SassMouthDames

Geraldine Fitzgerald fought with studio boss Jack Warner for better parts. She refused to play by the rules of stardom and ultimately walked out of Hollywood in 1946. Although her career never matched the size of her talent on the big screen, Geraldine turned in outstanding performances in pictures such as The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) where she plays a venomous hot house flower. And what of the gossip about a love child with Orson Welles? I get to that, too.

For decades, Hedda Hopper argued that Hollywood was unfair to women. She campaigned for more women screenwriters, producers, and directors. She used her influence to boost the career of many women, including Joan Crawford, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Shelley Winters. She put the fear of god into Louis B Mayer when he tried to shove Ida Koverman into the Motion Picture Country Home.

Glowing press features and the cover of Time magazine in 1947 probably encouraged Hedda Hopper to sink her teeth into the Anti-Communist debate. Hedda played a shameful role in the blacklist years, but she should be remembered for more than that.

After Louella Parsons lost a monopoly over publicity department exclusives, she initially struggled as a result of competition from Hedda Hopper and other columnists. But Louella captured two of the biggest scoops of the post-war studio era when she reported a global exclusive on Rita Hayworth's marriage to Prince Aly Khan and then when she verified rumours about Ingrid Bergman's 'out of wedlock' pregnancy. In the 1950s, she kept up with a new massive teenage fan base by covering their stars and adopting their slang. Louella had pioneered celebrity journalism and continued to roll with the punches to remain relevant.

A palm reader once told Hedda Hopper that she was in the wrong profession--she wasn't an actress--she was a writer. By the time she was 50, Hedda was considered a failure by Hollywood standards. She was a washed up actress when a newspaper publisher dropped a column in her lap. Hedda approached her work as a columnist like it was a dramatic performance, which she acted out while dictating copy to a secretary. Within two years, she was a formidable rival to gossip queen, Louella Parsons.

During the 1930s, Louella Parsons had the power to drag a mogul or producer out of bed in the middle of the night. If she rang a studio to talk to a star, they would stop production in the middle of a scene to answer Louella. Barbed attacks appeared in the press, mostly from men who could not swallow the fact that a middle-aged dame was at the top of their profession. By the end of the decade, Louella was toppled by bad press and lost scoops.

Born Elda Furry, she toiled from dawn to bedtime because her father believed women were beasts of burden. She ran away and joined a chorus line, and fell for a middle-aged Broadway star, DeWolf Hopper. He was a notorious skirt chaser with no body hair and blue skin. She made her film debut in 1916, and changed her name to Hedda Hopper in 1918, Hedda advanced her career by using glamorous style to upstage stars. At one point she asked for $1000 a week salary--the producers didn't blink. DeWolf Hopper was furious that the showgirl he picked up suddenly matched him in salary.

Louella Parsons overcame a bad marriage, raised her daughter on her own, and became one of the most powerful writers in a modern celebrity culture. She started as the first scenario editor in Essanay studio, and extended her career as a daily film columnist in Chicago and New York. She was an influential voice in film journalism by the time she met William Randolph Hearst. Part One closes with Louella travelling to Palm Springs to recover from tuberculosis on Hearst's dime.

No More Ladies (1935) is a highbrow take on how to turn the tables on a cheating husband. It has style for days--in the dialogue, performances, fashion. Even better, the picture boasts a collection of sass mouth dames such as Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick, and Joan Fontaine, in her screen debut. After Joan's through with Bob Montgomery, he's more submissive than the giant sheepdog on a leash.

Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar by playing a brave woman who declared sexual independence. What makes her performance a stand out is the rage that anchors her libido. When Taylor appears in a fury, stomping around in a slip, high heels, and a stolen mink, with a bottle of hooch under her arm, she gives you the strength to fight another day. After 18 years in MGM, four marriages, three children, and a tabloid scandal, all before she turned 30, Elizabeth Taylor earned the Oscar, before the Vatican condemned her for 'erotic vagrancy'.

I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) was one of MGM's biggest box office hits. Susan Hayward earned rave reviews and her fourth Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Based on the life story of Lillian Roth, the production brought Susan Hayward her share of sorrow. The strain on set, a bitter divorce, and a custody battle drove her to a breakdown. Susan overdosed on sleeping pills and nearly died. She made headlines once again in a row with another woman over morning coffee at a lover's house. Let's not forget that she had also recently received radiation poisoning, thanks to ex-lover Howard Hughes.