Customer Reviews

A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women, 1930-1960

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Jeanine Basinger is to be congratulated for shedding light on a too-little studied aspect of Hollywood history. She puts the movies and the stars she discusses in the context of how movie-going women perceived them at the time. In doing so, she concentrates not on the "greatest" stars, but rather on secondary figures like Kay Francis, Ann Dvorak, and Loretta Young, women who had (sometimes surprisingly) immense popular appeal while they were making movies but whose careers either faded, made the transition to character rather than leading-lady status, or moved to television. She reminds us that the "woman's picture" was far more than the drama of suffering and renunciation (like "Now, Voyager", "Back Street", or "Autumn Leaves") we most commonly think of today. She broadens her definition to include virtually any film that either focused on a woman as its central character or concerned itself with traditionally "women's" concerns.

What she makes clear is that, despite the pronounced limitations of the world view of the woman's picture, it represented a varied and vigorous film culture in which (as she writes) "on the screen ... the woman will decide. She is important. She matters. She is the Center of the Universe."

"A Woman's View" is that rare thing -- a scholarly examination of mostly obscure figures and works that is at the same time an excellent and entertaining read.

This book articulates for me why I have always loved this genre of film. The author highlights the work of many fine actresses of the period whose work is overlooked in many film books. Although the ideas they espoused may be dated, the desire of women to see the concerns of their private lives played out on screen still exists. I believe that the next century may bring a resurgurce of this type of film.

This is one of the most enjoyable "film studies" I have ever come across, essentially about "soap opera" 'women's pictures' of the 1930's and 1940's but expanding into the 1920's and 1950's a bit and touching on other types of films and the great women stars from this time period. From Kay Francis (who is the cover girl and Basinger's main muse for this tome) to Rita Hayworth, this is a wonderful book for any one obssessed with films from the era, it's like finding a new best friend to talk about these classic films. Basinger writes informatively yet in plain academic-free language making the book a pleasuer to read - and she knows when to crack wise and when to be serious, no mean feat. It's a skill a lot of "movie historians" don't have.

If you love movies you must read Ms. Basinger's marvelous study of "women's pictures" which encompasses the stars that acted in them, the directors that guided them, the writers that gave them life and the studios that distributed them. Hollywood history, women's history, art history all rolled into one readable and thought provoking volume. This one is right up there with Louise Brooks by Barry Paris as one of the best books on film and those who created it.

A Woman's View, by Jeanne Basinger, was rightfully the most interesting history based book I have ever read. Although it can be lengthy at times, it touches on subjects in which I had barely any knowledge of, and shows how it was reflecting the time period of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Seeing as though this was about women right after the women's rights movement in the 20's, this book shows how Hollywood used female movie stars to incorporate the countries opinions on them. With that, I thought the introduction chapter on the genre of these types of movies was absolutely spectacular. It really made me have so much respect for women during these time periods. They had such class and such morals, which, sad to say, is starting to slowly fade away, or can at least be argued that it is.
A few of the sections of this book that I thought was the most interesting, were the ones about twin women in movies and the fashion and glamour of women. Before reading this book, I never really thought into the idea that being a woman in Hollywood, and acting a certain role represented something as a whole. These actresses were not just playing the part of their assigned character; they were representing women as a whole. With their fashion, their speech, and their actions, I found it truly inspiring to know that they were stepping out of their comfort zone and taking risks with the roles that they chose to act out.
One chapter, entitled Duality, included how Hollywood used twins in their movies to represent one specific point in these movies. This chapter, being one of the more detailed ones, showed how twins portrayed particularly two things: the good and the bad. The good twin, usually dressed in fashionably acceptable clothes and appropriate styles, was usually criticized by her twin, which represented evil, or the bad. I thought it was very much a shock to me how many of the so called "bad" twins in these Hollywood movies were constantly pretending to be their twin to confuse their family, friends, or even their husbands! Many of them did this only to find some sort of revenge on their twin for whatever reason they could think of. In my mind, I would have never thought of this as being presented in movies during these time periods, but I also have to remember that this was also a time when women were really standing up for what they believed in and stepping out of the ordinary molds they had always been put into.
What was so fascinating about this book was how Basinger found a way to represent women in film in such a respectable way, and not so much trashy as some may have viewed it at the time. Women like Loretta Young, Kay Francis, and Greta Garbo are true heroines when it comes to paving the way for all future actresses, and also for open our countries eyes to the lives of women, and really shows that they were becoming less and less like housewives and more like the hardworking entrepreneurs that they really were and always will be.

Basinger is on the mark to highlight Kay Francis and Lorreta Young as stars which women movie goers in the 1930s and 1940s could identify. They were both beauties, although Young's beauty was breathtaking, and they were both more than competent actresses. They took roles that proved that women were the equal of men and could confront trouble and overcome it with their dignity intact. Women needed role models, and they found them in these two women. It is a shame that Kay Francis is known by few movie goers today. Young has fared better because she went on to become one of TV's 1950s superstars with her legendary entrance swirling though doors in designer gowns, designed by her future husband Jean Louis. Such ladies paved the way for so many actresses that came after them. But as for glamour, let's be honest, there are not too many actresses today who can lay claim to glamour. TV and gossip shows reveal so many of our stars to be so very human. The studio system, to which Francis and Young belonged, preserved the star from too much scrutiny, thus their mystery helped them maintain their glamour and their stardom. Basinger's book is a worthy addition to the history of Hollywood, a fine introduction to her The Star Machine.

It is reported that Kay Francis stated that she wanted to be forgotten. If this is true, reading Jeanine Basinger's book, A Woman's View, will not let you forget her from the beautiful cover image of Kay Frances, to the heartwarming remembrances Ms. Basinger recalls in reference to her early remembrances of Kay Francis from her relatives.

This book is definitely not all about Kay Francis, but Kay does figure in prominently in terms of the influence she had on shaping women's thinking during those years of her popularity, especially in regards to fashion. The last memorable mention of Kay Francis I can think of is the main song sung in the Rocky Horror Picture Show! A more serious remembrance of Kay Francis is regularly done by Mr. Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies. 1930 to 1960 is a long period of time to cover, but Ms. Basinger does so ratherly completely covering more detail and specific reference points than is generally the case, even including the generally forgotten, Miriam Hopkins, whose star also shone brightly in the 1930's.

I highly recommend this book and anything written by Ms. Basinger, as she understands the period, who influenced what, and is able to literally put it together in book form that creates an atmosphere for interesting reading at its' best, especially if you like Kay Francis, and I do!

This book was a life saver in my film class and in good condition, too.