Back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Hollywood operated with a different set of rules. Before the Hays Code cracked down on content in the middle of 1934, films were brushed with hot topics such as sex, female liberation, alcoholism, and depression. These movies are the Pre-Code films.
Working within this realm was just one female director – the Queen, Dorothy Arzner. This director not only created films at a time where men dictated and controlled the industry, she also produced films that had a clear feminist voice. With snappy and head-strong female leads dominating her movies, Arzner helped change the landscape with these incredible films. She was so popular that she was the first woman to be included in the Directors Guild of America.
Thanks to the BFI Film On Film Festival, audiences got to see a newly restored print of her nifty comedy, Working Girls (1931).
Written by Zoe Akins and based on a play by Vera Caspary and Winifred Lenihan, Working Girls revolves around two sisters – Mae and June – who move to New York from the country. There, the sisters pursue careers as well as a whole suite of suitors.
Dorothy Arzner would later describe the film as one of her favourites – alluding to its feminist themes and courageous characters at the centre of it. What is most brilliant about Working Girls is that no woman is treated any less. Between the two sisters Mae and June, there are different ambitions and different paths here. Sure, Mae comes across as the idealistic romantic dreamer but Atkins’ script and Arzners direction does not demand that we see her as weak – just sweet and caring. Whilst June is more forward thinking, and using her wiles to get more means, she is still big hearted.
It helps that Judith Wood and Dorothy Hall are superb together as June and Mae respectively. They are believable sisters who step into this new surroundings and truly make it on their own. They’ve great familial chemistry together plus are utterly charming to watch.
Plus, you have the women in the boarding house – a wide variety of women and their personalities as they try to make it in the big city.
There are three men here who are trying to win the affections of the sisters: the socialite Boyd Wheeler (Charles Rogers,) the stuffy but lovelorn professor Dr Joseph Von Schrader, and the saxophone player Pat Kelly. Each here representing a different class of gentleman and how they approach the pair is intriguing to dissect. Perhaps by the end of the film, you’ll be somewhat dismayed at who ends up with whom but the chase and the game is very exciting to watch.
Check out the BFI’s Film on Film season and much more here.
