Anita Loos Archives * Spellbound with Beth Ann

Women’s History Month Read THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE

Beth Ann Gallagher
Book Reviews, Frances Marion, Mary Pickford, Women's History Month
Mar 23, 2018
2 Comments

Melanie Benjamin’s novel delves into the extraordinary friendship and careers of Mary Pickford and Frances Marion.

The Casting That Almost Was–Louise Brooks as Dorothy Shaw

Beth Ann Gallagher
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928), Louise Brooks, Movies
Mar 9, 2016
3 Comments

When refreshing about Anita Loos for my post on the writer, I stumbled across a reference in Pamela Hutchinson‘s excellent silent film column Silent but Deadly! about a casting that almost was–Louise Brooks as Dorothy Shaw. Louise was the studio’s choice to appear in the first screen adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928). If she had been cast,…

Happy International Women’s Day 2016!

Beth Ann Gallagher
Anita Loos, Holidays, International Women's Day, Screenwriters
Mar 8, 2016
0 Comments

For International Women’s Day, let’s take a moment to remember a woman of words, Anita Loos. She started screenwriting in the silent era, and she’s credited for elevating the intertitle beyond the functional into an art form. A wordsmith, wit, and satirist, her intertitles had zing. Yes, they had “It.” It’s likely her exposure to the family tabloid…

Susan and God (1940)

Norma Shearer may have turned down the role of Susan because she thought the role aging (She couldn’t admit to being old enough to have a teenaged daughter), but she would have shown better instincts for avoiding such an unlikeable character in order to protect her screen persona. Joan Crawford shows no such compunction. She…

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Spellbound with Beth Ann

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Anita Loos

Women’s History Month Read THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE

Happy International Women’s Day 2016!

Susan and God (1940)