Molly Haskell

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Each installment focuses on a different era of American movie history, from the invention of the first moving pictures to the revolutionary, cutting-edge films of the 1960s.

Produced for Turner Classic Movies, this documentary looks at the early days of the gangster film.

Pauline Kael (1919–2001) was undoubtedly one of the greatest names in film criticism. A Californian native, she wrote her first review in 1953 and joined ‘The New Yorker’ in 1968. Praised for her highly opinionated and feisty writing style and criticised for her subjective and sometimes ruthless reviews, Kael’s writing was refreshingly and intensely rooted in her experience of watching a film as a member of the audience. Loved and hated in equal measure – loved by other critics for whom she was immensely influential, and hated by filmmakers whose films she trashed - Kael destroyed films that have since become classics such as The Sound of Music and raved about others such as Bonnie and Clyde. She was also aware of the perennial difficulties for women working in the movies and in film criticism, and fiercely fought sexism, both in her reviews and in her media appearances.

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.

Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the "world's worst director," Henry Jaglom obsessively confuses and abuses the line between life and art. Featuring scores of interviews (including Orson Welles, Dennis Hopper, Milos Forman and Peter Bogdanovich) and rare behind-the-scenes footage, this hilarious documentary explores the fascinating question of Who Is Henry Jaglom?

A retrospective documentary on the life and career of Ohio-born actress, singer and TV star Doris Day.

A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.

Interviews and film clips re-create the glorious history of the American western.

A 2007 documentary on the making of "The Apartment."

Portrait of writer Dorothy Parker, her Algonquin Round Table friends, her writing and her troubled life. Includes interviews, archival footage of Parker reading poetry and scenes from the 1994 film on Parker's life, "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle," starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Matthew Broderick.

When the cameras rolled, Doris Day wore a happy face, never hinting at the pain she endured in her personal life. This documentary brings viewers close to the real Doris Day through the eyes of her friends and family members and with the help of film footage, newsreels and photographs. What surfaces is a complex picture of an equally complicated woman who faced problems far more formidable than her cinematic image revealed.

The grim woes that surrounded famed director Peter Bogdanovich and his film, "They All Laughed."

Historians, biographers and personal friends of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Margaret Mitchell reveal a complex woman who experienced profound identity shifts during her life and struggled with the two great issues of her day: the changing role of women and the liberation of African Americans.

Using rare footage and exclusive interviews with filmmakers from all over the globe, "Reel Herstory" corrects the historic notion that women behind the scenes in motion pictures held peripheral careers compared with their male counterparts.

This documentary recounts the difficult choice actress Mary Astor had to make after learning her personal, very intimate, diaries had been stolen. The film tells the story of Astor's 1936 child custody case.

Documentary on the film noir Decoy, with Dick Cavett and Molly Haskell.