Another Kino Distance: Our Film Discussion Podcast - Arzner, Auteur (Part II)

In the second half of our Dorothy Arzner marathon, we cover the remaining entries in the recent TIFF retrospective (Christopher Strong, Merrily We Go To Hell, and Dance, Girl, Dance), along with a pair of items we scrounged up on our own (Nana and Craig's Wife). Dance, Girl, Dance is justifiably considered the director's summative work, gathering all of Arzner's countervailing preoccupations and themes into its sui generis structure like a bull in the narrative shop. The other four films form quite an interesting group, collectively emphasizing a more fatalistic side to the auteur only hinted at in the darker moments of The Bride Wore Red.    Also: this is Dave's first chance to wax rhapsodic about the great Helen Chandler (who got her last decent film role in Christopher Strong).  Arzner Gratia Artis!