The decade of the 1930's was a difficult one in Hollywood. The worldwide depression left families with little or no income so movies became a "luxury." But the 1930's was also a time of opportunity and movies became "escapist" entertainment and took the public's mind off hard times. Starlets fought for every role and even major stars couldn't rest on their laurels for fear of being replaced by a hungry young upstart. As you might expect, the title changed hands frequently with some champions reigns measured in weeks, rather than in months!
When 5 ft. 3 1/2 inch tall Bette Davis beat Claudette Colbert in 1931 she became the first "champion" of the new decade. A cruel lesbian, Davis frightened many potential challengers by her propensity to torment beaten challengers in the ring after defeating them.
Miriam Hopkins was, like Davis, just 5'3" but the ballerina from Georgia always claimed she was unaware of Davis' reputation when she signed to fight her. Miriam beat Davis in late 1931 in a tough match. The widely anticipated rematch never took place when Davis' film career suddenly took off. Others, however, claim Davis was so intimidated by Hopkins that she refused to risk her 'tough girl' reputation with another loss.
Athletic Maureen O'Sullivan battered the much smaller Hopkins in their first match and then soundly beat her again six weeks later in a brutal rematch. O'Sullivan not only won the title, but the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to play "Jane" to Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan, the role that defined her career.
Carol Lombard became the first "universally" recognized champion when she beat O'Sullivan late in 1932. She held the title for the rest of the year.
Ingenue named Gloria Stuart pulled off a 'Titanic' upset, stunning Lombard and taking the title. Stuart didn't hold the belt long, but it was long enough to set her on the path to an acting career that spanned the rest of the millennium.
Pretty Joan Blondell came to Hollywood intent on catching the eye of an important producer. She recreated "The Cowgirl" a ring character Clara Bow had used when she won the title. It worked for Blondell too as she won her the title and jumpstarted her career on the silver screen.
Eva Kiesler (aka Hedy Lamarr) from Germany totally overpowered Blondell and forced her to submit in three straight falls on February 22, 1933, the last "best of five" championship match.
Another German, Marlene Dietrich beat Lamarr later that same year in a classic match between two tough German frauleins.
Rosalind Russell, another tiny (5'4") fighter toppled Dietrich in March 1934 in one of the era's most startling upsets. Russell immediately went on a publicity tour throughout the west where she put on exhibitions with local women, raising thousands of dollars in the process.
An angry Hedy Lamarr cruelly humiliated Rosalind Russell after decisively beating her in their August 1934 rematch. The beating, and the humiliating public spectacle afterward, seemed to destroy Roz' confidence. She was never the same after that night although she continued to fight another 6 yrs before finally retiring from the ring.
A cute dancer whose perky appearance belied a tough, combative nature, Eleanor Powell stunned Hollywood when she upset Lamarr in 1936. To prove the win was no fluke, she won the re-match several months later. Powell kept the title nearly two years.
Hungary's Ilona Massey used a 'friendship' she formed with Eleanor Powell while they were working on "Rosalie" to get a championship fight in February 1938. Massey's tough, European free-for-all style confused the champion and Massey won easily. Angry at what she felt was a friends "treachery" Powell immediately challenged Massey to a rematch. Two months later, in what is now referred to as the 'lovers quarrel match', Massey nearly killed her young rival; crushing Powell easily in two straight falls and hospitalizing her with multiple internal injuries.
In June 1938, petite little Mary Martin (shown here showering after the match) shocked fans and critics alike when she knocked Massey unconscious with a flying dropkick in a very rough fight that ended Massey's reign as the Hollywood champion. Historian's credit Martin's stunning performance to "a close friendship" with ex-champ Eleanor Powell and a desire to revenge her friend. Both Powell and Martin declined for years to either confirm or deny the the rumors or even acknowledge a 'relationship.'
Lucille Ball, statuesque (5'6") ex-Ziegfield and Goldwyn Girl, became the next champion when she beat Martin in a surprisingly one-sided bout. Ball was trained by ex-champ (and friend) Bette Davis, who also promoted the fight for her friend as a 'breather' for Martin who later claimed she had been exhausted by several cross-country trips negotiating for a role in a Broadway play. Whatever the reason, Ball, a natural brunette who had dyed her hair red for the fight ("...to give myself a more intimidating look.") used her long, powerful legs to keep the champion tied in knots, emerging with a 2 falls to 1 victory over the smaller woman.
Carol Landis (here in a photo taken moments after the match) upset Ball in a surprisingly easy one-sided match to end Ball's brief title reign five months after Lucy took the title from Martin. At the time, historians and critics dismissed Ball's championship (and therefore Landis' win) calling Ball a "clown" and a "joke"; but history remembers her as a class act who carried herself with dignity at all times.
Tough, young and athletic. All describe bruising brunette beauty, Dorothy Lamour, who thrashed older blond Landis in a hard, brutal match that spelled 'finis' to Landis' championship only 3 weeks and 4 days after she'd taken the gold from Lucille Ball! Lamour credited her win in part to her ability to train hard for the match; her expenses being covered by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, two of many wealthy men who helped out promising young women.
