April 8, 2024 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Michigan Theater Screening Room, 603 E Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI

 

Film Series: We Can Do It! Trailblazing Women of Hollywood’s Golden Age

CEW+ is sponsoring a series of classic films at the Michigan Theater by some of Hollywood’s most influential women. This series aims to feature women who broke down barriers to diversity and equity in early Hollywood, clearing the path for those who followed.

During Hollywood’s Golden Age of Film female actors, directors, and production staff had to fight against mainstream traditional gender roles while working within the studio system. Women in Hollywood had to tread carefully to be able to advocate for their rights while avoiding being branded “difficult”, a moniker that could end a career. While often imperfect, each movie in this series has something interesting to say about gender, race, and sexuality.

The Hitch-Hiker (1953) 71 minutes

The Hitch-Hiker is a noir-thriller and known as the first noir to be directed by a woman. The film follows two friends as they are taken hostage by a hitchhiker, and is based on a real-life crime from 1950.

Director Ida Lupino was widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker working in the 1950s during the Hollywood studio system. She co-wrote and co-produced several social-message films that tackled such taboo topics as rape, pregnancy outside of marriage, and women’s struggles with the social conventions of the day.

Full Film Series Schedule:

• His Girl Friday (1940) – Starring Rosalind Russell – Monday, March 4th
• Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) – Dir. Dorothy Arzner, starring Lucille Ball – Monday, March 11th
• Adam’s Rib (1949) – Starring Katherine Hepburn – Monday, March 18th
• All About Eve (1950) – Starring Bette Davis/Anne Baxter/Marilyn Monroe – Monday, April 1st
• The Hitch-Hiker (1953) – Dir. Ida Lupino – Monday, April 8th
• Carmen Jones (1954) – Starring Dorothy Dandridge – Monday, April 15th
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1956) – Starring Liz Taylor – Monday, April 22nd