Scott's World -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The war between the sexes in Tinseltown was won by women in the days of silent pictures, when an actress wearing a nightie caused a stampede at the Boston Bijou and a near riot in Omaha.

Women have since wielded the whip hand. All they need do is disrobe. In this manner they effortlessly steal scenes from all male actors from Bronco Billy Anderson to Tom Cruise.

So there's never been a real war between the Hollywood sexes. Not even a skirmish. Women from Clara Bow and Mae West to Marilyn Monroe and Madonna have known it.

When an actress shucks to the skinny, even the likes of Duke Wayne and Laurence Olivier dropped like flies.

Example: Remember Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct?"

Quick: Who was the male star in that memorable scene in which tough cops grilled the lithesome blonde?

Gotcha!

For the record, it was Michael Douglas, who since has been overshadowed in real life by his knockout new wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones. And she hasn't found it necessary to divest herself of a camisole.

But women in Hollywood literally have been brought into focus by the motion picture academy, with a photography exhibition spotlighting 30 women in various film industry vocations. Beginning Feb. 8, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will offer "Great Women of Film: Photography by Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen" -- open free to the public through April 21.

Lumme and Manninen are natives of Finland who moved to Hollywood seven years ago. As a married couple, they aren't strangers to the war between the sexes. Indeed, Mika concedes that wife Helena long ago attained superiority in the lopsided contest between male and female.

"I am the brain and Mika is the eye," Lumme said this week. "I think we needed a celebration of these women and their contributions to film and industry; not only actresses, but editors, writers, set-decorators -- all those people who make movies look great. They are never given the spotlight. That's why we've done the exhibition."

Most subjects were shot in southern California and New York, Manninen said. The couple photographed on location and at sound stages, capturing the women in connection with their work or in some way revealing their lives.

Debbie Denise, who did visual effects for films like "Harry Potter" was shot horseback riding, for example, Lumme said. The couple included special effects and other fields usually limited to men, she said.

Manninen agreed.

"It's difficult for women to find such jobs because many Hollywood careers are passed along from father to son," Manninen said. "They start training when they are boys. It's rare to have women working in those jobs."

Women work in production offices, but they don't seem to be trusted with money as much as men are, Lumme said. They might get to do craft or creative jobs, but don't usually get the chance to handle movie budgets, she added.

"It's the other way around in our family," Manninen said, smiling.

For a change, this photographic exhibition does not include the usual poses of glamour girls in alluring bikinis and sexy lingerie.

Cinematographer Lisa Rinzler, editors Dede Allen and Maysie Hoy, producers Bonnie Curtis, Jan Rosenthal and

Christine Vachon are among those represented in the exhibition. Other photographs in the collection feature directors Jane Anderson, Kasi Lemmons and Allison Anders.

Some were photographed playing a role, such as a gypsy or Wild West sheriff or in fantasy settings.

"We wanted to give the exhibition visitors interesting stories to look at as well as showcasing the women. We wanted the environments chosen by the subjects to tell something about their personalities," Manninen said.

The photographers said they hope to give the audience a new perspective of movies and the people who make them. The exhibition will tour after April 21.