This episode traces Marlene Dietrich's rise from Berlin cabarets to Hollywood stardom, exploring her androgynous image, onscreen provocations, and collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg.

It also covers her political courage—refusing Nazi overtures, aiding refugees, entertaining troops on the front lines—and her reinventions after being labeled "box office poison."

Have you ever heard of Kay Francis? It's okay if you haven't - in fact, I'd be surprised if you have. Once dubbed the Queen of Warner Brothers and hailed as one of the top movie stars of the 1930s, today she's largely forgotten.

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Mining by Moonlight Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Today we're diving into the life of Joan Crawford, the star who reinvented herself more times than Madonna, who clawed her way up from genuine poverty to become a Hollywood legend, and who refused to disappear even when the entire industry told her she was finished.

The story of my life is about back entrances, side doors, secret elevators and other ways of getting in and out of places so that people won't bother me.

In the 1920s and 30s, Garbo was as big as they get. She only made 28 movies (for contrast, Joan Crawford starred in 81), but the impact she left on pop culture shows no signs of going away.

In episode 2 of She Paid the Bills, we look at her upbringing in Stockholm, the men who influenced her, and why being called box office poison lead to one of the best performances of her career - only to become her final success.

Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear all about grand dame Joan Crawford - next time.

Mining by Moonlight Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In 1938, some of the biggest Hollywood stars were labelled Box Office Poison by The Independent Theatre Owners' Association. The gist? The likes of Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford weren't bringing in enough money to warrant their huge salaries. In this first episode, we'll look at the ad that started it all, why it had the impact it did, and introduce the women it singled out: Mae West, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, and Kay Francis.

For more info and to subscribe to this podcast, head to She Paid the Bills Pod on Substack.

Credits:

"Mining by Moonlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Kool Kats" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/