It’s impossible to overstate Dorothy Arzner’s importance as a feminist and film pioneer. She was the first female contract director in Hollywood, the first female member of the DGA, the widely acknowledged inventor of the boom mike and one of the first women to assert a female point of view in mainstream film. According to one scholar, Arzner, the helmer of 16 features, is still the most prolific woman studio director in the history of American cinema.

Now UCLA is launching “Dorothy Arzner: A Retrospective,” which will screen twelve of her directorial efforts and two of her scripted works. The series begins on July 31 with “The Wild Party” and “Anybody’s Woman.” Among the many female stars she guided toward success are Clara Bow in “The Wild Party,” Katharine Hepburn in “Christopher Strong,” Lucille Ball and Maureen O’Hara in “Dance, Girl, Dance,” Merle Oberon in “First Comes Courage,” Joan Crawford in “The Bride Wore Red,” Rosalind Russell in “Craig’s Wife” and Claudette Colbert in “Honor Among Lovers.” All of these films can be seen during the retrospective.

“Try as a man may, he will never be able to get the woman’s viewpoint in
telling certain stories,” said Arzner in 1930.
“Many stories demand treatment at the hands of a woman, not only from
the script side but also in the direction, and here a woman should be
allowed to direct in all cases.”

Here’s the schedule:

July 31: “The Wild Party,” “Anybody’s Woman”

Aug. 1: “Working Girls,” “Sarah and Son”

Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.: “First Comes Courage”

Aug. 15: :”Craig’s Wife,” “Christopher Strong”

Aug. 22: “Nana”

Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. “The Red Kimono,” “Old Ironsides”

Sept. 11: “Honor Among Lovers,” “Merrily We Go to Hell”

Sept. 18: “Dance, Girl, Dance,” “The Bride Wore Red”

Get more info on the retrospective here.

READ MORE: Hollywood’s First Contract Director Dorothy Arzner

[via LA Times]