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Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Philip Faversham, Ruth Donnelly, Johnny Mack Brown ... see more see more... , Lois Wilson , Gavin Gordon , Walter Brennan , Spencer Charters , Edward Cooper , Laura Hope Crewes , Douglas Dumbrille , Ferdinand Gottschalk , Samuel S. Hinds , Sterling Holloway , Rafaela Ottiano , Phillip Reed , Ken Thomson , Huey White , Charles C. Wilson , Robert Warwick

Ruth Chatterton tears up the screen in this fast-paced, lusty comedy. Alison Drake is an automobile magnate, a hard-nosed, hardboiled business woman making dozens of important decisions a day. In her ... read more read more...private life, however, she is passionate and bold in her pursuit of male companionship, which she frequently finds among the ranks of her own employees and executives; the problem is that these men can't abide the fact that back at work, she's all business again; and she keeps having to get their long, mopey faces out of her presence by transferring them elsewhere. Then she meets Jim Thorne (George Brent), a gifted engineer who is attracted to Drake but isn't a callow, cowtowing yes-man, and isn't awed by her millions. After a few awkward encounters, they find a balance in their lives together, or so she thinks, until he proposes marriage. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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57% liked it

272 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr.

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Release Date: October 11, 1933

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DVD Release Date: March 17, 1993

Stats: 42 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (42)

  • flixsterman
    May 19, 2012
    flixsterman
    Ruth Chatterton is a trail blazing feminist with the hots for George Brent. An atypical romance that becomes decidedly typical as it progresses.
  • ajv2688
    October 27, 2010
    ajv2688
    A woman runs a factory after her father's death, which was highly unusual for the 30s. She treats men the way men treat women, which to her means with little respect and only to get what she wants from them. That part of the movie was interesting, but then she falls in love and... read more the movie ends in a predictable manner.
  • groaningbitch
    April 15, 2008
    groaningbitch
    "female" is directed by michael curtiz in his early days in warner bro. before he thrives at errol flynn swashbucklers. it's casted with ruth chatteton and george brent as the leads, and it's a story about a businesswoman's convert to her femininity by a dashing masculine hunk wi... read moreth conventional maschismo.

    the flick is shot at pre-code area, naturally it has its indulgence of sexual insinuations to some degree... it could be very feministic when it comes to the plots of chatterton's female boss seducing her male employee as sex-mates at night for fun then dismiss them next day in the morning. it might be considered gritty at that time, but it might also reflect the primitive gender revolution at 1920s by terming the feminism as refusal of womanhood and being phallic to emulate the men. but eventually this flick is stil reversed back to the bourgeois track of female virtue since the real man who is not willing to compromise just appears to tame the shrew.

    george brent is often casted as the ideal man who softens tough females like bette davis and barbara stanwyck(babyface) in warner's flicks. he does have a mass angular bone structure and a georgeous face as gears of romantic lead, espeacially when he smiles with his radiant dimples.
  • benjaminguilbert2
    July 24, 2009
    benjaminguilbert2
    I was very impressed by this film. It's very well made, a typical no-nonsense directing makes it pleasantly easy to watch and the actors are excellent. But what is really exciting about this film is its subject, it manages to tackle two issues rarely dealt with in films: work and... read more womanhood.
    The character of Ruth Chatterton is fantastic and should be hailed by every feminist as well as every film buff. Regarding the feminist part of the movie: true she breaks at the end but she did manage to head a giant firm for over 5 years which is not bad. Saying it is anti feminist is like saying the Dangerous Liaison is moralistic because of the last 5 minutes.
    A great film, go watch it!

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
March 6, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This slick romantic comedy offers 'the before its time sophisticated concept' that a woman can run a large company. Full Review

Matt Bailey
May 28, 2003
Matt Bailey, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Female is more than just a museum piece from that short era after the introduction of sound and before the enforcement of the Hays Code; it's a strangely involving, patently absurd, wildly entertainin... Full Review

Mordaunt Hall
March 25, 2006
Mordaunt Hall, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 28, 2003
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 30, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

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