--- name: "Dorothy Arzner" canonical: "https://film.one/person/dorothy-arzner" fi1m_id: "dorothy-arzner" imdb_id: "nm0002188" tmdb_id: 108983 wikidata_id: "Q447847" roles: ["Director"] born: "3 January 1897" died: "1 October 1979" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "director" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-25T03:08:02.366480+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dorothy Arzner ## Identity Dorothy Arzner - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/dorothy-arzner - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** dorothy-arzner - **IMDb ID:** nm0002188 - **TMDB ID:** 108983 - **Wikidata ID:** Q447847 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Arzner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q447847, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002188/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/108983 Director. Born 3 January 1897 in San Francisco, California, USA. Died 1 October 1979. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 3 January 1897, San Francisco, California, USA - **Died:** 1 October 1979 - **Also known as:** Dorothy Emma Arzner - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Arzner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q447847, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002188/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/108983 ## Fi1m on Dorothy Arzner > Dorothy Arzner takes women's ambitions seriously, especially when their work involves being looked at. We value that attention, though the uneven *Dance, Girl, Dance* shows how easily conventional romance can distract her from the more interesting story. In *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), a performer's appearance helps determine her prospects. Edward Stevenson's costumes make that scrutiny part of the drama, and Arzner gives the women's rivalry weight by taking their ambitions seriously. She understands that wanting success can be a reasonable response to the demands of the job. That interest in women trying to do something for themselves is central to her cinema. We value it, while finding the film's comedy and romance considerably less persuasive. Arzner came to directing through editing and script work, making her first feature, *Fashions for Women*, in 1927. For *The Wild Party* (1929), the boom microphone allowed Clara Bow greater freedom to move during sound filming. This was technical resourcefulness directed towards a performer's needs. She also preferred having writers on set and collaborated repeatedly with screenwriter Zoë Akins, working closely on the development of female characters. She left Paramount to freelance in 1932, making films for several other studios. *Christopher Strong* (1933) gave Katharine Hepburn an early lead as an independent aviator, while *Craig’s Wife* (1936) stressed the wife's pursuit of independence. These are different settings for women whose choices matter to the director. Friendship between women recurs across her work, complicating the familiar competition for attention rather than assuming they can only be rivals. None of that excuses a story that keeps losing its way. We were frustrated by *Dance, Girl, Dance* because the romance repeatedly interrupted its more interesting account of women's professional ambitions. Arzner takes the conditions attached to success seriously, but that attention cannot make the romantic distractions any more compelling. Lucille Ball is a substantial reason to stay with it, and our qualified recommendation rests as much on her as on the director's concerns. Try it for Ball and the women's working lives, with modest expectations for the love story. ## Biography Dorothy Emma Arzner was an American film director. She worked in Hollywood from the silent era into the early 1940s and was the only woman directing feature-length studio films there during the 1930s. Arzner began her career at Paramount as a typist and editor before directing her first feature, *Fashions for Women*, in 1927. She directed *The Wild Party* (1929), Paramount’s first sound film, and went on to make around seventeen features. Her credits include *Merrily We Go to Hell* (1932), *Christopher Strong* (1933), *Craig’s Wife* (1936) and *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940). She was the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America. Arzner retired from feature directing after *First Comes Courage* (1943). She later taught filmmaking and directed training films and commercials. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, criterion.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), Fi1m 66, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/dance-girl-dance.md) ## Complete filmography (34) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *To the Ladies* (1944), Director - *First Comes Courage* (1943), Director - *Hail and Farewell!* (1943), Director - *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), Director — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/dance-girl-dance.md) - *The Bride Wore Red* (1937), Director - *Craig's Wife* (1936), Director - *Nana* (1934), Director - *Christopher Strong* (1933), Director - *Merrily We Go to Hell* (1932), Director - *Working Girls* (1931), Director - *Honor Among Lovers* (1931), Director - *Anybody's Woman* (1930), Director - *Paramount on Parade* (1930), Director - *Sarah and Son* (1930), Director - *Behind the Make-Up* (1930), Director - *Charming Sinners* (1929), Director - *The Wild Party* (1929), Director - *Manhattan Cocktail* (1928), Director - *Get Your Man* (1927), Director - *Ten Modern Commandments* (1927), Director - *Fashions for Women* (1927), Director - *Old Ironsides* (1926), Scenario Writer, Editor - *Dancing Days* (1926), Scenario Writer - *The Red Kimona* (1925), Adaptation - *When Husbands Flirt* (1925), Screenplay, Story - *Breed of the Border* (1924), Scenario Writer - *The No-Gun Man* (1924), Story, Scenario Writer - *Inez from Hollywood* (1924), Writer, Editor - *Merton of the Movies* (1924), Editor - *Ruggles of Red Gap* (1923), Editor - *The Covered Wagon* (1923), Editor - *Blood and Sand* (1922), Assistant Director, Editor - *The Six Best Cellars* (1920), Editor - *Too Much Johnson* (1919), Editor ## Gallery - ![1929 vintage press photo of Hollywood film director Dorothy Arzner](https://film.one/media/person/3858873/gallery-7e8e5f37ce8c.jpg) 1929 vintage press photo of Hollywood film director Dorothy Arzner — Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Dorothy_Arzner_1929.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Dorothy Arzner](https://film.one/media/person/3858873/gallery-c4f2edea35c3.jpg) Dorothy Arzner — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Dorothy_Arzner.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Dorothy Arzner](https://film.one/media/person/3858873/gallery-48f4149732a0.jpg) Dorothy Arzner — Image via TMDB - ![Dorothy Arzner](https://film.one/media/person/3858873/gallery-4498d5299182.jpg) Dorothy Arzner — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won - star on Hollywood Walk of Fame 1986: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/dorothy-arzner