ISBN 978-0-333-48041-0 9 780333 480410 CELLULOIDSISTERS Celluloid Sisters Women and Popular Cinema JANET THUMIM ConsultantEditor JoCampling Palgrave Macmillan ISBN978-0-333-48041-0 ISBN978-1-349-21961-2(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-1-349-21961-2 ©JanetThumim1992 Softcoverreprintofthehardcover1stedition1992 978-0-333-48040-3 Allrightsreserved.Forinformation,write: ScholarlyandReferenceDivision, St.Martin'sPress,Inc.,175FifthAvenue, NewYork,N.Y.10010 FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericain1992 ISBN978-0-312-07254-4 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Thumim,Janet,1945- Celluloidsisters:womenandpopularcinema/ JanetThumim. p. em. Includesbiblio~aphicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-312-07254-4 1.Womeninmotionpictures. 2.Motionpictures-Socialaspects GreatBritain. I.Title. PNI995.9.W6T48 1992 791.43'652042-dc20 91-30215 CIP For my sister Sue Susanna Lawson (1947-67) Contents ListofPlates ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction:What Does 'Popular Cinema'Mean toWomen? 1 1 Popular Forms and Popularity 11 TheTrade 15 The Audience 28 2 Popular Cinema inBritain, 1945-1965 36 The Films 36 Geme 43 Star Personae 48 3 The Films: Narrative Themes 57 The Forties: Women and Sacrifice 57 The Fifties: Menand National Unity 63 The Sixties: Youthand Authenticity 73 4 The Construction and DefinitionofFemale Characters 86 Male and Female Characters- Numbers 86 The Introduction ofFemale Characters 89 The Definition ofFemale Characters 99 Representations ofWomen inPopularCinema 113 5 The Narrative Resolutions ofFemaleCharacters 115 Whatis thenarrative resolution? 115 Marriageand the Family 119 Alienation and Solitude 126 Death 137 TheSignificanceofEndings 146 vii viii Contents 6 TheFilm Audience and the Female Reader 151 Readers and the Audience 151 TheoriesofReading 155 Theoriesofthe Audience 162 7 Female Readers and theText 170 TheSocial Experienceof the Female Reader 191 Representations ofWomen and Female Readers 206 Conclusion 210 Appendix: SynopsesofFilms 213 Notes 233 General Index 240 Index ofFilm Titles 242 List of Plates 1. Picturegoercover,31/8/46. Alan(MichaelWilding)and Diana (Anna Neagle) inPiccadilly Incident. 2. Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) in The Bells of St. Mary's. Picturegoerfeature 13/4/46. 3. IngridBergmanandherdaughterJenny,Woman's Ownfeature 21/9/63. 4. (above) and5 (below) Maddalena(Phyllis Calvert) is raped in thewoodsneartheConventSchoolinthepreambletoMadonna ofthe Seven Moons. 6. (above) Maddalena (Phyllis Calvert) and Nuns in the garden oftheConventhospital inMadonna ofthe Seven Moons. 7. (below) Maddalena/Rosanna (Phyllis Calvert) on her death bed; her husband's cross and her lover's rose on her breast (Madonna ofthe Seven Moons). 8. (above)and 8a(below)MaddalenabecomesRosanna- Phyllis Calvert inMadonna ofthe Seven Moons. 9. (above) Ralph (GriffithJones) and Caroline(Patricia Roc) ride through the landscapeat theopeningofThe Wicked Lady. 10. (below) Barbara's death (Margaret Lockwood) in The Wicked Lady. 11. Barbara arrives at the Skelton Manor. Margaret Lockwood superimposed on the couple Ralph (Griffith Jones) and Caro line (Patricia Roc) in The Wicked Lady. 12. (above) Dr Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) dining with his seniorpartner'sfamily (daughterWendyplayedbyJoanSims) in Doctorat Sea. 13. (below) Miss MalletnursingCaptainHogg. Brendada Banzie and James RobertsonJustice in Doctorat Sea. 14. Picturegoer spread on Diana Dors in Yield to the Night, Picture goer, 30/6/56. 15. Picturegoer spread on Rebel Without a Cause, Picturegoer, 28/11/56. ix x List ofPlates 16. (above) and 17 (below) Monica Dickens features in Woman's Own, 10/5/56and 13/7/63. 18. Woman's Own feature onEducation 9/5/64. 19. Woman's Own feature onEmployment, 20/6/64. 20. (above)James Bond (Sean Connery) in Goldfinger. 21. (below) Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and her flying circus in Goldfinger. 22. Sophie (SusannahYork) in Tom Jones. 23. Mark (Sean Connery) and Mamie (Tippi Hedren) on their shipboard honeymooninMamie. 24. Mark attempts to discover the extent of Mamie's criminal activities. SeanConnery and Tippi Hedrenin Mamie. 25. Tom and Mrs Waters dining at the Inn (Albert Finney and Joyce Redman) in Tom Jones. Acknowledgements Though I am the author of this book and the words are mine, the energyandcommitmentwhich the projectrequiredarethe product ofthesympathetic and imaginative supportofmany people.Itwas Jo Campling's novel proposal that I should develop my ideas into bookform. Iamimmensely grateful to herfor thatand for hercon tinuous encouragement, as well as thatofSusanSellerswhose par ticipation insome key stages ofthe book's conceptionand produc tion was invaluable. Iam indebted to my PhD. supervisor, Phillip Drummond, who has been consistently encouraging over what is nowaconsiderablenumberofyears:Ihavebothvaluedandenjoyed hisrigorousattentiontomyworkasithasprogressed.Manyfriends havetakentimetoreaddifferentchaptersindraftform,enablingme to keep sightofthe wholewhileentangledwith thedetails ofparts - amongst them Iam particularly grateful to Gill Swansonand Liz Masonfor their expertise and their useful comments. I am also very grateful to Melinda Mash for access to her fas cinating research materials; to the BFI 4th year diploma class of 1989-90 for their enthusiastic interest in my questions; to the BPI Archive viewings department, particularly Elaine Burrows and Jackie Morris, for their generous help in arranging viewings; and to myoid friends Stewartand Sandra Kington for their substantial assistance with the printingofsuccessive drafts. Lifecontinuesaroundthiskindofwork,sometimesthreateningto engulfitaltogether: myclosefriends WendyPearce,HeatherLavis, Virginia Whiles, Jo Murphy and Pat Kirkham haveall periodically reassured me that the work was worth completing - very warm thanks toall ofthem. Last,butreallyfirst, thecheerfulcommitment of my three children Joshua, Nancy and Ella Thumim has been crucial to the completion of the work. They have looked at films with me, discussed characterisations, checked my language on the computer screen or the discarded drafts littering the house, taken over household tasks: in short they have lived through the work with me, enteringinto the fun ofitandmakingsuremyfeet stayed onthe ground. JANET THUMIM xi