Author: Maureen Lenker

Throughout the month of October, Turner Classic Movies will return to their programming feature “Trailblazing Women,” that honors the accomplishments and achievements of women in the film industry. While last year’s programming focused on women behind the camera, showcasing the talents of female directors, this year will focus on actresses and their contributions to film history both on and offscreen. As “Dame in the Game” has aimed to demonstrate with many of our profiled women, actresses in classic Hollywood were often so much more than the beauty, glamour, and acting talent. Throughout the month, TCM will showcase women who made…

This month’s “Dame in the Game” returns to actresses who left an indelible mark on Hollywood history. Known for her flaming red hair that earned her the moniker “Queen of Technicolor” and her onscreen pairings with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara was a feisty presence both on-screen and off. She broke ground with her portrayals of strong, determined women only matched by her own grit and endurance in her personal life, all of which she attributed to her Irish-ness. “Above all else, deep in my soul, I’m a tough Irishwoman,” she said in her 2004 memoir ‘Tis Herself. “Being an Irishwoman means…

This month’s Dame in the Game, Frances Marion, was part of an early group of women writers in Hollywood who dominated the industry, writing over half of the scripts copyrighted between 1911 and 1925. Frances Marion was a standout in this group of trailblazing female writers—writing over 325 scripts (covering every genre) in her lifetime, working as an overseas journalist in World War I, and serving as the only woman on the first board of directors of the Screen Writers Guild. Marion was also a true champion of fellow women, pushing for her fellow writers and directors to get hired,…

This month’s “Dame in the Game” is not perhaps the most obvious candidate to be highlighted in this column. Known as “the most beautiful woman in the world,” Gina Lollobrigida became the first international sex symbol to emerge from post-war cinema, followed quickly by other screen goddesses like Sophia Loren. Humphrey Bogart once said of her, “She makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple.” Her exotic, earthy good looks stand in stark contrast to the steely determination of Barbara Stanwyck or career morphing of consummate movie star Joan Crawford. At first glance then, she is not a typical symbol of…

Classic movies are a veritable treasure trove for those looking for outstanding representations of women onscreen—under the studio system, budgeting allowed for the successful production of numerous female-driven and targeted films, especially now rarely seen genres like female melodrama. Turner Classic Movies provides a consistently excellent showcase for these films, but their annual film festival, which just concluded its seventh year, gives fans a chance to engage on an even deeper level. From director Allison Anders introducing Douglas Sirk’s All that Heaven Allows (1955) to three opportunities to see international superstar Gina Lollobrigida showcase her feminism, the festival abounded with…

The 2016 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival taking place in the heart of Hollywood this week, April 28th through May 1st, has an abundance of female-centric films and programming on offer. We here at “Dame in the Game” know classic Hollywood is full of fierce ladies both onscreen and off, and we are excited to see some of them featured at the TCM Film Festival. Thursday: The opening night of the festival has no shortage of female-driven content, with the launch of the weekend film series’ “Love and Loss” with Dark Victory (1939) starring the incomparable Bette Davis. Davis famously…

Excepting Ida Lupino, who was both an actress and director, Dame in the Game has focused its attention on actresses whose activism and achievements inspire. This month, we go behind the camera to examine the only female director to successfully transition from silent to sound film, Dorothy Arzner. Arzner not only made a mark as the most prominent female director working in the Hollywood studio system, but consistently defied expectations to stay true to herself. Dorothy Arzner was born in California at the turn of the twentieth century. Her father owned a Hollywood restaurant where she frequently interacted with individuals…

Here at “Dame in the Game,” we’re thrilled to celebrate March as Women’s History Month—something we strive to promote year-round. This month we take a look at an incomparable icon of black Hollywood—Lena Horne. Horne was a ground-breaking performer, singer, actress, and civil rights activist. Nicknamed “Bronze Venus,” she would come to be known for her appearance and her distinctive singing voice, most famously associated with the song “Stormy Weather.” Yet, she was much more than the haughty beauty Hollywood made her out to be, and she used her power to break barriers whenever possible. Horne began her career as…

For January’s Dame in the Game, we look at a slightly more contemporary figure with strong roots in classic Hollywood. Jane Fonda, daughter of iconic actor Henry Fonda, made her screen debut in 1960. Through a series of indelible screen roles, a lifetime of activism, and an outspoken commitment to feminism, she defined herself as an icon, inspiration, and true “Dame in the Game.” Fonda came to acting via experiences with her father, and ultimately, joined the legendary Actors Studio under the tutelage of Lee Strasberg in 1958. She made her screen debut in 1960 in Tall Story, establishing a…

“America’s Sweetheart;” “Queen of the Movies;” “Little Mary”—this month’s Dame in the Game was known by many monikers, but they often obscured the contributions of one of the biggest power players working in early Hollywood. Mary Pickford is arguably the most well known star of the silent era, but the roles she played often obscure her groundbreaking off-screen contributions. The first screen star to be known as “America’s Sweetheart,” Pickford was famous for her portrayal of children and young virginal women. Her long, golden curls, a symbol of innocence, were so iconic that in 1928 when she cut them off…

This month, instead of highlighting a single woman, “Dame in the Game” highlights the extraordinary programming coming to Turner Classic Movies this October. The series, Trailblazing Women, premieres October 1st and will run every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month. https://youtu.be/yODmZ0IX4NQ This marks the first year of programming in a three-year initiative TCM has launched in conjunction with Women in Film, Los Angeles that will seek to highlight the contributions of women throughout film history. The first series will focus on the efforts of female directors and is entitled Trailblazing Women: Behind the Camera, Ahead of Their Time. It will…

This month’s “Dame in the Game” will probably only be a familiar name to the most devoted classic film aficionados, but Marsha Hunt should be a household name—not only for her well-deserved moniker as “Hollywood’s youngest character actress,” but also for her fifty-plus years of work as a social activist. For this very special “Dame in the Game,” I had the opportunity to sit down with Marsha Hunt in the same house in Sherman Oaks she’s lived in since the late 1940s. There, we chatted about her acting career, being blacklisted, and everything in between. Hunt’s home is exactly what…

“Dame in the Game” has previously focused on the talents and achievements of white women in the industry. Sadly, because of the realities of racism inherent in the studio system and classic Hollywood, there are far fewer women of color who had the opportunities to define themselves as “groundbreaking” within the system. Still, this column will strive to honor the achievements of women in our past as equally as possible, and so this month, we turn to a woman who was notable for achieving numerous firsts as a black woman in the entertainment industry. Hattie McDaniel was and continues to…

This month’s “Dame in the Game” focuses on one of the last surviving stars of the studio era: Olivia de Havilland. She is best known for playing a character Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) refers to as “mealy-mouthed,” but her actions in Hollywood that forever changed California contract law were anything but. De Havilland signed a standard seven-year studio contract with Warner Bros. before she was even eighteen to play Hermia in Max Reinhardt’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream after originating the role in his famous production at the Hollywood Bowl. She quickly rose to super-stardom as half of one of classic…