Hawksian Women

Howard Hawks is one of my favourite American film directors from the classic film era. One of the things that I’ve always loved most about his films is that his focus is always on the characters. He really lets us see deep into his characters personalities and gives us a good sense of who they are. Hawks shows us his characters strengths and their flaws and quirks and because of this they always feel real. I especially love how he depicts men and women as equals and ensures his female characters are not standing around merely serving as eye candy for the men. This screen depiction is very refreshing.

His films also show men having plenty of moments where they are emotional, vulnerable, or talk about how they’re feeling – and more importantly shows us that it is perfectly normal and necessary for them to do so. Howard Hawks shows us that men are not tough guys every second of every day and nor should they have to or think they should be. He also shows us that women are most definitely not fragile beings who need to be protected.  He also focused a lot on male friendship and bonding. In many of these cases we get male characters who don’t even need women in their lives because they consider their friendships more important than pursuing a romantic relationship with the opposite sex.

The single most important part of a Hawks film for me is the female characters. Known as Hawksian women, these ladies match the male characters every step of the way. They are intelligent, strong, tough, witty, determined, sexy and unafraid to speak their minds whenever they wish.They can verbally spar and match the men with perfect ease. They are also very confident and can easily become one of the boys and be accepted and valued for who they are. The Hawksian woman archetype was first identified by the critic Naomi Wise in a 1971 essay.The first character who we can truly call a Hawksian woman is played by Louise Brooks in Hawks’s 1928 film A Girl In Every Port.

Cary Grant and Jean Arthur in Only Angels Have Wings(1939). Jean’s character Bonnie Lee is one of my favourite Hawksian women.

The most interesting thing for me has always been that a Hawksian woman retains her femininity and does not need to become overtly masculine to be considered tough – something which stands in stark contrast to many of the incredible kickass female characters found in much later films. Look at the films of James Cameron for example. In his films women such as Vasquez in Aliens or Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, are often presented as far more masculine and having gained muscles that most men would envy in order to be considered tough and badass.

Hawksian women carry both feminine and masculine qualities within them and never have to grow big muscles and act all macho in order to be considered one of the boys or a heroine. Hawksian women are accepted and admired by the men they know for who they are. The men in their lives also appreciate their sense of adventure and the fact that their presence often allows their male companions to feel able to bare their feelings and share their troubles more easily.

Hawks’s films also gave some of the finest actresses of the classic film era a chance to deliver performances which rank amongst their greatest and most unforgettable film work. These performances are also usually the first that spring to mind when thinking of these actresses. Although there are many tough and smart female characters to be found in other films made during the classic era, such female characters were always a regular and prominent feature in Hawks’s work.

Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant and Howard Hawks on the set of His Girl Friday(1940).

Who can forget any of these ladies? Jean Arthur as singer Bonnie Lee in Only Angels Have Wings. Lauren Bacall as the tough yet vulnerable Slim in To Have and Have Not. Rosalind Russell as the fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday. Charlene Holt and Michele Carey as two very different women in terms of how they dress and make a living, but each one a prime example of a Hawksian woman in El Dorado. Barbara Stanwyck as the fun-loving dancer in Ball Of Fire. Ann Sheridan as the wisecracking Army Lieutenant in I Was A Male War Bride.

Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper in Ball Of Fire(1941). Barbara delivers one of her best performances as singer “Sugarpuss” O’Shea.

I love that in Hawks’s films even very minor female characters make quite an impact. Two of my favourite minor Hawksian women can be found in The Big Sleep(1946).The first is Dorothy Malone as the woman who works in the bookshop.She steals every second of the scene she is in with Bogie.We see right away that she is intelligent, extremely observant and that she relishes the thought of something happening to break up the ordinary rhythm of her working day.The banter between her and Bogie is playful and very risque for the time. Their banter, coupled with the way they eye each other up and down, really makes you wonder how this scene ever made it past the infamously eagle-eyed and prudish censors.

Dorothy Malone gains Bogie’s attention in The Big Sleep(1946).

I also love how Bogie calls her pal. In so many cases the Hawksian woman is accepted as a friend by men. Hawksian women become one of the gang and there is often a strong emotional connection that develops between men and a Hawksian woman long before a relationship begins to turn even remotely sexual.

My other favourite minor character in this film is the taxi driver played by Joy Barlow.  I love the way she delivers her lines during the back and forth banter between her character and Marlowe’s.This character also stands out because she’s a woman doing a job traditionally held by a man. She represents the millions of women who found their independence during WW2 and were not prepared to give up working after the men arrived back home. I always wonder how many amongst them were honestly truly happy and eager to give up all that freedom and fulfillment in order to return to housework and raising children?

Lauren Bacall was the quintessential Hawksian woman.

Undoubtedly the quintessential Hawksian woman was Lauren Bacall. Few actresses handled that incredible dialogue with the ease and skill of Miss Bacall. This was the type of character she was born to play. The nineteen year old model was discovered by Howard Hawks’s second wife, Nancy “Slim” Keith, who saw Lauren’s photo in a 1943 issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine and showed it to Howard. He invited Lauren Bacall for a screen test and then signed her for a seven year contract. He cast her alongside Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not(1944). The chemistry between the two actors was immediate and unmistakable. As filming went on the pair began to fall for one another for real. The rest is history.

Lauren’s character in that film is called Slim and Bogie’s is called Steve. In real life those were the nicknames that Howard and Nancy called each other. Nancy really was the Hawksian woman in the flesh. Lauren best conveys all of the necessary Hawksian qualities in her performances as Slim in To Have and Have Not and as Vivian in The Big Sleep. It is really hard for me to imagine any other actress playing those characters quite the way that Lauren did

Howard Hawks and Nancy”Slim” with a friend. Photographed by Hal McAlpin.

Sadly the appearance of the Hawksian woman on screen declined in the late 50’s and early 60’s. In the 80’s and 90’s some new female characters emerged who featured all those qualities. Characters such as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Melanie in One Fine Day, Laura Holt in Remington Steele(TV series) and Jennifer Hart in Hart To Hart(TV series) helped keep Hawksian women alive on screen. Going further back in time, I think characters like Nora Charles in The Thin Man films and Tess Harding in Woman Of The Year can be classed as having the characteristics of Hawksian women too.  

I love watching Howard Hawks films and seeing all of those smart, strong, inspirational, sexy, funny, and fiercely independent women.  Anyone out there who thinks women didn’t get decent screen roles until recently, really needs to go and watch these films, as well as seeking out as many Noir films as they can find.

The following are my top three favourite Hawksian women.

Bonnie Lee in Only Angels Have Wings. I love how fun loving and bubbly she is. I also love how she overcomes her shock and anger at how the men in this film deal with grief. It isn’t easy for her to change to their way of dealing with grief and loss, but she gives it a go and she becomes a valued and beloved member of the group of pilots and ground crew.

Slim in To Have and Have Not. I love that she is a survivor and very independent. She has been on her own for so long and hasn’t had the best life, but she takes care of herself just fine. She is certainly tough, but she is also deeply vulnerable and can be easily hurt. When she meets Steve she finds she can finally let her guard down with someone. He knows she is tough, smart and tough-talking, but he also sees what is beneath all that and knows what she has been through and tries to help her see she isn’t alone any more. 

The bookshop lady in The Big Sleep. Smart, observant and sexy. As someone who wears glasses myself, I love that she wears glasses. There are so few female characters I’ve come across in films of this era who wear them, and if they do they’re often portrayed as geeky women who the blokes want little to do with. I always get so mad when things get physical between them and Bogie makes her take them off! What message does that send out?!

What are your thoughts on Hawksian women? Who are your favourite female characters in Howard Hawks films?

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