![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Illeana-Douglas-JUNGLE-RED-author-photo.jpg\")
Credit: Deraney PR<\/p>\n
The granddaughter of Hollywood legend Melvyn Douglas, she spoke with Los Angeles Magazine about the extraordinary women who dominated Hollywood, the rivalries they carefully cultivated and why their stories matter nearly 90 years later.<\/p>\n
Directed by George Cukor, The Women featured an entirely female cast of 135, including Crawford, Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine. Not a single man appeared on screen. But behind the cameras, Hollywood\u2019s leading ladies were navigating a complicated world of powerful studio executives, fierce competition, public image and personal relationships.<\/p>\n
For Douglas, the film offered something more interesting than a collection of Hollywood gossip.<\/p>\n
Have questions? Get answers.<\/p>\n
Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did female empowerment in the \u201930s look like in Hollywood?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Despite working within what Douglas described as a deeply sexist society, she was struck by how successfully the actresses established their careers and controlled their public identities.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach woman found a way in their society to carve out not just a career, but a fabulous career and a persona,\u201d Douglas said. One of the book\u2019s most fascinating storylines involves the legendary rivalry between Crawford and Shearer.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Photo-18.jpg\")
Credit: Deraney PR<\/p>\n
According to Douglas, the two actresses weren\u2019t simply competing for roles or attention. They understood the value of publicity and used their carefully crafted images to their advantage. Unlike today\u2019s celebrities, whose interviews are frequently managed by teams of publicists, Crawford and Shearer often spoke directly with entertainment columnists visiting the set.<\/p>\n
Shearer preferred to receive reporters in her private dressing room, creating an atmosphere of elegance and sophistication. And Crawford took the opposite approach. She presented herself as the relatable underdog, a working-class woman who had somehow made it big in Hollywood.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just stepped off the street, the shop girl who just happened to be making it in show business,\u201d Douglas explained.<\/p>\n
It was a carefully maintained image, even though Crawford was already a major star. Douglas believes Crawford may have gained an advantage in the public relations battle because audiences found her more approachable. Shearer, however, demonstrated her own impressive business instincts.<\/p>\n
Following the death of her husband, MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, Shearer used public sympathy to strengthen her position while negotiating with studio executives.<\/p>\n
Douglas was particularly impressed that Shearer handled her own contract negotiations. \u201cIt\u2019s like they were terrified of these women in some way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The actresses were also masters of personal branding decades before the term became fashionable. Douglas recalled how Shearer\u2019s glamorous costumes, designed by Adrian, inspired clothing that could be adapted and sold at Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you could dress like Norma Shearer,\u201d she said. \u201cWe think of branding today and actresses and actress branding, but they were doing all of that in the 1930s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Douglas also reflected on her own experiences navigating the film industry, particularly her creative collaborations with former partner Martin Scorsese. She said their relationship allowed her to contribute ideas during the making of Goodfellas and Cape Fear, at a time when Scorsese had not yet reached his current legendary status.<\/p>\n
But her experience working on the 1996 film Grace of My Heart offered a more complicated lesson about creative control and recognition. Douglas starred in the film, directed by Allison Anders, with Scorsese serving as executive producer.<\/p>\n
She recalled making contributions as a producer, but never received a producing credit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the actress, although I was also a producer, I didn\u2019t get any credit as a producer, and that was something I had to accept,\u201d she recalled. Creative disagreements also emerged over the film\u2019s final version, including Douglas\u2019 desire to perform more of her own singing. She said she lost those arguments. <\/p>\n
The experience helped her relate to the women she researched for Jungle Red!, particularly those whose contributions were overlooked or credited to more powerful men.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen are so pragmatic,\u201d Douglas explained. \u201cThey want to get the thing done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only later, she noted, do they sometimes realize how much recognition they surrendered. And Douglas couldn\u2019t resist pointing out an irony about her famous former partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always get asked about Marty, but he never gets asked about me,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Although The Women was released in 1939, the same year as Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, Douglas believes its cultural significance has often been overlooked. She hopes her book encourages readers to appreciate the actresses, writers and other creative women who helped shape Hollywood.<\/p>\n
For her, the story is about more than glamorous costumes and backstage rivalries. It\u2019s about individuality, confidence and women taking control of their own careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping on the horizon that there\u2019ll be a return to glamour, individuality of women too,\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t all have to look the same and dress the same.\u201d And Douglas isn\u2019t finished exploring Hollywood history.<\/p>\n
She also revealed to Los Angeles that her next project will focus on Los Angeles in the 1990s, including her move from New York to California in 1998. For now, she\u2019s enjoying the renewed interest in the extraordinary women who helped define Hollywood\u2019s golden age.<\/p>\n