Girl 27 (2007)

In the past few years, the #MeToo movement, which empowers those who have been sexual harassed, abused, or assaulted to come forward with their stories, has gained a lot of traction in the media. And, rightly so, as they deserve to be heard and believed without shame. Those accused of these crimes deserve to face the consequences of their actions. 85 years ago, the world was a much different place. Victims were not only shamed for coming forward; they were usually silenced.

In 1937, a woman named Patricia Douglas filed a lawsuit against an employee of the then-mighty MGM Studios accusing him of rape. Not only did the accused never face any consequences, the entire story has largely been forgotten. Worse still, the accused raped her at a party hosted by MGM.

The studio brought in over 100 underage girls under false pretenses to “entertain” a cadre of their salesmen. If a story of this magnitude were to break today, it would command headlines and TV news cycles for weeks. Back then, it garnered headlines briefly but then quickly faded out of public consciousness. What made this case fizzle out so fast? A 2007 documentary entitled Girl 27 attempts to answer that question and more.

Writer/director David Stenn was finishing a book about the life of actress Jean Harlow when he discovered an old news clipping of the Douglas case. Harlow had worked for MGM during the studio’s heyday and Stenn believed he knew most everything about that time period. Yet, he’d never heard of Patricia Douglas or her story. He was encouraged by his editor at the time — Jackie Onassis — to find out what really happened.

Girl 27 documents his not only his investigation but also serves as a sort of primer about cultural attitudes toward women in the late 1930s. Using interviews, archival footage, and clips from movies of the day, Stenn paints an ugly picture of the atmosphere in and around the movie industry at the time. If a woman was sexually active, she was automatically a “slut.” Yet, movie casting agents (and executives) were not afraid to ask a woman to raise her skirt or to cop a feel in order to judge her worthiness for a role.

Stenn’s dogged pursuit of Patricia Douglas leads to the highlight of the documentary: an on-camera interview. Hearing Douglas tell the story in her own voice is powerful stuff. She refers to her “attack” as she refuses to use the word “rape.” The word still carries a stigma after all these years.

And, while Stenn’s intentions of getting Douglas’ story back into the public eye are admirable, the actual construction of Girl 27 is sometimes baffling. The use — or, rather, overuse — of old film clips becomes a constant distraction. For example, as Douglas emotionally recounts the “attack,” she mentions that she was slapped. Stenn cuts away to an old film of a man slapping a woman. The slap loops three times before Douglas’ account continues. There are similar cutaways and intrusive edits throughout the film. The subject material doesn’t warrant these pointless interruptions.

Poor film-making decisions notwithstanding, Girl 27 is a film that deserves to be seen. Patricia Douglas’ bravery and willingness to stand up for herself against a system and a culture hellbent on sweeping her under the rug deserves recognition. Sadly, she also deserves a better documentary to tell her story.