Celluloid Sisters: Women And Popular Cinema

273 Pages·1992·16.168 MB·English

by  Janet Thumim (auth.), Jo Campling (eds.)

ISBN 978-0-333-48041-0
9 780333 480410
CELLULOIDSISTERS
Celluloid Sisters
Women and Popular Cinema
JANET THUMIM
ConsultantEditor
JoCampling
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN978-0-333-48041-0 ISBN978-1-349-21961-2(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-1-349-21961-2
©JanetThumim1992
Softcoverreprintofthehardcover1stedition1992 978-0-333-48040-3
Allrightsreserved.Forinformation,write:
ScholarlyandReferenceDivision,
St.Martin'sPress,Inc.,175FifthAvenue,
NewYork,N.Y.10010
FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericain1992
ISBN978-0-312-07254-4
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Thumim,Janet,1945-
Celluloidsisters:womenandpopularcinema/ JanetThumim.
p. em.
Includesbiblio~aphicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-312-07254-4
1.Womeninmotionpictures. 2.Motionpictures-Socialaspects
GreatBritain. I.Title.
PNI995.9.W6T48 1992
791.43'652042-dc20 91-30215
CIP
For my sister Sue
Susanna Lawson (1947-67)
Contents
ListofPlates ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction:What Does 'Popular Cinema'Mean toWomen? 1
1 Popular Forms and Popularity 11
TheTrade 15
The Audience 28
2 Popular Cinema inBritain, 1945-1965 36
The Films 36
Geme 43
Star Personae 48
3 The Films: Narrative Themes 57
The Forties: Women and Sacrifice 57
The Fifties: Menand National Unity 63
The Sixties: Youthand Authenticity 73
4 The Construction and DefinitionofFemale
Characters 86
Male and Female Characters- Numbers 86
The Introduction ofFemale Characters 89
The Definition ofFemale Characters 99
Representations ofWomen inPopularCinema 113
5 The Narrative Resolutions ofFemaleCharacters 115
Whatis thenarrative resolution? 115
Marriageand the Family 119
Alienation and Solitude 126
Death 137
TheSignificanceofEndings 146
vii
viii Contents
6 TheFilm Audience and the Female Reader 151
Readers and the Audience 151
TheoriesofReading 155
Theoriesofthe Audience 162
7 Female Readers and theText 170
TheSocial Experienceof the Female Reader 191
Representations ofWomen and Female Readers 206
Conclusion 210
Appendix: SynopsesofFilms 213
Notes 233
General Index 240
Index ofFilm Titles 242
List of Plates
1. Picturegoercover,31/8/46. Alan(MichaelWilding)and Diana
(Anna Neagle) inPiccadilly Incident.
2. Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) in The Bells of St.
Mary's. Picturegoerfeature 13/4/46.
3. IngridBergmanandherdaughterJenny,Woman's Ownfeature
21/9/63.
4. (above) and5 (below) Maddalena(Phyllis Calvert) is raped in
thewoodsneartheConventSchoolinthepreambletoMadonna
ofthe Seven Moons.
6. (above) Maddalena (Phyllis Calvert) and Nuns in the garden
oftheConventhospital inMadonna ofthe Seven Moons.
7. (below) Maddalena/Rosanna (Phyllis Calvert) on her death
bed; her husband's cross and her lover's rose on her breast
(Madonna ofthe Seven Moons).
8. (above)and 8a(below)MaddalenabecomesRosanna- Phyllis
Calvert inMadonna ofthe Seven Moons.
9. (above) Ralph (GriffithJones) and Caroline(Patricia Roc) ride
through the landscapeat theopeningofThe Wicked Lady.
10. (below) Barbara's death (Margaret Lockwood) in The Wicked
Lady.
11. Barbara arrives at the Skelton Manor. Margaret Lockwood
superimposed on the couple Ralph (Griffith Jones) and Caro
line (Patricia Roc) in The Wicked Lady.
12. (above) Dr Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) dining with his
seniorpartner'sfamily (daughterWendyplayedbyJoanSims)
in Doctorat Sea.
13. (below) Miss MalletnursingCaptainHogg. Brendada Banzie
and James RobertsonJustice in Doctorat Sea.
14. Picturegoer spread on Diana Dors in Yield to the Night, Picture
goer, 30/6/56.
15. Picturegoer spread on Rebel Without a Cause, Picturegoer,
28/11/56.
ix
x List ofPlates
16. (above) and 17 (below) Monica Dickens features in Woman's
Own, 10/5/56and 13/7/63.
18. Woman's Own feature onEducation 9/5/64.
19. Woman's Own feature onEmployment, 20/6/64.
20. (above)James Bond (Sean Connery) in Goldfinger.
21. (below) Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and her flying circus
in Goldfinger.
22. Sophie (SusannahYork) in Tom Jones.
23. Mark (Sean Connery) and Mamie (Tippi Hedren) on their
shipboard honeymooninMamie.
24. Mark attempts to discover the extent of Mamie's criminal
activities. SeanConnery and Tippi Hedrenin Mamie.
25. Tom and Mrs Waters dining at the Inn (Albert Finney and
Joyce Redman) in Tom Jones.
Acknowledgements
Though I am the author of this book and the words are mine, the
energyandcommitmentwhich the projectrequiredarethe product
ofthesympathetic and imaginative supportofmany people.Itwas
Jo Campling's novel proposal that I should develop my ideas into
bookform. Iamimmensely grateful to herfor thatand for hercon
tinuous encouragement, as well as thatofSusanSellerswhose par
ticipation insome key stages ofthe book's conceptionand produc
tion was invaluable. Iam indebted to my PhD. supervisor, Phillip
Drummond, who has been consistently encouraging over what is
nowaconsiderablenumberofyears:Ihavebothvaluedandenjoyed
hisrigorousattentiontomyworkasithasprogressed.Manyfriends
havetakentimetoreaddifferentchaptersindraftform,enablingme
to keep sightofthe wholewhileentangledwith thedetails ofparts
- amongst them Iam particularly grateful to Gill Swansonand Liz
Masonfor their expertise and their useful comments.
I am also very grateful to Melinda Mash for access to her fas
cinating research materials; to the BFI 4th year diploma class of
1989-90 for their enthusiastic interest in my questions; to the BPI
Archive viewings department, particularly Elaine Burrows and
Jackie Morris, for their generous help in arranging viewings; and
to myoid friends Stewartand Sandra Kington for their substantial
assistance with the printingofsuccessive drafts.
Lifecontinuesaroundthiskindofwork,sometimesthreateningto
engulfitaltogether: myclosefriends WendyPearce,HeatherLavis,
Virginia Whiles, Jo Murphy and Pat Kirkham haveall periodically
reassured me that the work was worth completing - very warm
thanks toall ofthem. Last,butreallyfirst, thecheerfulcommitment
of my three children Joshua, Nancy and Ella Thumim has been
crucial to the completion of the work. They have looked at films
with me, discussed characterisations, checked my language on the
computer screen or the discarded drafts littering the house, taken
over household tasks: in short they have lived through the work
with me, enteringinto the fun ofitandmakingsuremyfeet stayed
onthe ground.
JANET THUMIM
xi