mar 26, 1927 - Dorothy Azner

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Dorothy Azner was the only female director during the 'Golden age' of Hollywood in the 1930s to the early 1940s and the first female director to work in the 'sound era' of film. She has one of the largest arrays of work even to this day in Hollywood and is described as one of the most influential female directors.

She understood and worked on many parts of filmmaking from editing, writing, advertising, sound design to directing. her first film was called 'Fashions for women' and was released on this date. She was most famously known for being the first female director to successfully transition into making 'Talkies.' She was usually given directing work on Talkies because they were perceived as being too boring for professional big names to work on, as techniques weren't properly developed yet. The sound equipment used was big and difficult to move, so scenes in early talkies were very still and had no big action, making the big production companies assume it would be an easier job for a woman to take on. However, Azner wanted to make her talkies action filled and interesting, so she got together with her crew and came up with the idea of putting the sound device on a levitated fishing line so they could move it around and follow the action. She invented the first boom pole.

She was extremely inventive and strong, she broke through the ceiling of the male-dominated world of the film industry and proved herself, she won many awards in her name as well as helping actors rise to fame such as Katherin Hepburn and made many influential films.

Her films always had very strong and interesting woman characters who led full and well-developed lives. Her films seemed to subtly challenge the male-dominated system of society and the strongly stereotyped woman that was seen in other films. Her work held a strong place during the beginning of the feminist movement in 1960 and many other areas of activism such as gay rights, a lot of her films also subtly challenged many stereotypes around lesbian woman especially 'Christopher Strong.' She also used her filmmaking skills to make training videos for women during world war 2.

Dorothy Azner was and still is a symbol and role model for woman filmmakers trying to move into mainstream cinema and her contribution was a big step socially and practically within film and Hollywood. In 1975 the DGA honoured Azner's work with a telegraph from Katherine Hepburn sent to Dorothy saying,

"Isn't it wonderful that you've had such a great career, when you had no right to have a career at all?"

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