Directed by Dorothy Arzner (Women Artists in Film)

Directed by Dorothy Arzner (Women Artists in Film) by Mayne, Judith. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780253208965.

Dorothy Arzner was the exception in Hollywood film history―the one woman who succeeded as a director, in a career that spanned three decades. In Part One, Dorothy Arzners film career―her work as a film editor to her directorial debut, to her departure from Hollywood in 1943―is documented, with particular attention to Arzners roles as "star-maker" and "womans director." In Part Two, Mayne analyzes a number of Arzners films and discusses how feminist preoccupations shape them, from the womens communities central to Dance, Girl, Dance and The Wild Party to critiques of the heterosexual couple in Christopher Strong and Craigs Wife. Part Three treats Arzners lesbianism and the role that desire between women played in her career, her life, and her films.