Directed by Dorothy Arzner • 1931 • United States
Starring Judith Wood, Dorothy Hall, Charles “Buddy” Rogers
Dorothy Arzner offers a snappily entertaining, socially perceptive look at female solidarity in this Depression-era tale of young women striving to succeed in their careers and in love. Newly arrived in Manhattan from Indiana, small-town sisters Mae and June Thorpe (Dorothy Hall and Judith Wood) take up residence in an all-women’s boardinghouse, then set about searching for jobs—which they find, along with a host of romantic complications. As directed by feminist trailblazer Arzner, WORKING GIRLS crackles with pre-Code innuendo and displays a nuanced understanding of the interplay between gender and economic mobility in 1930s America.
Up Next in Office Romances
-
The Office Wife
Directed by Lloyd Bacon • 1930 • United States
Starring Dorothy Mackaill, Lewis Stone, Natalie MoorheadThough little-known today due to her relatively short-lived career, Dorothy Mackaill was one of the most intriguing screen personalities of the silent and pre-Code eras. She shines—opposite up...
-
Man Wanted
Directed by William Dieterle • 1932 • United States
Starring Kay Francis, David Manners, Una MerkelIn the first film the ever-chic Kay Francis made at Warner Bros.—where she would quickly become the studio’s top star during the pre-Code era—she plays Lois Ames, a magazine editor whose husband i...
-
More Than a Secretary
Directed by Alfred E. Green • 1936 • United States
Starring Jean Arthur, George Brent, Lionel StanderFresh from her star-making turn in THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING, screwball virtuoso Jean Arthur further honed her comic mettle and Depression-era Cinderella persona with this breezy romance. She sta...
