First Women of Hollywood: Female Pioneers in the Early Motion Picture Business [Hardcover]

Largely created by immigrants, the film industry evolved over its first few decades thanks to the work of people outside the traditional ruling class—
immigrants, people of color, women—partly as a result of elites denigrating the fledgling field. As the moving picture industry transitioned from neophyte to powerhouse, young and ambitious rebels energized its output.
 
Mostly written out of history, women provided an important component for popularizing silent film and making it a financial success. Women were integral in producing entertaining films to keep up with exploding demand. Men often resented their power and success, and as the studio system took hold, women found themselves out of favor and replaced.
 
First Women of Hollywoodexplores the invaluable contributions of these mostly forgotten and unacknowledged pioneers.Mary Malloryis a motion picture historian. She is the author ofHollywoodland, Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays, Hollywood at Play,A Little Barn Started It All: The History of Hollywood Heritage’s Lasky DeMille Barn, andLiving with Grace: Life Lessons from America’s Princess. She is also a blogger on Los Angeles and motion picture history for the LADaily Mirror. She lives in Studio City, California."Mary Mallory has taken our ongoing study of early women filmmakers to a new height, and a new level of scholarship, withThe First Women of Hollywood. Acknowledging the prominent place that women played as actors, directors, and screenwriters, she turns her attention to the work of Hollywood’s female community in all manner of roles, including studio founder, stunt person, projectionist, costume designer, makeup artist, hairdresser, and animator. She identifies the first ethnic women in film and the women whose influence was crucial to the success of the new medium as critics, trade paper editors, fan magazine editors, and even archivists. Thl£J