Complicated Women

Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood

Ranked #51 in Hollywood, Ranked #89 in Film

In the pre-Code Hollywood era, between 1929 and 1934, women in American cinema took lovers, had babies out of wedlock, got rid of cheating husbands, enjoyed their sexuality, led unapologetic careers, and, in general, acted the way many think women only acted after 1968.

Before then, women on screen had come in two varieties-sweet ingenue or vamp. Then two stars came along: Greta Garbo, who turned the femme fatale into a woman whose capacity for love and sacrifice made all other human emotions seem pale; and Norma Shearer, who succeeded in taking the ingenue to a place she'd never...
more

Similar Books

If you like Complicated Women, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?