Top Down: Rooftop Cinema
FEMALE
DIRECTOR: MICHAEL CURTIZ
US, 1933
Before the morally corrective Hays Code was enacted in 1934, Hollywood had all sorts of naughty ideas, even going so far as to suggest that a woman could be the successful CEO of a huge motor car company, or that she might not be interested in buying the cow if she could get the milk for free (or however that saying goes). Ruth Chatterton plays the beguiling captain of industry with classic rat-a-tat delivery of searing dialogue. She’s shrewd in business and assertive poolside (and wait until you see that art deco pool!). The outlook is so refreshing that any scenario she can contemplate for settling down—with even the most charming engineer or gigolo—is a downright disappointing alternative. (60 mins.)
BAND: A LA MODE