Between 1929 and 1934, women in American cinema took lovers, had babies out of wedlock, got rid of cheating husbands, enjoyed their sexuality and led unapologetic careers. Before then, women on screen had come in two varieties - sweet ingenue or vamp. Then two stars came along and blasted away those stereotypes. Greta Garbo turned the femme fatale into a woman whose capacity for love and sacrifice made all other human emotions seem pale. Meanwhile, Norma Shearer succeeded in taking the ingenue to a place she'd never been: the bedroom. These complicated women paved the way for a deluge of indelible stars - Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow and Mae West to name a few. Then in 1934, the draconian Production Code became law in Hollywood, and these women were banished, not to be seen again for three decades.
- ISBN10 0312284314
- ISBN13 9780312284312
- Publish Date 19 December 2001 (first published 31 October 2000)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 13 December 2008
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 304
- Language English