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9 to 5  /  She Married Her Boss

9 to 5
February 10, 2018 - 7:30 pm

Women in Film members receive free admission to this series at the box office!

9 to 5  (1980)

Who hasn’t wanted to exact revenge on their sexist, megalomaniacal boss?  Consolidated Companies coworkers Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton (in her big-screen debut!) band together after believing they’ve poisoned their backstabbing, handsy head honcho (Dabney Coleman).  Ms. Fonda’s new production company, IPC, was at the helm for this timely, candy-colored, yet darkly hilarious satire that envisions a dream workplace free from tyrannical leadership.  The heightened reality of this wildly successful and popular farce finds perfection in a femme-led office utopia, and a cathartic world where bigots are punished for their transgressions.  With interludes into dream-like fantasyscapes, multiple kidnappings and an incredible scene of weed-enhanced female bonding, 9 to 5 proves that “you can run an office without a boss, but you can't run an office without the secretaries.”

35mm, color, 109 min.  Production: IPC Films, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.  Distribution: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.  Director: Colin Higgins.  Screenwriter: Patricia Resnick, Higgins.  Cinematographer: Reynaldo Villalobos.  Editor: Pembroke J. Herring.  Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman.

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She Married Her Boss  (1935)

Highly-competent executive secretary Julia Scott (Claudette Colbert) willingly plays “office wife” for department store owner Richard Barclay (Melvyn Douglas).  But when she marries her boss for what she hopes is love, Julia quickly learns that Richard can only think of a “partnership” in terms of how it might help his business.  This cheery romp from the comedic mind of the sorely underrated Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey) features Ms. Colbert at peak charm, flirt and wit, with a bouncy script that keeps pace with her comedic wiles. Featuring a bold-faced assessment of gender politics that advances well beyond the overriding sentiment of its Depression-era backdrop, She Married Her Boss maintains that sometimes, work can mix with play.

35mm, b/w, 85 min.  Production: Columbia Pictures Corp.  Distribution: Columbia Pictures Corp.  Director: Gregory La Cava. Screenwriter: Sidney Buchman. Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy.  Editor: Richard Cahoon. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Michael Bartlett, Raymond Walburn, Jean Dixon.