Directed by Dorothy Davenport • 1934 • United States
Starring Claudia Dell, Lola Lane, Richard Hemingway
When a radio star (Lola Lane) is murdered, a mysterious young woman (Claudia Dell) is accused of the crime. Can a wisecracking reporter (Richard Hemingway), who finds himself captivated by the beautiful suspect, prove her innocence? This atmospherically tawdry, twist-filled procedural was the last film helmed by pioneering actor turned filmmaker Dorothy Davenport, one of the very few women to work as a director during the 1930s. She combines the mechanics of a straightforward thriller with the dizzying absurdity and sensationalism of early exploitation and B-movie genre films for a singular work of compellingly strange, almost surreal power.
Up Next in Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology
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Miss Dundee and Her Performing Dogs
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1902 • France
Typical of Gaumont’s output at the time and an example of cinema’s early presentational style, this humorous “demonstration” film showcases a vaudeville act featuring a Miss Dundee and her trained performing dogs.
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A Story Well Spun
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1906 • France
In this pun-titled Gaumont comedy, a man rests in a barrel that gets pushed down a hill. The ensuing short is an advanced study on cinematic space and captures the continuity of motion as the rolling barrel moves from location to location, violently h...
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On the Barricade
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1907 • France
This historical drama, which depicts a young boy caught by accident in revolutionary conflict, is notable for its unceremonious depiction of a firing squad in action. Remarkable for its confident use of the full frame, it anticipates director Alice Gu...
