ccmiller1492 Review of Female

Female (1933)

Delightfully amusing comedy is both feminist and sexist by turns

[8/10 · 23 August 2003]

This hilarious 1933 comedy examines the then unlikely and slightly absurd premise of a woman in the role of the ruthless CEO of a major automotive corporation. Ruth Chatterton as Alison Drake runs her company in a manner similar to the Tsarina Catherine running Russia. She constantly reviews her troops (the male employees) to select the most promising for her weekly stud-seduction routine. After dining and wining the intended victim at her lavish villa, and a night of "amour", she subsequently fires him if he shows any sign of attempting to encroach on her independence and detachment. Of course, the seductee always does because his ego won't accept that he's a throw-away one night stand. John Mack Brown is a standout as a typical seductee. And Philip Reed has a cameo as an innocent reject for being "too poetic." When Alison hires a new designer (George Brent) and puts the make on him, he deftly evades her, thus driving her mad until she finally starts falling in love. He slyly keeps outmaneuvering her which spurs her determination even more. At last, she gets so desperate that she resigns her position in his favor, to get him to say "I do." The politically correct male dominance in both business and family is reaffirmed, but given this lady's character one strongly suspects that the battle of the sexes is far from over and may be just beginning!