The cross-dressed actress captivated audiences throughout the first decades of the twentieth century. Featuring a wealth of archival prints, this series celebrates the rampant gender and sexual play of the silent and pre-Code eras, when stars like Asta Nielsen, Katharine Hepburn, and Greta Garbo wore the pants.
Read full descriptionIntroduced by Laura Horak. Judith Rosenberg on Piano. A woman must rescue her shanghaied fiancé in a gender-reversed Danish version of the "white slave" narrative.
Introduced by Laura Horak. Marlene Dietrich is insouciant in top hat and tuxedo exchanging innuendos with Gary Cooper in von Sternberg's masterpiece of artifice. With short Behind the Screen.
Introduced by Laura Horak. Judith Rosenberg on Piano. Mary Pickford plays both a plucky young boy and his mother in a sprightly silent that still charms viewers of all ages.
Featuring: Patricia White (Swarthmore), Clare Sears (SFSU), and Laura Horak (UC Berkeley). Nestrick Room, 142 Dwinelle Hall. Free; no tickets needed.
Introduced by Nan Boyd. Bruce Loeb on Piano. Marion Davies is an Irish lass playing laddie for an inheritance in 19th-century New York.
Introduced by Patricia White. Greta Garbo as a powerful, cross-dressing, girl-kissing woman-not much of a stretch. With short Rowdy Ann.
Introduced by Jenni Olson. Katharine Hepburn as "Sylvester" catches Cary Grant's eye with her coltish charms in George Cukor's comedy.
Introduced by Chris Straayer. Judith Rosenberg on Piano. Swallowing an African seed turns a young woman into a surprising Casanova. With shorts.
Introduced by Jennifer Bean. Bruce Loeb on Piano. Asta Nielsen is a marvel of expressive restraint as a girl raised to be a prince in this 1920 film drawing on pre-Shakespearean sources. With short Le duel d'Hamlet.
Introduced by Sanjay Hukku. A woman pretends to be a man pretending to be a woman in this nimble German operetta. With short Know Thy Wife.