Women were integral to the development and rise of the motion picture industry into both entertainment and economic powerhouse in the Twentieth Century. The fledgling field welcomed women, immigrants, and people of color eager to contribute at a time when dominant industries failed to recognize the huge potential of moving pictures. Women’s contributions were desperately needed, first to give the industry respectability as movie attendance skyrocketed when middle class audiences fell in love with films, and then to produce enough output to keep up with booming demand.
Besides their vital role in creating and producing films, women also greatly participated in presenting them to the public. Many mom and pop theatres across the country employed an untold number of women selling tickets, creating publicity, projecting films, and accompanying them. Some of these workers were trumpeted in their local newspapers, but the vast majority labored anonymously behind the scenes bringing films to the public. Continue reading
This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Warner Bros. picture Father Is a Prince, with Grant Mitchell, Nana Bryant, John Litel, George Reeves, Jan Clayton and Lee Patrick.
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