Programmed September 2024

Rebels at the Typewriter: Women Screenwriters of the 1930s

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.

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