Dorothy Arzner 1936

Directing Craig's Wife with Billie Burke and Rosalind Russell at Columbia Pictures.

The cast for this drama also included John Boles, Jane Darwell, and Thomas Mitchell. It was edited by the veteran Film Editor Viola Lawrence.

The coming of sound incorporated the development of the studio “factory” system, and that change conclusively recast the employment culture in Hollywood. Now the field was more industrial, and less open to pioneer artists. Male dominance in the more corporate studio structure pushed women to the margins.

But even in that system, Dorothy Arzner (seen here crouching by the dolly tracks) made a successful transition to directing talkies in the ‘30’s, and it would be many years until she was followed by successful women directors like Ida Lupino, who started directing in 1949 and was only the second woman (after Arzner) invited to join the Directors’ Guild. - Bison Archives and HollywoodHistoricPhotos.com

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