There is a scene in the 1944 thriller, Phantom Lady, where a young woman walks on a dark city street. But she’s not alone; a man – a stranger – walks in her proximity.
Now, if you’re a woman who’s ever found herself walking alone at night while a man walks behind you, you know how hyperaware you become, whether justified or not.
Phantom Lady has a clever twist on this scenario. The scene begins at night, when the woman (Ella Raines) waits outside for unsuspecting bartender Andrew Tombes to finish his shift. Then she follows him throughout the city to his neighbourhood.
She’s stalking him.
Toombes is clearly unnerved, and he occasionally pauses, listening for the relentless click of her heels on the pavement.
It’s a tense scene of Don’t-Mess-With-Me female determination – especially for the 1940s – but, alas, it ends badly for all, a topic for another day.
Phantom Lady was based on the 1942 crime novel by “William Irish” (Cornell Woolrich), but in adapting it to the screen, producer Joan Harrison shifted the story from a male to a female perspective.
Presenting (more or less) real women and their voices on screen was something for which Harrison lobbied all her professional life.
The British-born Harrison was the first woman to be nominated for two screenwriting Oscars in the same year (1941, for Foreign Correspondent and Rebecca).
But get this: She was one of three female producers at major studios in 1940s Hollywood, and these three women helped shape the style of film noir.
Also: When she signed with Universal Studios in 1945, she became the second-highest-paid producer on the lot.
Universal wasn’t the only major studio for which she worked, but it was the first one to offer her a producing role when she was Shopping Around the script for Phantom Lady.
The highly-publicized agreement with the studio was “to make mysteries ‘from the women’s angle’,” writes Harrison’s biographer, Christina Lane.
Harrison was, essentially, to become the Mistress of Suspense, a nod to her long and productive association with Alfred Hitchcock.
Here’s the thing. You can’t talk about Joan Harrison without talking about Alfred Hitchcock.
It was he who hired her as a secretary after he signed on with Gaumont-British Pictures in 1933. He taught her about making films, and she became his screenwriter, collaborator, and creative producer – alongside his wife, Alma Reville.
When Hitchcock signed a deal with David O. Selznick and moved to Hollywood in 1939, Harrison went too.
Despite this association, an online search of Harrison’s life displays somewhat misleading or dismissive biographical information. This is why a scholarly look at her life is necessary, which, happily, biographer Lane has recently published.
Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock is the book we film fans didn’t know we needed.
Lane methodically examines Harrison’s life, especially her career in film and television, where, among other things, she was executive producer of Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1955-1962.
Overall, Phantom Lady, the bio, is an engaging read. It’s an invaluable look at the filmmaking process, and we found ourselves actually taking notes.
Lane gives us the details we want when it comes to a woman battling in a male-dominated arena. For example, she tells us the number of times Harrison had to choose between a screenwriting or a producing credit, even though she worked as both.
The biographer also itemizes the number of projects that were kyboshed because studios didn’t share Harrison’s vision, or were given less-than-satisfactory endings, e.g. The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry.
While Lane discusses Harrison’s love life, she also explores her friendships with other Hollywood women, and her mentoring of young actresses such as Ella Raines and Jane Greer.
We highly recommend this book, especially if you have an interest in writing or producing films. Or maybe you’re simply interested in a woman who embodies the very definition of Determination – much like the main character of the film Phantom Lady.
Notes
Disclosure: Books Forward sent us a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Click HERE to purchase your copy of Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman behind Hitchcock.
You’ve settled it. I know what I’m asking Santa for Christmas. (“Santa” usually asks about this time of the year, never writes it down and the week before Christmas asks me what that was that I wanted. I usually get it for my birthday.)
Added to my list of books too! Thank you, it seems very very interesting! We all know that Hitchcock was no piece of cake to work with… but since I’m so fond of his movies now I’m curious to learn more.
This sounds really interesting! It makes you wonder how many more women might have excelled in creative positions in Hollywood if there had been a level playing field. Here we are 75 years later and the field still isn’t level!
You said it! Joan Harrison was proof that a smart, creative person didn’t have to be male. Speaking of which, I hope you get the chance to see “Phanton Lady”. A good movie that was ahead of its time.
Whenever I see her name, I immediately think of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I’d think it’d be interesting to learn more about her career and personal life (I think she was married to Eric Ambler). I have seen Phantom Lady, which is a first-rate “B” noir.
Yup, she was married to Eric Ambler, for over 25 years. And I agree re: Phantom Lady. It is absolutely first rate. I watched it for the first time the other day & was so impressed.
It’s full of info, plus the author includes lots of other tidbits, such as all the hairpins Joan Harrison wore during the day. I thought those things were pretty interesting.
What did Harris usually choose between the screenwriting and producing credits? I’m dying of curiosity! I was always under the impression that producers are typically overlooked in this modern era.
When she was with Hitchcock, she opted for screenwriting credits. When she struck out on her own, she went for producing credits…although in Phantom Lady, she had to be content with “Associate Producer”, even though she was the Boss.
We recently had a guest post by Christina Lane at our website Cine Suffragette. She was great and her post was a huge success. I haven’t read her book yet, but I’m highly interested – and I also must re-watch Phantom Lady in order to grasp some details I may have missed the first time, like the reverse stalking you mentioned.
Kisses!
Le
This sounds like a really interesting book! You wrote a great, captivating review of it. I am fascinated to learn more about this rare female producer and see if I have already seem some of her productions!
By the way, I wanted to thank you again for contributing the October article in our What the Code Means to Me series. Yours is our first article in the series in almost a year, and you provided some wonderful insight. As a contributor, you get to suggest two topics for movies for us to breen. I will choose one of them and breen it in an upcoming Breening Thursday article. I can’t wait to receive your suggestions!
Hi! This was a nice concise review just enough to whet my appetite to read this book on the talented Joan Harrison. I’ve read a lot about her in one of Donald Spoto’s extensive biographies on Hitchcock, & in a book dedicated to “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. I’ve heard good things about this book, & it’ll be great to read an entire tome dedicated to her. Thanks for the post!
Joan Harrison really deserves her own bio, like you said, and this one is terrific. A well-researched look at filmmaking – and unexpectedly inspiring, I thought.
Silver Screenings 
You’ve settled it. I know what I’m asking Santa for Christmas. (“Santa” usually asks about this time of the year, never writes it down and the week before Christmas asks me what that was that I wanted. I usually get it for my birthday.)
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Bahaha! At least Santa comes through for your birthday. 😉
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I’ve added the book to my growing list of books I hope to survive to read. Eventually. 🙂
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Haha! I know exactly what you mean!!
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Added to my list of books too! Thank you, it seems very very interesting! We all know that Hitchcock was no piece of cake to work with… but since I’m so fond of his movies now I’m curious to learn more.
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This book looks at his collaborative screenwriting process, which I thought was quite interesting. I think you might enjoy this one.
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This sounds really interesting! It makes you wonder how many more women might have excelled in creative positions in Hollywood if there had been a level playing field. Here we are 75 years later and the field still isn’t level!
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You said it! Joan Harrison was proof that a smart, creative person didn’t have to be male. Speaking of which, I hope you get the chance to see “Phanton Lady”. A good movie that was ahead of its time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whenever I see her name, I immediately think of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I’d think it’d be interesting to learn more about her career and personal life (I think she was married to Eric Ambler). I have seen Phantom Lady, which is a first-rate “B” noir.
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Yup, she was married to Eric Ambler, for over 25 years. And I agree re: Phantom Lady. It is absolutely first rate. I watched it for the first time the other day & was so impressed.
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Oooo. I can NOT wait to read this.
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It’s full of info, plus the author includes lots of other tidbits, such as all the hairpins Joan Harrison wore during the day. I thought those things were pretty interesting.
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Oh, yes, I do too. This sounds like a great pice of film history. I’m glad you pointed it out. Thanks!
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What did Harris usually choose between the screenwriting and producing credits? I’m dying of curiosity! I was always under the impression that producers are typically overlooked in this modern era.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When she was with Hitchcock, she opted for screenwriting credits. When she struck out on her own, she went for producing credits…although in Phantom Lady, she had to be content with “Associate Producer”, even though she was the Boss.
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Very interesting 👌
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Thanks! The book is really interesting.
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We recently had a guest post by Christina Lane at our website Cine Suffragette. She was great and her post was a huge success. I haven’t read her book yet, but I’m highly interested – and I also must re-watch Phantom Lady in order to grasp some details I may have missed the first time, like the reverse stalking you mentioned.
Kisses!
Le
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I’m going to check out her article this weekend. She seems to be an insightful and thoughtful writer.
And I hope you get the chance to re-watch Phantom Lady. I’m going to watch it again myself. 🙂
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Dear Ruth,
This sounds like a really interesting book! You wrote a great, captivating review of it. I am fascinated to learn more about this rare female producer and see if I have already seem some of her productions!
By the way, I wanted to thank you again for contributing the October article in our What the Code Means to Me series. Yours is our first article in the series in almost a year, and you provided some wonderful insight. As a contributor, you get to suggest two topics for movies for us to breen. I will choose one of them and breen it in an upcoming Breening Thursday article. I can’t wait to receive your suggestions!
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
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Thanks so much for dropping by, Tiffany. I’ll have a look at which films you’ve tackled so far.
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Dear Ruth,
That’s great! You can see a list of all our breened films here: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/breening-thursdays/. Guidelines on which films are eligible for breening can be found here: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2019/03/24/suggestions-for-future-breening-thursday-topics/.
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
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Hi! This was a nice concise review just enough to whet my appetite to read this book on the talented Joan Harrison. I’ve read a lot about her in one of Donald Spoto’s extensive biographies on Hitchcock, & in a book dedicated to “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. I’ve heard good things about this book, & it’ll be great to read an entire tome dedicated to her. Thanks for the post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joan Harrison really deserves her own bio, like you said, and this one is terrific. A well-researched look at filmmaking – and unexpectedly inspiring, I thought.
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Very powerful.👏
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Thanks! It’s encouraging to read about women who were able to break the glass ceiling in the 1940s.
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My pleasure.❤️
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