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Weekly Directed By Women Viewing Guide

Depressed flamingos in Suzan Pitt’s Joy Street

This week I’m recommending a grab bag of older films, including the film adaptation of Cari Beauchamp’s book “Without Lying Down Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood,” a modern screwball comedy, a couple of films from the 1970s, a Norwegian drama, a Palestinian short film, and a short animated drama.

The late Cari Beauchamp in the documentary Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood

Trailblazing film historian Cari Beauchamp passed away yesterday and it’s truly difficult to express just how great a loss this is. She was not just a consummate researcher, she was such a kind person who helped everyone who came after her. I am so grateful to his spent time with her as a colleague and a friend. I wrote a bit about her amazing book “Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood” a few months back. The book was published in 1997 and three years later Beauchamp helped adapt it into an hour long documentary retitled Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood directed by Bridget Terry. It airs occasionally on TCM, but you can also watch the film on YouTube. The film is narrated by Uma Thurman and Kathy Bates, and along with Beauchamp it features insight from a myriad of historians, critics, curators, and screenwriters like Kevin Brownlow, Leonard Maltin, Mary Lea Bandy, and Polly Platt.

Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke in Rebecca Miller’s screwball comedy Maggie’s Plan