Mary C. McCall Jr. was a renowned screenwriter and novelist working during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In addition to her work in the film industry, she was recognized as a feminist and labor leader. During her career, she became the first woman president of the Screen Writers Guild and led the fight to unionize the film industry’s writers. In addition, she fought four and secured a minimum wage, credit protection, and pay raises. To her peers, she was a powerhouse, but to studio heads, she was dubbed “the meanest bitch in town.” When a clash during the blacklisting period shook her career, she abruptly seemed to vanish from the Hollywood scene.
J. E. Smyth’s Mary C. McCall Jr.: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Screenwriter shines a light on McCall’s seldom-told story, examining her personal and often contentious professional life. Along the way, readers learn of her friendships with Hollywood elites in addition to her constant struggle for equality and recognition. In a seemingly unrecognized legacy, Smyth offers a fascinating multifaceted portrait of McCall and her values.
Hometowns to Hollywood 