Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood

For over 20 years in the late silent era and through the gradual triumph of "talkies" (1915-1939), Frances Marion was one of the most powerful screenwriters in Hollywood, penning scripts for Mary Pickford, winning Oscars, and wielding a degree of power that no woman in film today can approach. Nearly forgotten by contemporary casual cinephiles, Marion's legacy is the subject of Bridget Terry's Without Lying Down (partially based on the book of the same name by co-writer Cari Beauchamp), a mishmash of narration (capably read by Uma Thurman and Kathy Bates), frequently uncontextualized archival footage, and interviews with contemporary female filmmakers (like Callie Khouri and Martha Coolidge) who talk about how tough it is for them to be women in contemporary Hollywood but have nothing at all to say about Marion (the closest the film can come to a primary source is an aged nephew, who has only hazy anecdotal memories). Still, film historians such as Kevin Brownlow and Leonard Maltin emphasize her importance, setting up the film's best moments, which include rarely seen clips from Marion's directorial debut The Love Light and from hits such as Poor Little Rich Girl and The Champ. The DVD also contains the Mary Pickford/Zasu Pitts film A Little Princess). Recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (D. Fienberg)