I too don't have time to write well thought out review. But I have recommended this book to so many people in exact (word exact should be bold, italicized and underlined) same words as reader who wrote above comments.

I don't have time to write a well-thought out review, but since there isn't any, I will provide one comment. Among other things, this book could be a primer for anyone who is married, is contemplating getting married or having doubts about continuing in a marriage. This is a valuable book.

--there is absolutely nothing polemical or fanatical about this book, which is for film lovers--not just feminists. It is one of the best books on FILM (not just women in film) I've ever read, up there with Stanley Cavell's "Pursuits of Happiness," but much more direct and down-to-earth. Haskell is a fiercely smart, wickedly funny, and casually erudite critic with many extremely sharp observations. She's arguably both a better belles lettresist and a better critic than her (I believe???) one-time husband Andrew Sarris, a better-known and more prolific film critic. It's also hard to argue with her basic thesis: that the portrayal of women in film was better, not worse, in the studio era and prior to the sexual revolution--although this stands received film and feminist history alike on their heads. Haskell is a rare marvel and model: a feminist aesthete who is able to put art before politics without denigrating the importance of the latter. Unlike, say, Camille Paglia, she neither denies nor quasi-celebrates the misogyny of great or simply entertaining films, yet neither does she make political correctness a criterion of artistic achievement or see misogyny where none exists. On the contrary, some of the best passages of the book are accounts of the strong and complex female characters of directors such as Josef von Sternberg, Karl-Theodor Dreyer, and Howard Hawks, among others. A totally engaging blend of classical liberalism and belles lettres/punchy journalism.

I was in the 11th grade at the time and I was just getting immersed in my fascination with movies and film theory. I read every book I could find on film studies.

That is when I stumbled upon this book (first edition) in my school's library. After reading this book, I never looked at the history of films, film themes, etc. in quite the same way.

As the years went by, I had read other film theory books that dealt with femininity and feminist thought, but this one always remained my favorite. So when the opportunity presented itself where I could add this book to my personal film library I was more than glad to.

I think I like this book so much because it introduced me to a series of films that while important in the women's studies and cinema may have been forgotten in the annuls of overall film theory and criticism. One outstanding example is "Letter from an Unknown Woman." The depth with which Ms. Haskell discusses this film immediately made me want to go out and see the film; and indeed I did.

I highly recommend this book not just to read but as an addition to any film lovers' library.

Along with Susan Douglas's work, Growing Up Female in the Mass Media, this book is one of the most honest and clearly organized arguments about the way women are depicted in film. For anyone who wants to see what women are screaming about...this book will wake you up. Haskell does a fascinating job of expressing (and cleverly) what has been done to women in the media...how they've been portrayed and how they've been made to be prostrate creatures in film. If you buy it, you'll obsessively begin to notice how true this stuff is on your television set, in your films...everywhere in our society!

I got this book from my local library, and began to read it right away. I was dissapointed in the writing. It told what a screwball fan already knew. What blew me away with this book were the beautiful pictures. Many of the pictures are full page-the one of Katharine Hepburn in jail in Bringing Up Baby, and the one of Carole Lombard peeking out from the covers from Mr. and Mrs. Smith are great. Also, there are quotes from the movies in this book which are also fun to read.

So, if you get this book, get it to look at the wonderful pictures-a few ones that are even framable.