I love bad ass women! I love when bad ass women are in the movies I love! I am always inspired by them and I hope you are as well. Bad ass women are also why I’m so attracted to Silent Cinema and Pre-code movies.

Emel Tumer

The lead actress in the movie Turkish Madmax aka Last Step to Death (Emel Tumer) is beyond amazing. Though out the movie she shows up the men and can definitely kick ass! Emel herself, was rumoured to be trained in marital arts. It really does show in the movie’s outrageous action scenes. As with many actors in Turkish movies, it is incredibly hard to find information on them. I’ve come across this issue several times when looking for info.

I’ve included our trailer from Killer B Cinema. I’m hoping we show this again in the future.

The Killer B Cinema Trailer:

Every pre-code movie that Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis or Joan Crawford made!

I don’t think I need to say much about these sassy ladies, other than they all had similar upbringings and beginnings in film. All three of them were purely no nonsense women, who knew what they wanted and went for it. Since there is already a lot out there that is written about them, I thought I would share a few of my favourite movies!

Hell House (1932) {This is one of Bette Davis’ earlier movies}

Rain (1932) {Joan Crawford}

Ten Cents A Dance (1931) {Barbara Stanwyck}

The 1970s and its powerful women! Especially Pam Grier!

This list would not be a list of bad ass women if it didn’t include Pam Grier! Most of you will know her from Jackie Brown, but I strongly suggest that you watch as many of her movies as you can. One of my all time favourites is Sheba Baby. A few other amazing actresses to check out are Teresa Graves and Lola Falana

Sheba, Baby (1975) {Pam Grier}

Get Christie Love! (1974) {Teresa Graves}

Lady Cocoa (1975) {Lola Falana}

Silent Film

Heather Babcock introduced me to one of the baddest bad asses in Silent Cinema, Canada’s own Nell Shipman. What a career this woman had! Nell was an actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, animal rights activist and animal trainer. She was also a Spanish influenza outbreak (1918) survivor!

My all time favourite movie she made is called Back to God’s Country. She is fierce in this movie! If you ever need a bit of motivation to stick to your guns, this is the movie to watch.

“Made in 1919, Back to God’s Country is a notable “first” in many ways for Canadian cinema. It’s the earliest homegrown feature film to have survived time, thanks to a miraculous rare find of a print in the 1980s. It’s also the most successful Canadian silent film ever, grossing 1.5 million dollars on a $67,000 budget. And it’s the earliest Canadian movie to feature a nude scene. But perhaps what’s most remarkable about Back to God’s Country is that it’s the earliest known Canadian film written by a woman: its star Nell Shipman was a female Canadian cinema pioneer who directed and produced her own films.” {quote from CBC — full article is here}

Heather also wrote a wonderful article about it. You can read it here.

These are just a few of my favourite bad ass women! There are so, so many more out there. Who are your favourites?

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!