The Women Who Built Hollywood: 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera

by Susan Goldman Rubin

Discover the electrifying untold stories of the pioneering and groundbreaking women of Old Hollywood in this nonfiction book perfect for young movie buffs and budding feminists alike.

While recent phenomena like #OscarsSoWhite have reminded us that Hollywood can be an unfriendly place to people of color and to women, they have been an integral part of the industry from the beginning. In the early twentieth century, women from all walks of life fought against sexism and racism to succeed in Hollywood as actors, directors, costume designers, editors, and stuntwomen. From well-known, glamorous starlets like Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, to under-appreciated trailblazers like Anna May Wong and Hattie McDaniel, acclaimed author Susan Goldman Rubin shows that movies wouldn’t be the same without the women who succeeded against the odds and built Hollywood from the ground up. Filled with fascinating photographs and little-known facts, this rigorously researched book begins with a foreword from a Hollywood insider.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Audiobook, Film

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2023

About the author

Susan Goldman Rubin is the author of more than forty-five books for young people, including Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter; The Yellow House: Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side; and Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow. A long-time instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers Program, Susan Goldman Rubin lives in Malibu, California.

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning I didn’t know that this book was written for young people between the ages of 12-17 years old. I found the writing simplistic and now I know why.

The author has presented 12 women ‘firsts’ in the film industry dating back to the early silent era.

Included are not only well known actresses such as Mary Pickford, but screenwriter Francis Marion, director Dorothy Arzner, costume designer Clare West and Margaret Booth who began her career as a ‘cutter’ and proved so good at her job she became a first rate Film Editor winning many awards.

As much as the book is meant for youngsters it was interesting enough for me to award 4-stars since I had only ever known of the actresses and didn’t know any of the other women included.

Their stories are not very detailed in short chapters with interesting photos. Easy reading for any age.

I recommend this as a wonderful introduction to youngsters interested in learning about women in early Hollywood.

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب عن أول ١٢ سيدة يتعبروا رائدات ف صناعة السنيما في هوليوود منهم أول ممثلة سمراء, أول ممثلة صينية في امريكا، أول مونتيرة، صانعة ملابس ، مخرجة وهكذا

الكتاب ف كلام كتييير ف كنت بستعين ب جوجل يجيب من الآخر الناس دي عملت ايه وخلاص

مجهود كويس بس كان محتاج مجموعة اكبر من السيدات علشان يكون قيم اكتر .. من وجهة نظري يعني

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Early Hollywood is fascinating to me, and I also love biographies, so this collection of the stories of Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Frances Marion, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, Hattie McDaniel, Marion Wong, Anna May Wong, Dorothy Arzner, Margaret Booth, Clare West, and Helen Holmes as fascinating and also well-researched. Looking at individuals is a good way to understand the history through a particular lens, and it is impressive that Rubin was able to not only high light women, but to find a little bit of diversity in the film industry. There's so much written about Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and other white men that it's interesting to see how the early movies included women.

Each subject gets a picture or two, information about early life, and a good overview of her film career. There's enough about studio systems, the way films were made, and a bit about the types of films that were popular and how they were consumed by the public that readers who are unfamiliar with this time period will be better able to understand the impact these women had. Readers might be encouraged to try to find some of the films mentioned; I've seen the 1959 Douglas Sirk version of Imitation of Life, but don't know how I've missed the 1934 one with Cincinnati native Louise Beavers and Claudette Colbert. The saddest part of the book was Beavers' comment that she would rather be playing maids in films than working as a maid.

It can be a little difficult to get middle grade readers to investigate pop culture of 100 years ago; Lillian Gish was almost exactly my grandmother's age, and she would be 130 were she still alive! Still, this is a valuable book to have for pleasure reading as well as National History Day projects. Calkins Creek publishes such great narrative nonfiction like Brimner's Blacklisted! or Jarrow's Blood and Germs, so I will purchase this one right away so I can get it in hardcover.

This is also a great book to have as a resource for students who read Wiley's The Nerviest Girl in the World, Cheaney's I Don't Know How the Story Ends, Nesbet's Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen, or even Fleming's Strongheart! I'd love to see individual biographies of any of these women; the only one I've seen so far is Yoo's book about Anna May Wong.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

12 short biographies of early Hollywood's women, includes actresses, directors, costumers, editors and more. Mary Pickford was one of the founders of United Artists and America’s Sweetheart. Lillian Gish was the highest paid actress of her time, her career lasted for 75 years. Frances Marion was screen writer and a friend of Mary Pickford. After a studio almost scrapped a film she wrote starring Pickford, an audience preview showed that it was a hit! This is now an industry standard. Louise Beavers' performance as Delilah in “Imitation of Life” (1934) was Oscar-worthy, some say she didn’t receive the award because there was no “best Supporting Actress" category yet; other maintain it was because she was Black. Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Academy Award (1939).

When I was in Jr. High, I would have absolutely eaten this up. The biographies are short, but long enough to give great information about the women and include some fun stories about them as well. Each story builds from the next - referencing some of the same people and films. I hope today’s readers will be as delighted as I am. The main characters are White, Black, and Asian.

Cross posted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Pickford. Marion Wong. Dorothy Arzner. Names from Hollywood's earliest days that many have forgotten or never known. This wonderful book introduces a dozen groundbreaking females from the early days of the motion picture industry, giving them credit for their skills and their courage. As the subtitle states, they were 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera. Whether they were actresses - Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, Hattie McDaniel, Anna May Wong; a director - Dorothy Arzner; a screenwriter - Frances Marion, a producer - Marion Wong; a film editor - Margaret Booth; a costume designer - Clare West; or a stuntwoman - Helen Holmes - they all paved the way for those who came later.

The stories of each career are supported with photos showing various roles or scenes of the women at work behind the camera or at the editing desk, etc. As Ruth E. Carter says in her foreword, "These women did not just build Hollywood, they contributed to its longevity. They were breaking ground and breaking stereotypes. They were role models. They were a founding generation of women in Hollywood who helped future generations not only exist but have the powerful and diverse voices that they have now."

This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in Hollywood, the motion picture industry, and the role of women in popular culture. Publication date is set for May 16, just in time for some summer reading.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

For other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

Even without knowing that this book was geared towards younger readers, you can tell as you go through that's the target audience. The biographies for each woman detail their careers with little mention of their personal lives, which is fine, but if I were a kid reading this, I'd want to know more about the women's personal lives, too.

Many of the women I had never heard of, and some I was more familiar with. The photos of the women at work add to their stories.

My only beef is that DW Griffith's Birth of a Nation isn't given a more severe criticism. The who, what, where, when and why this racist film, while groundbreaking for its filmmaking techniques, is just as bad as Gone With the Wind for it's glorification of slavery.

[Cheryl Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging biographical essays about women in the early days of motion pictures, mostly 1910 into the 1930s, though a few of the trailblazers had careers that went beyond that. Women had more power in the movie business before it became big business, and some were responsible for important innovations. While I've always had an interest in early film history, there were people in this book that I had never heard of, especially behind the camera. It was written for the YA audience and the language is very accessible. It handles sexism and racism in a straightforward manner, mostly framing them within a historical perspective, with due attention paid to diverse voices that were often suppressed at the time. It was fun to read and I learned a lot.

[Critter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

This was a fantastic book that includes very well written biographies. The images accompanying the biographies are stunning. Each biography provides fantastic details about the lives of these women and even comments on the films, productions, and attitudes prevalent during the lives of the women discussed in this book. I highly recommend this book to any reader who is interested in any of the women or the history of Hollywood.

[Abundance_of_Fiction (Malory) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book to add to my classroom library. While I did like that the book appealed to a younger audience, I felt that in trying to mention more obscure influences on film industry, there was not a lot of new information about some of the more notable figures. This would be a great introductory piece for young reader, but they would have to do a lot more independent reading about each individual to get a more intimate feel for their work.

Overall, quick read and informative but doesn’t get too deep on the personal aspects. More of a broad “now you know” about them approach.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to early film stars, producers, writers, and entrepreneurs who are often overlooked or forgotten.
My favorite was Hattie McDaniels because without her Gone With the Wind wouldn’t have been half as successful.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in movie history.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Calkin’s Creek for the early read.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short biographical sketches of female pioneers in early Hollywood. Although the writing is flat and sometimes clumsy, each profile intrigued me enough to learn more about the women. A great starter book to prompt deeper research.

[Anthony Millspaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy learning more about women whose names I’d recognized and those I hadn’t known. There were a number of repetitive facts that might have been eliminated by melding together the stories instead of giving each woman her own chapter.

[Nicholas Pokorny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the women featured in this book were there when film and cinema was new. They helped build the industry and the industry turned on them. Thankfully, this book shows 12 of them who essentially created many of the conventions we know and understand today in the world of cinema.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone please make this a documentary

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice YA About Early Women Filmmakers

A very good read about early female filmmakers. It covers several important women and I found it very readable and likable. I learned a lot.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Sisa Wang]

Insightful, encouraging for female filmmakers.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting topic, but the writing was very dry and surface-level

[Linda Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great compilation of a variety of the diverse women who shaped Hollywoods early days.