Female (Warner Bros.) (1933)

Advance Features: Ruth Chatterton Plays Two Sided Character in “Female” Executive by Day and Outrageous Flirt After Working Hours Portrays Stern Business I Chatterton plays in her latest which opens at the. . different role from anything which the stage or the screen, . . Theatre on T is a strange and unique, not to say startling role, that Ruth First National picture, “Female,” It is also quite a she has portrayed before, either on. She lives, in her character role, what might be termed a sort of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde existence, being a big business woman by day, and a flirt, who even stoops to pick up strangers on the street, at night. She is an alert, ruthless, able andj magnetic business woman. As_ the head of a vast motor car industry inherited from her father she is aggressive and capable of matching wits with the best captains of industry. To her, business and love are as far apart as the poles. She reserves one for the daytime and the other fer the night. This, the young men who fall for her charm, find out, much to their chagrin. For she frequently invites one of the handsome youths in her employ to her home at night where she deliberately induces him to become one of her many lovers. Then when they appear at the office the next day with the presumption that they are in the good graces of the boss, she coldly sets them in their proper places. The character, as drawn in “Female,” is depicted as something of a super woman, who because of her wealth and business genius, believes she has the right to override the conventions of society. She believes that marriage is not for herself, although she is greatly attracted to the male of the species. She plans the conquest of youths she knows, much as a man of a philandering disposition seeks to win a girl. While she cares not how she upsets the hearts of her employee lovers, she reimburses them in other ways, carrying a regular bonus army of Stars of New Strand Film George Brent and Ruth Chatterton are seen together once more in “Female,” the new Warner Bros. film coming to the Strand on Friday. unusual one and, according to advance reports, Ruth Chatterton’s role will afford local fans a real surprise. Mat No. 29, Price 10c. The story is an young men on her payroll who are | Chatterton, never is made to appear given gratuities in addition to the|cheap, even though she flirts out salaries they earn. The character, as played by Miss |ing gallery. rageously with a stranger at a shoot But she knows her men, or thinks she does, and this one happens to be one with such high ideals that he will have none of her. It is this that brings out the really feminine in the character, for womanlike, when. she finds she cannot have what she desires most, she moves heaven and earth to get it. She eventually gets her man, but it is only after her own ideals and her viewpoint of life have changed. In fact, she completely reverses herself, coming to the belief that marriage and a home is woman’s allotment. George Brent, Miss Chatterton’s husband, plays the role of the man who changes her attitude toward life. Johnny Mack Brown, Gavin Gordon and Phillip Reed are among her lovers. There is an unusually strong cast, including such noted screen and stage players as Lois Wilson, Ruth Donnelly, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Rafaelo Ottiano, Sterling Holloway, Kenneth Thomson, Douglas Dumbrille, Walter Walker and Spencer Charters. The setting are lavish in the extreme as befits the home of a wealthy young society woman of cultivated taste. The business settings comprise scenes at a vast plant in Los Angeles, of which Miss Chatterton is head. William Dieterle directed the production from a screen play by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola, who have not only given the picture a fine dramatic interpretation but have enlivened it with sparkling dialogue. It Took 46 People to Put Star Objected to Large Number on Set, But All Were Needed to Make Scene in ‘‘Female”’ The lady herself would have liked it better had fewer people L took forty-six people to put Ruth Chatterton to bed in a picture. taken part in the ceremony. But everyone of the forty-six had a legitimate part in the intimate business of tucking the first lady of the screen under the covers, during the production of her latest which comes to the .. . . Theatre Miss Chatterton reached the set on the morning in question, and recognized what she thought was an unusual air of expectancy, not unlike that which prevailed upon another set the day she was scheduled to do an oriental dance for the picture, “Lilly Turner.” She wore a # warm cloak over the semitransparent negligee and nightie which constituted the “costume” for the scene. Wrapping this coat more closely about her, Miss Chatterton 1—Price 5c hai yi in her chair until Director William Dieterle came to talk to her about the scene. “Are all these people—ah—necessary?” she asked. Director Dieterle make a check. Ruth Chatterton Mat No. All Necessary? He found and reported that all forty-six were on the set with good reason. That not a simple “poacher” could be located. The forty-six necessary bedside attendants, included the director himself of course, and his two assistants. A double camera crew of eight, two sound technicians to record the conversation, two indispensable property men, the dialogue director, Miss Chatterton’s “stand-in,” the script clerk, a wardrobe representative, a makeup expert, a hairdresser and a bed-maker were all absolutely essential. Miss Chatterton’s own maid was naturally on hand to assist her mistress. Ten electricians were needed to light the set. Two carpenters and one painter could not be spared. Eleven other players, who were to First National picture, “Female,” oe ee @ appear in this and following scenes, had a right to their places about the set. All told there were forty-six who simply had to have a hand in photographing Miss Chatterton as she got into the studio bed. When this was explained to her, Miss Chatterton shrugged her lovely shoulders, removed her coat, and walked composedly toward the bed. Outside it was high noon. Inside of the sound stage forty-six people, who might otherwise have been hungry and anxious for lunch, held their collective breaths while the lovely Chatterton eased gracefully into bed. Everyone became suddenly and obviouslv busy. The directors directed, the property men ran about with props, the hairdresser and makeup expert put final touches to the actress’ beauty, the electricians made a great fuss about getting light focused onto the bed. Altogether forty-six busier people were never seen in one place. Director Dieterle waved his gloved hands for silence. “Camera,” he called. Then forty-six necessary people stood silently by while Ruth Chatterton went calmly to sleep for the camera. But the nap was a short one as movie maps have a habit of being, as no one is content to watch a sleeping beauty for long. And so she woke up for the next action scene of which there are plenty in the picture, which. deals with a _ big business woman who uses her handsome male employees as lovers. The screen play is by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola and directed by William Dieterle. George Brent has the leading masculine role while others in the cast include Lois Wilson, Ruth Donnelly, Ferdinand Gottschalk and Johnny Mack Brown. Entire Cast in “‘Female’’ Is Ruth Chatterton to Bed| Composed of Stage Players Ruth Chatterton Supported by Actors Who Have All Starred in Legitimate Theatres E wood from the stage. Ruth Chatterton is the star of “Female.” The footlight career which led her to stardom—with such hits as “Come Out of the Kitchen,” ‘Mary Rose,” “The Changelings” and “La Tendresse’’—is too familiar to need repetition. George Brent, Miss Chatterton’s leading man in “Female,” likewise came to Hollywood from the stage, after appearances in such Broadway dramas as “Those We Love” and “Love, Honor and Betray.” Another member of the cast is the well-known veteran, Ferdinand Gottschalk, whose stage career has covered thirty years. Theatregoers will recall him in “You and I,” “The Buccaneer,” “Tonight or Never,’ and many other productions. ALONE! cameraman and a crew of technicians. Chatterton and George Brent enact a romantic interlude in the picture “Female,” in which Miss Chatterton stars for First National Pictures. Inset shows camera lights and microphone all set to shoot the scene on orders from Director Michael Curtiz. Mat No. 34—Price 15c . except for the director, the ALK about Broadway’s invasion of the movies! There isn’t one principal in “Female,” the First National picture which comes to the .... Theatre on... See 06 WM OP EE a . » who didn’t come to Holly Gavin Gordon, who plays a dapper young secretary in “Female,” had the leading role in Willard Keefe’s prizefight drama, “Celebrity,” when it was produced on Broadway a few years ago. George Blackwood, one of the new young featured players at the First National Studios, has just arrived there from New York where he was seen in “Show Boat,” “Holiday” and “Elizabeth the Queen.” “Female” is his second picture, hav i Ruth ing played a part with Edward G. Robinson and Kay Francis in “I Loved a Woman.” Rafaelo Ottiano, playing one of her ladies’ maids in “Female,” made a huge hit in the New York production of “Grand Hotel” as the harassed servant of Grusinskaya, the dancer. Since that time she has been doing character roles on the screen. Sterling Holloway, another member of the cast of this picture, came to fame several seasons ago in “The Garrick Gaieties,” that beginner’s production, which, to New York’s surprise, ran through many months and three editions at the Garrick Theatre. Sterling has been in Hollywood ever since. Walter Walker is a stage veteran, seen on Broadway most recently in “Holiday,” “Half Gods” and “Rebound.” “Female” is the story of a woman head of a gigantic commercial concern, who is both ruthless in her business methods and in her many love affairs. Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola wrote the screen play. George Brent has the leading masculine role opposite Miss Chatterton, while others in the cast include Lois Wilson, Ruth Donnelly, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Johnny Mack Brown and Phillip Reed. William Dieterle directed. Page Five