WOMAN SPEAKS

Year Published: 1946

Format: 16mm

Description: This rarely seen, black and white theatrical short-subject film from 1946 or 1947 compiles a series of newsreel vignettes about modern women. This one features a 16-year-old piano prodigy; a polio survivor turned glass engraver, a Li’l Abner-inspired "Sadie Hawkins Week", and a women’s wrestling match (TRT 10:02). Title card: "In every progressive activity-- often in fields once strange to her-- Today Woman Speaks" (0:08). A closeup on sheet music for Frédéric Chopin’s Works for the Pianoforte. "Scherzos and Fantaisie." The narrator introduces 16-year-old pianist Naomi Weiss (0:17). Ms. Weiss plays a grand piano with animated vigor (0:28). An over-the-shoulder shot of Naomi Weiss at the keyboard. Her hands flutter across the keys gracefully (1:54). A closeup of Ms. Weiss shows an organza dress made of sheer fabric with floral embroidery and a beaded collar. She concludes her piece with a flourish and smiles to the camera (4:04). In Louisville Kentucky, Ms. Helen Patterson sketches with charcoal, designing glassware. Plain, undecorated vessels surround her in her studio (4:18). A closeup reveals detailed engraving work on one of the glass bottles. A landscape with a pony. Ms. Patterson sketches a design on an oversized brandy snifter, then applies the vessel to a sanding wheel, producing a pattern with a musical staff and notes, surrounded by angels. The narrator notes her childhood history of polio (4:57). In a showroom of glassware, a saleswoman shows off some of Ms. Patterson’s handicrafts (5:43). A flyer affixed to a tree trunk advertises "Sadie Hawkins Week," with a cartoon illustration of Al Capp’s Li’l Abner being chased by Daisy Mae. A caption identifies the location as Lexington, Kentucky (5:59). A young man in a flannel carves a heart into a tree. A young woman dressed as Daisy Mae applies powder from a compact, then does a big take as "Li’l Abner" arrives (6:06). A group of nine young women preening, while sitting on a hillside. Two young men share a jug of "Kickapoo Joy Juice" (6:20). Men crouch over paper bags in a raw turnip eating contest (6:39). Men and women line up on opposite sides of a field. The men have their hands tied behind their backs. A starting gun is fired. The young women chase the men and grab them by their ears (6:51). Couples enter a large dancehall to be "married" (7:18). A crowd at a box office. A lady wrestler, Ms. Mildred Burke, flexes her biceps and puts on a 1938 championship belt. Another contender, Ms. Anita Kaufman (7:43). An expectant audience awaits the match. In a wrestling ring, the two women face off, grappling with and flipping one another. An announcer speaks into a microphone marked, "WAVE" (8:16). Mildred Burke pins Anita Kaufman and emerges victorious (9:32). "The End" (9:52). This film was part of a series of shorts released 1946-1947, produced by the Film Studios of Chicago and distributed by independent producer H.A. Spanuth, who was best known for his films of vaudeville performances. The "Woman Speaks" series was also broadcast on midwestern television stations until 1949. While some segments were shot by Spanuth, others were sourced from contemporary newsreels. Narration for the series was provided by Virginia Gregg and Ann Tobin.