Girl 27 (2007)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girl 27 is a documentary film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.

 

The topic of this film is one of the worst scandals in the history of Hollywood. For many years, it was also one of the most under-reported scandals:

 

The rape of Patricia Douglas which happened during an MGM convention in Los Angeles in 1937.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Director: David Stenn

** Narrator: David Stenn

** Run time: 80 minutes

 

Several persons are interviewed in the film (including Patricia Douglas). Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Richard W. Bann - historian

** Ned Comstock – librarian - USC

** Patricia Douglas (1917-2003) – MGM dancer

 

** Judy Lewis (1935-2011) – daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable

** Judd Minter – grandson of Patricia Douglas

** Patti Minter – daughter of Patricia Douglas

** Peggy Montgomery – MGM extra

 

** Art Streiber - photographer

** Greta Van Susteren – Fox News Channel Anchor

** Michael Taitelman – lawyer

** Jack Terry – son of Eloise Spann (MGM singer)

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage includes clips from old movies and clippings from old newspapers.

 

David Stenn is a television writer. He is also the author of two books about movie stars who were famous in the 1930s. While doing research for these books, he came across news reports about a case he had never heard about before: the rape of Patricia Douglas.

 

Who was this woman?

What happened to her?

 

He became interested in the case and tried to find more information about it. After a while, he had enough material to write an account which was published in Vanity Fair in 2003. This account is the basis of his documentary film which premiered in 2007.

 

In 1937, Patricia Douglas was an MGM dancer. Other young women were MGM singers or MGM extras. These young women appeared in movies whenever MGM staged a big production.

 

In 1937, MGM celebrated a very good season. MGM salesmen from all over the country were invited to a convention in Los Angeles. Around 120 young ladies were hired to welcome them at a special party. 

 

In old MGM documents, Patricia Douglas is listed as Girl 27 of the 120 young ladies who were present at the party. Hence the title of the film.

 

David Ross (1901-1962) was a salesman from Chicago. He was one of the numerous salesmen invited to this party. He was interested in Patricia Douglas. She was not interested in him, but this did not stop him. David and a friend forced her to drink some alcohol which made her sick.

 

She went outside to the parking lot. David followed her, He grabbed her and took her to one of the numerous cars parked there. According to Patricia, he raped her in the back seat of the car. When it was over, he let her go and left the place.

 

The next day, Patricia tried to complain to MGM about what had happened. They refused to listen to her. She got angry and decided to go to the police. She wanted the police to arrest David Ross. The police did not want to listen to her, but she insisted. After a while, the case was tried in court. The trial was covered by the local media.

 

Patricia was a nobody. A dancer. While the suspect worked for MGM which was a powerful company. Some people say MGM owned or controlled most of the town at that time. Ross denied the accusation. But a witness had seen him run away from the car. The witness was parking attendant Clement Soth.

 

At first, Soth had identified David Ross, but later he changed his story and said he was unable to identify the person who had run away from the car par park.

 

When David Stenn was looking into the case, he learned that Clement Soth was no longer alive. But he was able to locate his two daughters who told him what had happened. They are interviewed in the film. But their names are not mentioned.

 

MGM had told their father that he had to change his statement. He had to perjure himself in court and say that he was unable to identify the man who had run away from the car. In return, MGM offered him a job for life. He accepted, because he had to take care of his family.

 

The trial was a case of "she said, he said." It was her word against his word. She accused him, but he denied the accusation. The result was no surprise: Patricia Douglas lost the case and David Ross could walk away as a free man. MGM had saved him.

 

MGM could not admit that the studio had organized a party which was a giant orgy of alcohol and sexual assault on young women.

 

Patricia Douglas disappeared from public view. The case was buried. For many years, it was completely unknown. When David Stenn began to look into it, he was surprised to learn that Patricia Douglas was still alive: she was living in Las Vegas.

 

At first, she refused to talk about the case. At first, she would not meet him. She would only talk on the phone. But after a while, she agreed to meet with him and to talk about the case. She wanted to tell her story to someone who believed her.

 

After several interviews, David Stenn had enough material to write the account which appeared in Vanity Fair in 2003 and after a while he could tell the story in the film which premiered in 2007.

 

What do reviewers say about his film? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

 

68 percent = IMDb

69 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

86 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon there are 47 global ratings and reviews. The average rating is 4.2 stars which corresponds to a rating of 84 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a significant difference between the professional critics and the general audience. The critics are more positive than the audience.

 

This is a common phenomenon when we are talking about documentary films. It is rare to see the audience offer high ratings to a documentary film.

 

I like this film and I want to give it a good rating, but it has one serious flaw, as Sura Wood explains in her review of the film:

 

“Stenn … undercuts his material by putting himself front and center – he has more screen time than Douglas.”

 

[The Hollywood Reporter, 19 January 2007.]

 

This flaw is most obvious during the first half of the film. In the second part of the film, it is less obvious.

 

Here are two examples from the first half of the film:

 

** When Stenn interviews historian Richard W. Bann, we see them walking along a street. Steen does most of the talking. Bann says almost nothing. He is presented, but does not get a chance to say much.

 

** When Steen interviews librarian Ned Comstock, we see them sitting at a table with some old documents about the case. Stenn does most of the talking and Stenn shows us the documents about the case. Comstock is presented, but does not get a chance to say much.

 

It is a shame that David Stenn decided to focus so much on himself rather than on the case. It is a shame that some participants do not get a real chance to tell us what they know about the case.

 

This film covers an important topic; this film covers a story which deserves to be told: an obvious miscarriage of justice.

 

MGM used its powerful position to silence a woman who was a victim of a crime and to make sure that a suspect who was guilty could walk away as a free man.

 

This film is good, but not great. It has a flaw which cannot be ignored. 

 

I have to remove one star because of this flaw. Therefore, I think it deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS # 1. Dennis Harvey reviews the film in Variety of 31 January 2007. There are two mistakes in this review:

(a) Patricia Douglas was around 20 in 1937. She was not 17, as Dennis Harvey says. 

(b) Patricia Douglas died in 2003. She did not die in 2006, as Dennis Harvey says.

 

PS # 2. Hilary Beaumont writes about the film and the case in This Magazine of 20 May 2011. There are two mistakes in this article:

(a) David Ross was an MGM salesman from Chicago. He was not a film director, as Hilary Beaumont says. 

(b) “Look at her!” the prosecutor commanded. “Who would want her?” This horrible statement was not made by the prosecutor, as Hilary Beaumont says. In a rape case, the prosecutor is supposed to support the accuser and accuse the defendant. This statement was made by the lawyer who defended David Ross.

 

PS # 3. Buron Fitts (1895-1973) was Attorney General of Los Angeles County district 1928-1940. His prosecution of David Ross was so poor that he lost the case. Google his name to find more information about his life and career.

 

PS # 4. Patricia Douglas appealed her case to the federal court system. But the case disappeared, because her lawyer failed to show up in court three times.

 

PS # 5. Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957), who founded MGM in 1924, was the powerful head of the studio for decades. His life and career are covered in this biography:

 

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eymann (HC 2005) (PB 2012).

 

PS # 6. David Stenn’s article about the case of Patricia Douglas appeared in Vanity Fair in April 2003. The title is: “It happened one night … at MGM,”

 

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 David Ross (1901-1962)

MGM salesman

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Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957)

Founder of MGM

 

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