SassMouthDames

If you look beyond the usual gossip about a feud between stars, you'll find that Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn had a lot in common. Both stars had something to prove. Ginger wanted to show the front office that she was more than Fred Astaire's dancing partner. Kate needed a hit after a series of costume pictures died at the box office. Director Gregory La Cava brought his trademark off-the-c...

Joan Crawford was considered a washed up actress by the time she left Metro in 1943. After a two-year absence from the screen, she returned in Mildred Pierce, making the most significant come back of the studio era. In flashback, Mildred is like one of the cakes she bakes for extra cash: Decorative, domestic, and made for other people's pleasure. By the end of the picture, she's had an education a...

Your dream is in the cards. Brigid helps Sue and Yvette settle problems in their studios. Trouble erupts on the set of Reggie Fitz's new production. Mary and Tess struggle over what to do about Brigid. Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Brigid Bannon M. Shawn as Mary Bannon Olympia Kiriakou as Tess Bannon Savannah Monroe...

Your dream is in the cards. Mary makes a hit on the radio. Tess finally gets more than a stolen afternoon with Reggie. And Brigid learns the identity of the woman in her nightmare. Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Brigid Bannon M. Shawn as Mary Bannon Olympia Kiriakou as Tess Bannon Savannah Monroe as Sue Rollins Renee...

Your dream is in the cards. Brigid moves from New York to Hollywood to live with her fortune teller cousins. Who's the woman in Brigid's recurring nightmare? Red Gardenia is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Brigid Bannon M. Shawn as Mary Bannon Olympia Kiriakou as Tess Bannon Savannah Monroe as Sue Rollins Renee Smith as Yvette Valenti...

House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936. In Part Three, women in the Garbo House find a way to get even with Jack Steward. House of the Seven Garbos is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. CLARA HIGGINS PLAYS PAT MORR...

House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936, celebrating women who tried to catch a break in the film colony. In Part Two, Pat Morrison finds a pink slip waiting for her at the gates to MGM. A very special guest comes for tea. House of the Seven Garbos...

House of the Seven Garbos was a real boarding house in Hollywood that catered to aspiring starlets. Notable residents included Ruth Roman and Linda Christian. The podcast show is set in 1936. In Part One, Pat Morrison is the only one in the house with a studio contract. How long will it last? House of the Seven Garbos is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. CLARA HI...

Janet Leigh's indelible performance as Marion Crane creates a palpable absence when she's murdered in the shower. Audiences feel her presence not only in the picture once she's gone, but in cinema over the last sixty-two years, ever since the point of view shifted away from a woman who knows all the answers. Janet's bits of business with a pile of dough are a revelation, no matter how many times y...

In the series finale, Cleo discovers that having script approval in her contract is meaningless once the Production Code is enforced. Under the new rules, Cleo must argue over every page and justify her artistic choices to men who don't care about the integrity of woman's pictures. At the same time, Tully's star rises. A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan McGurk Art design by Mot Colli...

In part two, Cleo finds a story for her next picture from an unlikely source. From the ground up, she builds the plot, takes a chance on a new screenwriter, casts the picture, and presents creative opportunities for her crew. Meanwhile, Cleo's romance with Tully takes a serious turn. A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan McGurk. Art design by Mot Collins Sound editing and special effect...

In 1931, Warner Bros. star Cleo Longe tops the box office in pictures where she gets away with it: no strings sex or sending men to the morgue. One night at a party, she meets Richard Tulliver, a new contract player who is cast as the juvenile in her next production. Cleo coaches him through the part and suggests a new name for his screen billing. A Star Was Born is written and directed by Megan M...

Jane Wyman started out as a platinum blonde chorine and became a top star in melodrama through the education of 'B' pictures. She worked hard, hit the marks, and built her craft, which made her one of the most durable stars in Hollywood. Wyman's Oscar win for Johnny Belinda proved her intelligence and sensitivity as a performer.

Joan Crawford did not have to wonder what it was like to be married to a man who suddenly changed overnight--she was living it as a newlywed bride to corporate tycoon Al Steele. Joan's fourth husband turned from Jekyll to Hyde once vows were exchanged. In Robert Aldrich's picture, Joan channels the fear many women have about waking up next to a monster.

In the series finale, the intrepid stenographers case a joint in Beverly Hills and a canyon ranch in search of their missing friend. Will they get there in time? Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O'Meara is Fiona Clarke and Client Jeanne Sutton is Margaret O'Donnell Olympia Kiriakou i...

In the second instalment of an original series, clues lead Terry and Margaret to a beer garden in downtown Los Angeles. Terry spots a dame wearing Kay's necklace. Did she steal it? Meanwhile, Ivy, Fiona, and Dolly try decode a poorly written letter. Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O...

A heart-shaped locket. Bad grammar. A beer garden. After a stenographer goes missing, the women in the office investigate the clues. Join us for the first instalment of a spy caper set in 1934. Stenographers is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins is Terry Nolan and Jewel Dame Jennifer O'Meara is Fiona Clarke and Client Jeanne Sutton is Marga...

Linda Christian could have been Hollywood royalty, and not just because she was discovered by Errol Flynn and married to Tyrone Power. An internationally educated woman who spoke six languages, Linda was talented and a tastemaker. She could have had a career similar to Anita Colby, a former model who became 'Feminine Director' at Selznick studio, developing stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Jennife...

After twenty years in front of a camera, Loretta Young walked out of her contract with Twentieth Century Fox and became a freelance star. Darryl Zanuck blackballed her as a result, which lead to months without any script offers. She began her independent film career in Columbia studio, because Harry Cohn was one filmmaker brazen enough to defy Zanuck. Loretta made two pictures: The Doctor Takes a...

After Virginia Bruce walked out on her contract with Metro, she made on of the biggest gems of her career starring in Universal's update to a classic starring Claude Rains. Unlike the Invisible Man, Virginia's character isn't driven mad by her power of invisibility. Instead, she finds out how the other half lives. Disembodied, she can settle scores, and get men to listen to her rather than focus o...

In 1935, Marlene Dietrich was at a turning point in her career. Paramount studio had decided to end her professional collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg. Marlene needed to prove that she could carry a picture without her reported 'Svengali'. She renewed her contract with a provision that she would have Ernst Lubitsch as director, but he was made head of studio production and had no tim...

Claire, Lois, and Cash finish replacement costumes for the screen test in Goldwyn's studio. Meanwhile, Helen and Gail sneak into Monogram's lot as extras to find out what Dmitri has planned. An unexpected visitor to Claire's shop gums up the works. Join us for the story's conclusion. Mannequins is written and directed by Megan McGurk Starring: Clara Higgins as Claire Delahunt and Lilyan Tashman Je...

Dress designer Claire, along with her fitter, Lois, and mannequins Helen, Gail, and Cash have worked hard getting ready for the screen test in Goldwyn studio. Our story picks up three days before the screen test. When the ladies return from lunch, twenty costumes have disappeared. Was it the fashion pirates? Or was it Dmitri Cosmo, the shady costumer from Monogram? Mannequins is written and direct...

Dress designer Claire Delahunt is invited to audition for a contract as head designer in Goldwyn studio. Will she be able to beat the competition from Dmitri Cosmo, the costumer from Monogram on Poverty Row? Our story opens in January, 1934. Mannequins is a Sass Mouth Dames production, written and directed by Megan McGurk. Starring: Clara Higgins as Claire Delahunt and Lilyan Tashman Jennifer O'Me...

By the time Patricia Neal signed with Warners in 1948, the studio system had changed. Contract players were no longer given time to develop in smaller parts until they learned the craft. Jack Warner built so much publicity around Neal as the next Bette Davis and the greatest thing since Garbo, that when her second picture. The Fountainhead, did middling business, he took it out on her(instead of R...