The Shocking Miss Pilgrim: A Writer in Early Hollywood [Hardcover]

Frederica Sagor Maas's life encompasses nearly the entire 20th century (she was born in early July 1900), and during the early years of the Hollywood film industry, she was as fierce a competitor for success as any man. Miss Sagor, still a student at Columbia College, was hired by Universal Pictures as an assistant story editor in 1920, when the job basically entailed attending Broadway plays and determining whether the studio should buy the film rights. Because her boss was an alcoholic, she soon found herself in complete charge of the story department. But she wanted to write screenplays herself, so she went to Hollywood and landed a job adapting a novel called The Plastic Age, which Preferred Pictures had acquired as a perfect vehicle for the "It Girl," Clara Bow.

In The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Frederica--who met and married filmmaker Ernest Maas in 1927--shows how, despite her screenwriting abilities, her career in motion pictures was stymied by her outspoken disagreements with studio bosses, and how many of those around her gave into debauchery. (At one party, she reports, "undressed, tousled men chased naked women, shrieking with laughter. Included in this orgy was Ray Long, Mr. Hearst's representative; Harry Rapf, my own producer; and even the immaculate Irving Thalberg--all drunk, drunk, drunk.") Her memoir's prose has a charming tone, perfectly matching her Jazz Age exploits, which take up the bulk of the story. She also discusses the decline of the Maas's careers, which they finally abandoned after the Second World War, but not before writing a musical (called The Shocking Miss Pilgrim) for Betty Grable. The best passages concern Frederica's adventures in a young industry that was still discovering itself, such as her part in the creation of a motion picture legend: newly arrived actress Lucille LeSueur came up to her one day and said, "I like the way you dress. You dress like a lady. I need that. I want to be dressed right. Smart. I figured you could help." One shopping expedition later, and Joan Crawford was taking her first steps toward stardom. --Ron Hogan

"This is a story that will make you angry," warns Brownlow, a noted film historian. Maas, a screenwriter during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, delivers on that promise. In 1920, she answered a New York Times classified ad from Universal Pictures, becoming, at age 23, Universal's N.Y.C. story editor. In 1925, she arrived in Hollywood, turned down a screen test and instead scripted a Clara Bow vehicle, The Plastic Age. Installed in the MGM writers' bungalow, she tackled a rewrite of Dance Madness (1926) but proved so "ignorant of studio politics" that she was labeled a "troublemaker" by producer Harry Rapf. After her 1927 marriage to script writer and producer Ernest Maas, the couple survived the coming of sound films, the Depression and various earthquakes, but dry scripting spells and the constant theft of their ideas, stories and credits led them to quit the business. In 1950 she "bid farewell, without tears, to the Hollywood screen industry that had so entangled and entrapped me in its web of promises." Maas trashes Hollywood legends, recalling Louis B. Mayer as "a very fearful, insecure man"; Clara Bow dancing nude on a tabletop; Jeanne Eagels squatting to urinate in the midst of a film set; and Marion Davies commenting on her affair with Hearst: "I'm a slave, that's what. A toy poodle." In this memorable tell-all, rise-and-fall memoir, Maas brings the gimlet hindsight of Julia Phillips's You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again to early Hollywood, and the results are thoroughly captivating. Photos. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Film criticism has inspired curiosity about those "behind the screen" who shaped film history. In this spirit, Maas's chronicle of her writing career, which spanned over a quarter of a century, is a valuable contribution to the literature on women in Hollywood. Maas arrived at Universal in 1920 as a lowly story editor's assistant and worked her way up to screenwriter at MGM, enduring close encounters with megalomaniacal moguls. She quickly learned to forego integrity in the name of profits and was not above denigrating what serious reputation she might have cultivated by adapting vacuous star vehicles for the likes of Norma Shearer and Clara Bow. Her reward? The occasional credit, when the powers-that-be deigned to dole out accolades. Rejecting studio politics, Maas ultimately paid the price for playing maverick. Peppered with fascinating anecdotes from yesteryear, this account of the author's life bespeaks frustration with the vapidity of Hollywood: a fickle business world that relied on formula for its success. Things haven't changed much. Recommended.AJayne Plymale, Univ. of Georgia, Athens
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This is a good read for those even remotely interested in Hollywood, past and present. In fact, the present Hollywood seems to have changed little, at least for the better, from when Maas was a writer. Focusing mainly on her work during the silent era, she brings the reader through to the Hollywood of World War II. At one early point in the book she tells a sad but true story about the owner of a famous Hollywood restaurant who almost overnight was deserted by "in" Hollywood for a new competitor. That a small businessman could be dumped so viciously and so undeservedly sets the stage for other hazards of working in Hollywood that come later. Maas came to Hollywood when it seemed women were given even less status than now. However, somehow Maas and her legacy survived in both film and print. A very readable personal history of an era that seems hauntingly similar to the cutthroat environment in Hollywood for writers and other creative types even today. Marlene Chamberlain

A sprightly memoir by a pioneering female screenwriter. Born in 1900 to Russian radicals who had immigrated to New York City, Frederica Sagor answered an ad for story editor at Universal and by her mid-20s had written several hit films, including The Plastic Age and The Waning Sex. By the time she left the business in 1950, she and her husband, writer-producer Ernest Maas, had worked on dozens of movies with major directors and stars. Charlie Chaplin sat at her commissary table; John Ford cut out of a party early with her; Joan Crawford was a hick named Lucille LeSueur who entreated the well-clad writer to take her shopping and dress her like a star. The breezy text is chockablock with colloquialisms, and slang fans will especially appreciate Maass descriptions of women: girls with plenty of ``ginger,'' or great ``gams,'' or who, like the author herself, learned about the good old pessary and so felt free to play the field. In his foreword, film historian Kevin Brownlow rightly places the book in the context of film history. But Maas does not write with Film History in mind; she tells of how she made her living in a tough profession and enjoyed a lasting marriage. Brownlow says that the book will make readers ``angry,'' and some injustices do raise ire, such as MGM stealing the couples idea for an in-theater promotion or 20th-Century Fox gaudily transforming their upright story, Miss Pilgrim's Progress, into the Betty Grable vehicle The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. But for the most part, the blackballing, debauchery, and mogul mendacity described sound just like Hollywood today. The names may have changed, the films may have acquired sound, but the small-minded boss is eternal. Not a literary masterpiece, but more important proof of womens participationif not recognitionbehind the scenes in early Hollywood. A filmography would have been welcome. (30 b&w illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

"A bittersweet, extraordinarily detailed recollection of Maas's 30-year career in the motion picture industry. . . . Chockablock with anecdotes, and a blinding amount of star-wattage to boot." -- Salon.com, August 13, 1999

"Anyone looking for a Pollyanna-ish vision of old Hollywood should not talk to Maas. She was there and remembers a lot of the goings-on 75 years ago. Her stories check out with the facts." -- San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 1999

" Freddie Maas's revealing memoir offers a unique perspective on the film industry and Hollywood culture in their early days and illuminates the plight of Hollywood writers working within the studio system. An ambitious twenty-three-year-old, Maas moved to Hollywood and launched her own writing career by drafting a screenplay of the bestselling novel The Plastic Age for ""It"" girl Clara Bow. On the basis of that script, she landed a staff position at powerhouse MGM studios. In the years to come, she worked with and befriended numerous actors and directors, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Eric von Stroheim, as well as such writers and producers as Thomas Mann and Louis B. Mayer. As a professional screenwriter, Fredderica quickly learned that scripts and story ideas were frequently rewritten and that screen credit was regularly given to the wrong person. Studio executives wanted well-worn plots, but it was the writer's job to develop the innovative situations and scintillating dialogue that would bring to picture to life. For over twenty years, Freddie and her friends struggled to survive in this incredibly competitive environment. Through it all, Freddie remained a passionate, outspoken woman in an industry run by powerful men, and her provocative, nonconformist ways brought her success, failure, wisdom, and a wealth of stories, opinions, and insight into a fascinating period in screen history.

In the past two months Frederica has met Hugh Heffner and Leonard Maltin, received standing ovations at film screenings in Los Angeles and San Francisco, been interviewed on San Francisco television and NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday," and seen an announcement of her book in the editorial pages of The New Yorker.

Still feisty and opinionated as ever, Maas is one of the few people alive who can talk about filmmaking in its early days. She moved to Hollywood when both the town and the industry were still in their infancies, and in her years as a screenwriter she interacted with many of Hollywood's top actors, directors, and production technicians.

Maas, who maintains a sharp wit and a keen memory, is a real treasure and an invaluable part of our cultural heritage.

In 1920 a young Columbia journalism student answered an ad for "Assistant to Story Editor at Universal Pictures." In her new job, Frederica Sagor found herself reviewing the opening night performances of Broadway plays, and she soon became the story editor herself. But after four years, the heads of Universal's New York office reneged on their promise to help her become a screenwriter.

So the ambitious twenty-three-year-old moved to Hollywood and launched her own writing career by drafting a screenplay of the bestselling novel The Plastic Age for the "It" girl Clara Bow. On the basis of that script, she landed a staff position at powerhouse MGM studios. In the years to come, she worked with and befriended numerous actors and directors, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Eric von Stroheim, as well as such writers and producers as Thomas Mann and Louis B. Mayer.

As a professional screenwriter, Frederica quickly learned that scripts and story ideas were frequently rewritten and that screen credit was regularly given to the wrong person. She would often be handed nothing more than a title and the name of a star, and from that she would develop a screenplay. The plots studio executives wanted to see were usually well-worn, but it was the writer's job to develop the innovative situations and scintillating dialogue that would bring to picture to life.

For over twenty years, Freddie and her friends struggled to survive in this incredibly competitive environment. She watched many decent, talented people lose their way to the pull of sex or drugs. She thought many times about leaving the business, only to be drawn back by others, including her husband, a successful New York film producer who also foundered in the politics of Hollywood.

Through it all, Freddie remained a passionate, outspoken woman in an industry run by powerful men, and her provocative, nonconformist ways brought her both success and failure. Her revealing memoir offers a unique perspective on the film industry and Hollywood culture in their early days and illuminates the plight of Hollywood writers working within the studio system.

"Maas is one of the only people around who can speak lucidly of filmmaking more than seventy years ago. Soon after I began reading her manuscript I knew that this was something special."--Anthony Slide

"This story is as fascinating as any tale of Academy Awards and million-dollar grosses, and it is all the more significant because of its rarity."--Kevin Brownlow

"Maas's accounts of dealing with executives while working in studio story departments in the teens and twenties show that not a lot has changed in the film business in the last 70 to 80 years."--Tom Stempel

Frederica Sagor Maas, who celebrated her 99th birthday on July 6, 1999, lives in La Jolla, California. She participated in the transition of silent film to the days of sound and then color. She also lived through two world wars, the Depression, the McCarthy era, and eighteen different U.S. presidencies.