March is Women’s History Month–and today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day–so as we did last year, True Classics will be celebrating the contributions of women to the world of film with new entries in our “Women in Early Hollywood” series. Throughout the rest of the month, we will once again focus on some of the lesser-known female pioneers who helped shape the movie industry in its infancy and beyond.
Last year, I wrote lengthy treatises … er, entries … on early female directors Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber, and Dorothy Davenport Reid; their successors Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino; and prolific writers Frances Marion, Anita Loos, and June Mathis. This month, we’ll take a look at a few more female directors and writers in addition to other behind-the-scenes figures, all of whom are largely unknown by many modern film fans.
This is a subject that is near and dear to me. Not to sound overly preachy or anything, but as the proud graduate of a women’s university, where a strong emphasis on the roles of women in history, culture, literature, and society underpinned many of my classes, I believe it is utterly vital to recognize and remember those women whose names and efforts may have been lost to the passage of time. This series is my small effort to do just that, and I hope you’ll enjoy learning about these fascinating women as much as I have!
I’ll kick things off at the beginning of next week, but in the meantime, this weekend I’ll be posting my entry for Jessica’s “Gone Too Soon” blogathon! If you haven’t already signed up, there’s still time, so check out the guidelines over at Comet Over Hollywood!
*And now I’m going to have the soundtrack to Annie Get Your Gun in my head all day long.
True Classics 
Are you a Vassar woman? I went to grad school with one of these ladies and was she proud of it! Look forward to your series.
Nope. I’m a W girl (as are Carrie and Nikki). I graduated from Mississippi University for Women (I linked the school’s website above).