Hawksian woman

Last updated
Lauren Bacall with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944), where Bacall portrays a wanderer named after Howard Hawks's wife Slim Keith Bogart and Bacall To Have and Have Not.jpg
Lauren Bacall with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944), where Bacall portrays a wanderer named after Howard Hawks's wife Slim Keith

In film theory, the "Hawksian woman" is a character archetype of the tough-talking woman, popularized in film by director Howard Hawks through his use of actresses such as Katharine Hepburn, [1] Ann Dvorak, Rosalind Russell, [2] Barbara Stanwyck, [3] and Angie Dickinson. [4] The best known Hawksian woman is probably Lauren Bacall, who iconically played the type opposite Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep. [5] [6] The archetype was first identified by film critic Naomi Wise in 1971. [7] [8]

Contents

Characteristics

The Hawksian woman is up-front in speaking her mind and keeping up with her male counterparts in witty banter, as well as taking action to get what she wants personally as well as sexually. She can be seen as the fast-talker, frank, and can beat a man in verbal sparring. [9]

Despite his preference for this kind of woman, Hawks never considered himself a feminist, and simply stated that he thought these women were lively and interesting both in films and in life. Hawks' marriage to actress Slim Keith shows this interest in life and directing in her book Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life. [10] It is believed that Lauren Bacall was the perfect woman for Hawks. In Keith's book it states "Howard had been working on this formula woman for years in his films. Rather, it was that, until he met me, the woman of his dreams was only in his head. And until Howard got to Betty Bacall, there hadn’t been an actress to make that dream come alive on screen." [10] Hawks' first film, A Girl in Every Port , exhibited the start of the female lead's formula, in which Louise Brooks was directed as the very first Hawksian woman. [11] A later example of a Hawksian woman would be Barbara Stanwyck's character in Ball of Fire , in which she plays Sugarpuss O'Shea, alongside Gary Cooper. [3] Hawksian women would work under Hawks' direction with exclusive contracts, using an actress like Lauren Bacall just twice a year to make the public want them more. [12]

The Hawksian woman plays across general female role expectations for the setting, defining herself and her choices and leading action. This albeit on masculine terms as denoted by being known, like the male protagonists, by nickname rather than forename. This makes the Hawksian woman especially different from other female archetypes of the time, in that she is considered "one of the gang" rather than an object of sexual desire. [13] She can hold her own in a wit-driven argument, have the same profession as her male counterpart, and keep her cool under stress. [10] The equality given to the Hawksian woman by the director, however, does not detract from her feminine qualities, such as seductiveness and softness. [3] The strength of the Hawksian woman often brings out the more masculine qualities of an otherwise quiet and timid male lead. [8] Typically Hawksian women came from either the aristocracy and learned to appreciate their working man's ideals, or were hard-working professionals themselves who fought for the good of the common man. [9] Hawks discussed his preference for this kind of woman in some detail with Joseph McBride, taking up a full chapter of Hawks on Hawks (1982).

Angie Dickinson as "Feathers", opposite John Wayne ("Chance") in Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959) Howard Hawks'Rio Bravo trailer (27).jpg
Angie Dickinson as "Feathers", opposite John Wayne ("Chance") in Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959)

Hawksian women would be tailored in well-cut, sporty styles that were attractive yet down-to-earth. [10] Physically Hawksian women are not all classic beauties, but rather are carried more by their spunk and charisma than their physical features. [14]

Decline

According to some film critics, the Hawksian woman slowly faded from Hollywood in the 1950s, as a new archetype for female leads came to the screen. [14] World War II had ended, and the role of women in society had changed. [14] Germaine Greer describes this archetype as the "Female Eunuch", powerless women often portrayed by actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Catherine Deneuve. [14]

Influence

John Carpenter, an avowed Hawks fan, includes Hawksian women in most of his movies, from Assault on Precinct 13 through Ghosts of Mars. Examples of Hawksian women in Carpenter's films include the characters played by Karen Allen in Starman and Adrienne Barbeau in The Fog and Escape from New York (the latter was also his real-life wife at the time).

In a May 2000 profile of actress Cameron Diaz in The New York Times , journalist Dave Kehr remarked that Diaz "would have fit marvelously well into the tradition of the Hawksian woman, with her sense of fun, camaraderie and forthright sexuality." [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Hawks</span> American filmmaker (1896–1977)

Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." Roger Ebert called Hawks "one of the greatest American directors of pure movies, and a hero of auteur critics because he found his own laconic values in so many different kinds of genre material." He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Sergeant York (1941) and earned the Honorary Academy Award in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humphrey Bogart</span> American actor (1899–1957)

Humphrey DeForest Bogart, colloquially nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screwball comedy</span> Genre of comedy film

Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristics similar to film noir, distinguished by a female character who dominates the relationship with the male central character, whose masculinity is challenged, and the two engage in a humorous battle of the sexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Stanwyck</span> American actress (1907–1990)

Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. She was a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra, and made 85 films in 38 years before turning to television.

<i>His Girl Friday</i> 1940 film by Howard Hawks

His Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper editor named Walter Burns who is about to lose his ace reporter and ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, newly engaged to another man. Burns suggests they cover one more story together, getting themselves entangled in the case of murderer Earl Williams as Burns desperately tries to win back his wife. The screenplay was adapted from the 1928 play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. This was the second time the play had been adapted for the screen, the first occasion being the 1931 film which kept the original title The Front Page.

<i>Ball of Fire</i> 1941 film by Howard Hawks

Ball of Fire is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The Samuel Goldwyn Productions film concerns a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge. The supporting cast includes Oscar Homolka, S. Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Richard Haydn, Dana Andrews, and Dan Duryea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalind Russell</span> American actress (1907–1976)

Catherine Rosalind Russell was an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and singer, known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), opposite Cary Grant, as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in Auntie Mame (1958) and Rose in Gypsy (1962). A noted comedienne, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1953 for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times during her career before being awarded a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Bacall</span> American actress (1924–2014)

Betty Joan Perske, professionally known as Lauren Bacall, was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to the Golden Age of motion pictures. She was known for her alluring, sultry presence and her distinctive, husky voice. Bacall was one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

<i>Applause</i> (musical) Musical about All About Eve

Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The musical is based on the 1950 film All About Eve and the short story on which the movie is based, Mary Orr's "The Wisdom of Eve". The story centers on aging star Margo Channing, who innocently takes a fledgling actress under her wing, unaware that the ruthless Eve is plotting to steal her career and her man.

The Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year award is bestowed annually by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals society at Harvard University. The award was created in 1951, and its first recipient was Gertrude Lawrence, an English actress, singer, and dancer. It has since been awarded annually by the society members of the Hasty Pudding to performers deemed to have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment".

<i>The Big Sleep</i> (1946 film) 1946 US film noir by Howard Hawks

The Big Sleep is a 1946 American film noir directed by Howard Hawks. William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman co-wrote the screenplay, which adapts Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge in a story that begins with blackmail and leads to multiple murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizabeth Scott</span> American actress and singer (1922–2015)

Lizabeth Virginia Scott was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir during the 1940s and 1950s". After understudying the role of Sabina in the original Broadway and Boston stage productions of The Skin of Our Teeth, she emerged in such films as The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Dead Reckoning (1947), Desert Fury (1947), and Too Late for Tears (1949). Of her 22 films, she was the leading lady in all but three. In addition to stage and radio, she appeared on television from the late 1940s to early 1970s.

To Have and Have Not is a 1944 American romantic war adventure film directed by Howard Hawks, loosely based on Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan and Lauren Bacall; it also features Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael, Sheldon Leonard, Dan Seymour, and Marcel Dalio. The plot, centered on the romance between a freelancing fisherman in Martinique and a beautiful American drifter, is complicated by the growing French resistance in Vichy France.

<i>The Strange Love of Martha Ivers</i> 1946 film

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a 1946 American film noir drama directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas in his film debut. It follows a man who is reunited with his childhood friend and her husband; both the childhood friend and her husband believe that the man knows the truth about the mysterious death of the woman's wealthy aunt years prior. The screenplay was written by Robert Rossen, adapted from the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by playwright John Patrick.

<i>Female Chauvinist Pigs</i> Book by Ariel Levy

Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture is a 2005 book by Ariel Levy that critiques the highly sexualized American culture in which women are objectified, objectify one another, and are encouraged to objectify themselves. Levy refers to this as "raunch culture".

<i>The Beautiful Boy</i> 2003 book by Germaine Greer

The Beautiful Boy is a book by radical feminist academic Germaine Greer, published in 2003 as The Boy in the Commonwealth by Thames & Hudson and in the rest of the world by Rizzoli. Its avowed intention was "to advance women's reclamation of their capacity for and right to visual pleasure". The book is a study of the youthful male face and form, from antiquity to the present day, from paintings and drawings to statuary and photographs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Keith</span> American socialite (1917–1990)

Nancy "Slim" Keith, Lady Keith was an American socialite and fashion icon during the 1950s and 1960s, exemplifying the American jet set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germaine Greer</span> Australian writer and public intellectual (born 1939)

Germaine Greer is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century.

Rosalind (<i>As You Like It</i>) Character in As You Like It

Rosalind is the heroine and protagonist of the play As You Like It (1600) by William Shakespeare. In the play, she disguises herself as a male shepherd named Ganymede. Many actors have portrayed Rosalind, including Sarah Wayne Callies, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Bergner, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Helen Mirren, Patti LuPone, Helen McCrory, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrian Lester and Arabella Dulcie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Bacall on screen and stage</span>

American actress Lauren Bacall (1924–2014) had an extensive career in films, television shows, and plays. She was one of the leading ladies during the Golden Age of Hollywood along with actresses such as Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth. Bacall started her career as a teenage fashion model when she appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and was discovered by Howard Hawks' wife Nancy. As she naturally had a high-pitched and nasal voice, she received lessons to help deepen it and was required to shout verses by Shakespeare for hours every day as part of her training.

References

  1. ↑ King, Susan (August 13, 2003). "Not just pretty faces". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (January 15, 1997). "Just like a man" . The Independent . Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved September 2, 2009. And the so-called "Hawksian woman", self-reliant, insolent, capable of running with the boys (Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday or Bacall in The Big Sleep), was not so very different from a character like Brett in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
  3. 1 2 3 Ryzik, Vera. "Sedductress Pick: Sugarpuss O'Shead." St-andrews.academia.edu. Accessed September 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ King, Susan (March 12, 2009). "Howard Hawks' later films at LACMA". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ O'Connor, John E.; Rollins, Peter C. (2005). Hollywood's West: the American frontier in film, television, and history. University Press of Kentucky. p. 116. ISBN   0-8131-2354-2.
  6. ↑ Greer, Germaine (December 30, 2006). "Siren song". The Guardian . Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  7. ↑ Wise, Naomi (1971). "The Hawksian Woman". Take One . 3 (3). Reprinted in Hillier, Jim; Wollen, Peter, eds. (1996). Howard Hawks, American Artist. London: British Film Institute. ISBN   0-85170-592-8. OCLC   471592430.
  8. 1 2 Schwartz, David. "Bringing Up Hawks – Andrew Sarris and Molly Haskell on the Discovery of an Auteur." Movingimagesource.us, September 25, 2008. .
  9. 1 2 "Fast-Talking Dames by Maria Dibattista." JSTOR   1559084.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Keith, Slim. "Megan McGurk, Classic Film Fashion #182: The Hawksian Woman,..." Megan McGurk. Accessed September 13, 2013. http://msmeganmcgurk.tumblr.com/post/25179751600/classic-film-fashion-182-the-hawksian-woman.
  11. ↑ Hagopian, Kevin. "Film Notes – A Girl in Every Port." Albany.edu. Accessed September 12, 2013. .
  12. ↑ "The Miami News – Google News Archive Search." Accessed September 13, 2013. .
  13. ↑ Boxwell, David (May 2002). "Howard Hawks". Senses of Cinema . Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Greer, Germaine. "Siren Song." The Guardian, December 29, 2006. .
  15. ↑ Kehr, Dave (April 30, 2000). "SUMMER FILMS: STAR POWER; Cameron Diaz, Good Sport". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.