked up Kino Lorber's Pioneers First Women Filmmakers boxed set (review coming soon!), a collection of silent films made by female film directors, Malone's book would make for a nice companion.

Alicia Malone’s The Female Gaze shines a much needed spotlight on female filmmakers and their movies. This is an indispensable resource for film historians and feminists alike.

Thank you to Mango for sending me an electronic copy of The Female Gaze for review. 

Sterling Hayden's Wars by Lee Mandel

Sterling Hayden's Wars
by Lee Mandel
University Press of Mississippi
May 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 9781496816979
368 pages

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“Sterling Hayden, the individualist who could never quite belong or find contentment.”

This is not a biography about the actor Sterling Hayden. This a biography about a man and the struggles that plagued him for his 70 years on earth. There’s very little information in this book about Hayden’s acting career. Probably because Hayden himself was so indifferent about his movie roles. His acting was just a means to an end. To get the money he needed to finance his true passion: sailing.

Sterling Walter was born March 26, 1916 in New Jersey. His father died when he was only 9 years old and his mother remarried James Hayden, a shifty businessman who eventually gave Sterling his new surname. They moved around quite a bit, always staying fairly close to the sea. In fact the Hayden family lived for several years in my home state of Massachusetts. He even worked for a short stint at the legendary (and now demolished) Filene’s Basement in Boston.

As Hayden biographer Lee Mandel describes it, Hayden was “enchanted by the ocean” and dreamed of going out on adventures. He went on his first voyage at the age of 17. As a sailor he was a natural fit. He was eager to learn, becoming an expert in no time, and could handle long and grueling voyages. Each new trip just fueled the flames and he’d spend the rest of his life always trying to get back to sea.

Photo Source: University Press of Mississipi/Catherine Hayden

Being a full-time sailor didn’t pay well and his seafaring friends encouraged him to find another job that would help fund his interests. Two of his drinking buddies thought the tall, handsome and brawny Hayden had the looks and charisma to become a movie star. One buddy had the connections and the other helped him get an audition with Paramount executive Edward H. Griffith. Hayden had absolutely no acting experience and had never entertained the idea of becoming an actor. It might have seemed like a gamble but Griffith saw a lot of potential in Hayden. Paramount's publicity campaign to launch Hayden into the stratosphere involved proclaiming him “the most beautiful man in Hollywood” and giving him the second male lead in Virginia (1941) alongside stars Madeleine Carroll and Fred MacMurray.

As soon as Hayden’s acting career started it was put on hold when the U.S. entered WWII. Hayden had recently married his co-star Carroll but the two would spend the war years apart and their marriage never got the foundation it needed. They eventually divorced. Hayden enlisted in the Marine Corps but quickly discovered that his newfound fame was a burden. Not wanting any special treatment, he legally changed his name to John Hamilton to separate himself from his public persona (he changed it back to Sterling Hayden in 1958). Mandel’s book goes into painstaking detail about Hayden’s years as a Marine. Readers learn about Operation AUDREY, the HACIENDA mission, his work for the Office of Strategic Service and his time in Yugoslavia. He rose in ranks to Lieutenant and then Captain and received medals for his service.

Hayden’s time overseas heavily influenced his politics and when he came back to the states he joined the Communist party. He quickly grew disillusioned and after 6 months. When the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) began their Communist witch hunt, Hayden at first hid his former political ties. He even joined the Hollywood delegation that fought back against the HUAC. When things took a turn, he followed his lawyer’s advice to contact the FBI and voluntarily testify at a HUAC hearing. Naming names was “the price of forgiveness” and while he was able to bounce back into his acting career his decision adversely affected the careers of others. He regretted the decision for the rest of his life.

The Asphalt Jungle was a turning point in his acting career and according to Mandel, Dr. Strangelove “proved to be a sort of renaissance for Hayden, who seemed to have recreated himself as a character actor." Mandel briefly touches upon Hayden’s films such as Blaze of Noon, Journey into Light, The Star, Johnny Guitar, Suddenly, The Killing, Hard Contract, The Godfather and The Long Goodbye. When he wasn’t acting, he regularly attended therapy sessions and sought financing for ocean voyages. Hayden’s post-HUAC life included a contentious marriage with his second wife Betty which lead to their divorce and bitter custody battle for their four kids. Hayden won custody and worked hard at being a good father (a rarity among Hollywood actors). He married his third wife Kitty and they remained together until his death in 1986 at the age of 70. It wasn’t a perfect marriage but they stuck with it. Mandel paints a glowing portrait of Kitty as a long-suffering wife who was a veritable saint to stick by Hayden through the many problems that plagued him in his later years.

Lee Mandel’s Sterling Hayden’s Wars is not a typical biography. Especially not one about an actor. Instead of the traditional biography, this book focuses closely on Hayden’s battles which can be broken down into the following list:

WWII
HUAC
Finances
Self-doubt
Second marriage
Custody of his children
4 month trip on his schooner The Wanderer
Alcoholism
Depression
Cancer

"We are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idocy of the charade... The years thunder by. The dreams of our youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.” – Sterling Hayden

I’d be lying if I said I was okay with there not being much information about Hayden’s acting career. With that being said, in Hayden’s story I found someone who was real and relatable. I could empathize with his disconnect between the career that paid and the passion that didn’t. I shared some of his social ideals and his fervent desire for travel and adventure. I admired his natural ability to write and his deep, brooding thoughts. However, he could also be a very frustrating figure to understand. Self-doubt and a need to be taken seriously constantly got in the way of rational decision making. I was interested to learn that Dalton Trumbo, a victim of the HUAC and Hollywood Blacklist, approached Hayden to play Joe’s father in the film adaptation of Johnny Got His Gun. Hayden turned down the role because it hit too close to home. I wish he had gone through with it.

If it wasn’t such a damn interesting story I would say skip this book because of the lack of content of Hayden’s acting career. But the truth is Lee Mandel’s Sterling Hayden’s Wars is more than worthy of your time. If you've read Hayden's memoir Wanderer and wanted to keep that voyage going, make sure you give Mandel's book a shot.

Thank you to University press of Mississippi for sending me a copy of Sterling Hayden's Wars to review.

Mr. Capra Goes to War: Frank Capra's World War II Documentaries

You may be familiar with Frank Capra's Hollywood films but how much do you know about the propaganda documentaries he made during WWII? The Sicilian born Frank Capra emigrated to the US in 1903. Here he developed a fervent patriotism that helped chart the course of his life and career. After failed attempts at becoming a chemical engineer and later a screenwriter, he found his talents for directing film suited him best. In Hollywood he made hits such as It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and Meet John Doe (1941). Before re-enlisting in the Army in 1941, he made Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) hoping that its release would secure finances for his family while he was away. When the war ended and Capra came back to Hollywood, much had changed not only in the industry but with Capra himself. He made the independent film It's a Wonderful Life (1946) which wouldn't become the beloved classic that we know today until much later. Capra would make 5 more films over the next decade and a half but couldn't recapture the magic of his pre-war career.

While Capra was in the Army, his contribution to the war effort was primarily propaganda filmmaking. He served as executive producer and co-director on several different documentaries. Seven of these films made up his Why We Fight series.

New from Olive Films is Mr. Capra Goes to War: Frank Capra's World War II Documentaries and Blu-Ray (and DVD) that features five of these films, 2 of which are from the Why We Fight series. In addition, Joseph McBride, Frank Capra biographer (Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success) is featured in an original documentary about Capra's life and career with a particular focus on his work during WWII. He also makes a 4 minute introduction to each of the 5 films.

This new one disc set contains the following:

Frank Capra: Why We Fight
31 minutes

Capra biographer Joseph McBride covers the scope of Frank Capra's life and his filmmaking career. Capra served in the Army for both WWI and WWII. We learn about his patriotism, conservative politics and personal conflicts. Confused with the changing ideologies of America during the war, Capra tried his best to make sense of this to make documentaries that would serve to help with the war effort. Capra received the Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions but was very ambivalent about the films he made during this time with the exception of The Battle of Russia. McBride speaks throughout this doc and unfortunately has a very monotone and dry delivery. The subject matter is interesting enough to make it worth your while. I was particularly fascinated by Capra's post-war career and his struggle to transition back into the industry.


Prelude to War (1942)
dir. by Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak
52 min

This is the first of Capra's Why We Fight films and it starts off with the following:

"This film, the first of a series, has been prepared by the War Department to acquaint members of the Army with factual information as to the causes, the events lead up to our entry into the war and the principles for which we are fighting."

The film drives home its message of freedom and equality by comparing and contrasting the United States with the fascist regimes of Germany and Japan. These are presented as two separate earths and begs the question: which one would you want to live on? I was particularly fascinated by the propaganda messaging against the suppression of religious freedom and exploring the dangers of not taking the war seriously.


The Battle of Russia Part 1 (1943)
36 min
The Battle of Russia Part 2 (1943)
47 min
dir. by Frank Capra and Anatole Litvak

Russian born director Anatole Litvak joined forces with Frank Capra to direct this two part documentary, another entry into Capra's Why We Fight series. This propaganda film was pro-Russia and served to support our ally in the fight against the Nazis. Along with the pro-Soviet sentiment is quite a bit of anti-Nazi messaging. The first part focuses on Russia's military battles leading up to the WWII and the second part follows their battles against German invasion. It also clearly depicts Russia's successes in either defending or recapturing their borders. A hit upon its release in the US, the film didn't age well in the post-war McCarthy era.


The Negro Soldier (1944)
dir. by Stuart Heisler
produced by
40 min

After reading Mark Harris' book Five Came Back, I was most interested in seeing Heisler and Capra's film The Negro Soldier. This propaganda film had two purposes: 1) as a means to convince white people that it was crucial to have black people fight in the war and 2) as a means to recruit said black people. Carlton Moss wrote the script and also appears in the film as the black priest delivering a message to his parish about the importance of service. The film depicts the history of African-Americans in battle but also explores their contributions to American culture and their potential to contribute to the war effort.


Tunisian Victory (1944)
dir. by Frank Capra, John Huston and Hugh Stewart
76 min

During the war, American and British forces banded together to free Tunisia from the Nazis.  Although united in the battle, the Americans and Brits didn't see eye to eye and their union was fraught with tension. This spilled over to the documentary. The Brits had real footage which they used in their film Desert Victory. The American filmmaking team had their own footage as well but due to an unfortunate accident it was forever lost at sea. The British weren't about to give up their footage so Capra, Stewart and Huston joined forces to recreate the scenes with actors. Because of the reenactments, this one has the most cinematic feel of all the films in the set. It also feels the most contrived.


Your Job in Germany (1945)
dir. by Frank Capra
13 min

"The problem now is future peace — that is your job in Germany."

Made specifically for the American occupation troops in Germany to teach them how to treat the German people and what to be wary of, Your Job in Germany was written by Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss. This documentary short stands out in the set because it served to educate G.I.s rather than inform the public. Warner Bros. repackaged the film the following year and released it as Hitler Lives. McBride points out in his introduction that all of these war films were in the public domain because they were made with taxpayer money and not for profit.

Mr. Capra Goes to War: Frank Capra's World War II Documentaries is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Olive Films. The disc includes English subtitles and the option to play McBride's introduction before each film. This is a fantastic one disc set and is a must for WWII buffs and film history enthusiasts alike. 

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Thank you to Olive Films for sending me a copy of the Blu-Ray for review. 

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