The Mad Housewives of the Neo-Woman’s Film

In this chapter Molly Haskell revisits her landmark book, From Reverence to Rape, which argued that the star system of the classical studio period offered leading actresses power, autonomy and even a subversive feminism that was, ironically, undermined by the freedoms offered by the New Hollywood. In retrospect, however, and with a close consideration of specific films and their interesting, idiosyncratic portrayals, Haskell here considers whether in fact these wayward and searching women, characters unglued and actresses without conventional star personae, can be seen as part of the general sense of rebellion against old norms and social strictures.