Female (1933)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Donald Henderson Clarke (story)
Gene Markey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.

Plot Keywords:

Automobile Factory | Factory | Wise Crack | Picnic | Rubdown

Cast

Ruth Chatterton	...	Alison Drake
George Brent	...	Jim Thorne
Lois Wilson	...	Harriet Brown
Johnny Mack Brown	...	George P. Cooper
Ruth Donnelly	...	Miss Frothingham
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Pettigrew
Phillip Reed	...	Freddie Claybourne
Gavin Gordon	...	Briggs
Kenneth Thomson	...	Red, Alison's Dance Partner at Party
Huey White	...	Puggy, Alison's Chauffeur
Douglass Dumbrille	...	George Mumford (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Spencer Charters	...	Tom, a Doorman

Runtime:

60 min | Germany:58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Ennis House - 2607 Glendower Avenue, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The exterior of Alison Drake's house was shot on location at the famous Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Quotes:

Della, Alison's Maid: Lemon or cream, Madame?
Harriet Brown: Cream and two sugars, please.
Alison Drake: Cream and two sugars? My, you're a reckless woman! No wonder you look so happy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me

Delightfully amusing comedy is both feminist and sexist by turns

This hilarious 1933 comedy examines the then unlikely and slightly absurd premise of a woman in the role of the ruthless CEO of a major automotive corporation. Ruth Chatterton as Alison Drake runs her company in a manner similar to the Tsarina Catherine running Russia. She constantly reviews her troops (the male employees) to select the most promising for her weekly stud-seduction routine. After dining and wining the intended victim at her lavish villa, and a night of "amour", she subsequently fires him if he shows any sign of attempting to encroach on her independence and detachment. Of course, the seductee always does because his ego won't accept that he's a throw-away one night stand. John Mack Brown is a standout as a typical seductee. And Philip Reed has a cameo as an innocent reject for being "too poetic." When Alison hires a new designer (George Brent) and puts the make on him, he deftly evades her, thus driving her mad until she finally starts falling in love. He slyly keeps outmaneuvering her which spurs her determination even more. At last, she gets so desperate that she resigns her position in his favor, to get him to say "I do." The politically correct male dominance in both business and family is reaffirmed, but given this lady's character one strongly suspects that the battle of the sexes is far from over and may be just beginning!