Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System

Debut author Carman, a film studies professor at Chapman University, upends conventional wisdom in this valuable and informative historical study of the business practices of freelance actresses during the 1930s. Contrary to the popular narrative that portrays Hollywood starlets of the era as studio playthings at the whim of powerful producers and A-list directors, the author relies on a broad range of research materials that suggest the opposite was often true. This compact and focused academic analysis concentrates on several notable talents, including Carole Lombard, Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, and Miriam Hopkins, who were able to negotiate lucrative freelance contracts with salaries that matched those of their male costars. These independent working women also regularly made their own business decisions, which included choosing particular film roles as well as selecting the directors, producers, and stylists they wanted to work with, in a concerted effort to shape their own public personas. It's difficult to quibble with Carman's well-argued conclusion that women played a much more important role within the Hollywood star system than they've previously been credited for. (Dec.)