Dorothy Arzner: Dorothy Arzner remains the most prolific female studio director in the history of American cinema. With a film career spanning from 1919 to 1943—fifteen years of which were spent as a director—Dorothy’s work spanned the bumpy transition from silent films to the “talkies” including directing Clara Bow in her first talkie, “The Wild Party.” To help Bow overcome her fear of talking, Dorothy rigged a microphone to the end of a fishing rod to follow Bow as she moved around the set, thus creating the first “boom microphone.” In her 20+ films, Dorothy portrayed free-spirited, strong women and helped launch the careers of numerous actresses including Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Maureen O’Hara and others. Dorothy’s works have received recognition not only for her directing capabilities but for her feminist themes and approaches.