After a nightclub hostess clobbers the boss and swipes his dough, women in the powder room must sneak her out before she winds up in the East River.
Sex Pirates of 1931 is a Sass Mouth Dames Production
Written and directed by Megan McGurk
Cinematography and editing by Shane McCormack
Lighting by Don Rorke
Sound by Colum Coogan
Sound editing and mixing by Thomas O’Mahony
Continuity by Sandra Godkin
Titles by Mot Collins
Starring:
Jennifer Breslin as Mae
Méabh de Brún as Lil
Hannah Lochhead as Sadie
Emily Brennan as Ruby
Conor Hughes as Fishcake
Sex Pirates of 1931 is an homage to the female comedy teams of the 1930s, such as Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell, Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly, as well as the casts of the mighty Gold Diggers franchise. The title for my first film comes from Kiss Hollywood Goodbye, the memoir by screenwriter and novelist Anita Loos. When she wrote the script Red-Headed Woman for Jean Harlow, Loos referred to Harlow’s character as a ‘sex pirate,’ which is an apt description for a woman who turns the tables on a boss who expects a roll in the hay.
In Preston Sturges’s glorious screwball comedy, ‘sex always has something to do with it,’ which means that Claudette Colbert can step on Rudy Vallee’s face (twice), and rather than give out to her, he buys her a new wardrobe. Claudette plays a mug’s game, by convincing herself that she can divorce her swoon merchant husband Joel McCrea, who happens to be broke, just to grab the first millionaire she meets. In a classic woman’s picture, economic pragmatism flies out the window when Eros shoots an arrow in your can.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Screens Thursday, May 15 at 7.00
Lana Turner takes as much pride in her Twin Oaks uniform as the soldiers who stormed Normandy Beach. She’s a hard worker, keen on amounting to something. But what’s a gal to do when a drifter (John Garfield) gives you a look that promises to give you the business? Her husband (Cecil Kellaway) plans to cart her off to another country to be a caretaker for his sister. It will take an attorney more twisted than a corkscrew (Hume Cronyn) to pull her heels out of the fire. Lana should have gotten her flowers for playing a woman caught in a jam between duty and desire.
Broadway showgirls use a repertoire of gags to get cash from men. But once a gangster squeezes the girls for protection money, they must find a way to give him the brush.
SATIN RACKETS was written and directed by Megan McGurk.
Meet the stars:
Clara Higgins plays Kitty Adare.
Clara is an Irish artist and writer perhaps better known as her pseudonym Mot Collins. Under this moniker, she creates illustrations, zines, and tattoos. Mot is interested in subversive expressions of femininity, sexuality, occultism, and comedy. She is highly influenced by pulp and punk culture. She can be found on Twitter as @heavydutywoman and @motcollinsart on Instagram.
Art design for SATIN RACKETS by Mot Collins.
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M Shawn plays Iris.
M. is a former television news producer, a writer, a researcher, an accidental homemaker, and a full-time Jean Harlow fan. After a year in quarantine, her blood type is banana bread, and if people were allowed to be fictional characters in a past life, she’d be Blondie Johnson.
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Olympia Kiriakou plays Dinah and Mrs Healy.
Olympia Kiriakou is a film historian specializing in stardom and genre in classical Hollywood. She is the host of “The Screwball Story” podcast, and the author of BECOMING CAROLE LOMBARD: STARDOM, COMEDY, AND LEGACY (Bloomsbury, 2020). She is currently writing VIRGINIA GREY: GOOD LUCK CHARM for the University Press of Kentucky. Visit her website The Screwball Girl and find her on Twitter: @thescrewballgrl and @screwballstory.
Patrick McGurk plays Buzz Moody and Talbot.
Pat is a resident of Key West, Florida. He has been active in community theatre since high school as an actor, director and producer. Pat’s stage credits include such diverse roles as the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, Bud Frump in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Richard III, and various other parts in Shakespeare. He has also directed over 15 shows from Shakespeare to most recently Private Lives by Noel Coward. When not working on a show, or working, you can find Pat on the water with dive gear or a fishing rod.
Shane McCormack plays Joe Ryan and Corsairs.
Shane McCormack is a freelance illustrator specializing in movie and pop culture subjects.Recent licensed work includes Halloween and Ghostbusters. When not drawing he collects physical media especially 1930/40s movies and any Barbara Stanwyck film. He also enjoys photography and has a BA in Visual Art. He’s on Twitter as @mrharrylime. Shane is the cinematographer and editor for the short film Sex Pirates of 1931. You can see his work at www.mrharrylime.com
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Savannah Monroe plays Pansy.
Savannah Monroe is a film writer and historian based in Colorado. Her focus is in the films and women of the classical Hollywood period. She has been researching and writing about Anne Bancroft, her life and legacy, since 2018. Her work can be found through her website Garbo Talks and on Twitter as @garbo_talks.
Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman plays Laurel.
Beatrix is a filmmaker and writer based in Dublin. She has worked for AMC, Disney, and Metropolitan Films. She was a Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann Fellow at the Stowe Story Labs 2024 Connemara Writers’ Retreat, the recipient of the 2022 Arts Grant from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, and the Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland. Her film FORTY FOOT is currently in development. She loves 35mm film photography and being by the sea.
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Jack Warren plays Mad Dog Healy.
Jack Warren is an actor and filmmaker based in Dublin and New York. Their award-winning short films have screened all over the world, including at the Woodstock Film Festival, the GAZE International LGBTQ Film Festival, the American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival, and the Irish Film Institute. They have a deep fondness for Barbara Stanwyck pictures and anything directed by Frank Borage. Check out all of their work at hellojackwarren.com and come say hi @hellojackwarren on Instagram.
Sound editing and special effects for SATIN RACKETS by Thomas O’Mahony.
Thomas O’Mahony is a London based Irish Podcast Producer who specialises in storytelling and audio design. He hosts a tattoo history show called Beneath the Skin, and is passionate about how we can use audio to tell new and innovative stories. You can find Thomas on all social media @gotitatguineys or contact him for business related inquiries at thomasomahony.media
Megan McGurk is a writer and director who carries a torch for studio era woman’s pictures. Megan wrote, directed, and produced the short film Sex Pirates of 1931. She has hosted Sass Mouth Dames film club in Dublin since 2017 and the podcast from 2018. She has written and directed eleven original radio plays set in the 1930s. She wrote an essay for Criterion on Love Affair. She is on Twitter @MeganMcGurk @SassMouthDames, Instagram @sassmouthdames, and Blue Sky @meganmcgurk.bsky.social
Rona Jaffe’s bestselling novel follows Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, and Diane Baker, three roommates who work as secretaries in a New York City publishing house. Their career path is littered with the usual perils: The louche boss who chases them around desks (Brian Aherne), a detached and judgy know it all (Stephen Boyd), a heartless Broadway lothario (Louis Jordan), a rich fuck boy (Robert Evans), and a boss who fears they are after her job (the exquisite Joan Crawford). This picture has the best of everything.
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Screens 16 January at 7.00
Douglas Sirk’s portrait of suburban America highlights the poisonous underbelly that lurks behind the large homes and manicured lawns. Jane Wyman plays a widow who falls for the hunky gardener, played by Rock Hudson, a man who’s built like one of the trees he cultivates. Unfortunately, their passion is uniformly disapproved of by the local gossips and her snotty kids. Like so many heroines before her, Wyman’s character ignores what she desires just to please everyone else. Melodrama, thy name is Sirk.
Joan Blondell plays a waitress on the hunt for a rich husband. She strikes up a friendship with Melvyn Douglas, a swoon merchant disguised as a stuffed-shirt professor who can’t help giving lessons on how to be a lady. Trying to curb her penchant for accepting gifts from men, he advises that she only accept flowers, fruit, candy, and hospitality. Just how creative can Joan Blondell get with those directions?
The Big Street (1942)
Screens 10 October at 7.00.
Best known for being a comedic powerhouse who invented appointment TV and later bought the studio that once considered her only a second-tier contract player, Lucille Ball proves her dramatic chops in one of the best Broadway fables from Damon Runyon. Lucy plays a hard-boiled canary with a cash register where a heart ought to be. Henry Fonda, a bus boy, worships her from a far and then up close.
Old Acquaintance (1943)
Screens 17 October at 7.00.
Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins play college pals who become rival novelists. Bette is the highbrow author who struggles writing literary fiction. Miriam writes bodice rippers that turn into commercial best sellers. Bette wears jackets and ties; Miriam wears ruffles and lace. Sparks fly whenever they meet, making the love interests with men the least interesting thing about the picture.
