Dorothy Arzner
American film director and film editor (1897-1979) · United States · On the map · Directors · Died at 82
Dorothy Emma Arzner was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s.
Dorothy Arzner is read about 93 times a day, in 29 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
First Comes CourageFilm, Director1940
Dance, Girl, DanceFilm, Director1936
Craig's WifeFilm, Director1934
NanaFilm, Director1933
Christopher StrongFilm, Director1932
Merrily We Go to HellFilm, Director1931
Honor Among LoversFilm, Director1930
Anybody's WomanFilm, Director1928
Manhattan CocktailFilm, Director1927
Fashions for WomenFilm, Director1925
When Husbands FlirtFilm, Writer1924
Inez from HollywoodFilm, Writer1897Born3 January 1897People around Dorothy
Close ties
Fredric March Dorothy directed Sarah and Son (1930)
Paul Lukas Dorothy directed Working Girls (1931)
Ruth Chatterton Dorothy directed Sarah and Son (1930)
Clara Bow Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
William Powell Dorothy directed The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
Billie Burke Dorothy directed The Bride Wore Red (1937)
Charles Rogers Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
James Cruze Taught Dorothy, influenced Dorothy
Barry Norton Dorothy directed Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
Gino Corrado Dorothy directed The Bride Wore Red (1937)
Esther Ralston Dorothy directed Fashions for Women (1927)
Clive Brook Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
Phillips Holmes Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade and Nana
Richard Arlen Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
Leonard Carey Dorothy directed The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
Joan Crawford Dorothy directed The Bride Wore Red (1937)
Lucille Ball Dorothy directed Dance, Girl, Dance and Nana
Alla Nazimova Influenced Dorothy
Kay Francis Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
Reginald Owen Dorothy directed The Bride Wore Red and Nana
Zoë Akins Also in Anybody's Woman and Sarah and Son
Ralph Forbes Dorothy directed The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
Harvey Clark Dorothy directed Get Your Man (1927)
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher Dorothy directed Paramount on Parade (1930)
Filmography 25
40 credits on file
Media & music
Awards
About this person
With the exception of long-time silent film director Lois Weber, Arzner was the only female director working in Hollywood from 1927 until her retirement from feature directing in 1943. She was one of a very few women able to establish a successful and long career in Hollywood as a film director until the 1970s. Arzner made a total of twenty films between 1927 and 1943 and launched the careers of a number of Hollywood actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, and Lucille Ball. Arzner was the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America and the first woman to direct a sound film.
