In this episode of the Doctoral Dialogue podcast, we’re joined by Ellen Nolan, a PhD researcher at the University of Westminster.
Ellen discusses her research centred on the archive of her great-aunt, Nita Harvey, documenting Nita’s journey as an actor in 1930s Hollywood. Nita, a British beauty contest winner, was selected by Cecil B. DeMille and starred in the pre-code film Search for Beauty.
Ellen explores the richness of the archive, which includes thousands of negatives, a 35mm casting wheel, and a range of personal ephemera. Through this material, she examines Nita’s experiences as a British actress in Hollywood, with particular attention to issues of treatment, pay, and objectification within the studio system.
Her research also takes a practice-based approach, involving reenactments of Nita’s roles and recreations of fashion from the period. Ellen reflects on how this work opens up conversations about both historical and contemporary representations of women in film, and the lasting impact of Hollywood’s gendered power structures.
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