The Women

The Women (1939)

Runtime: 131 minutes

Directed by: George Cukor

Starring: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine

From: MGM

Yes, this passes the Bechdel Test.

The Women is another one of those movies that has been on the DVR since earlier this month, having been recorded off of TCM two weekends ago. Besides knowing of this for a long while, it has a particular trait that is still unusual in these modern times: the movie has an all-female cast. That's right, there's nary a male character to be seen throughout. 

The on-screen guide described the cast as mainly “a chatty and catty cabal of women” and noted that lead girl Norma Shearer was a “cuckolded wife”. Not inaccurate but I'll be more specific. This follows a cabal of women, the main characters being rich Manhattan socialite types. Lest you think it sounds unappealing to follow random wealthy women, note that this is a scathing critique on such people. Mary Haines (Shearer) is told that her husband is cheating on her; her pals tell her to divorce right away yet perhaps that was not the best advice.

Adapted from a 1936 Clare Boothe Luce play of the same name by two other females, this was quite entertaining as it had plenty of funny lines, especially one at the ending where someone calls the gang b*tches but in a way that was able to be accepted by the Production Code. As the director was George Cukor and this utilized all of MGM's top lady stars at the time (Shearer, Joan Crawford, my non-relative Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, etc.) it is no surprise this was a high-quality production that never tires even at over 2 hours long. It's in black and white... except for one Technicolor sequence that had some wild designs.

At times the acting is of the period-meaning it can be over the top by today's standards-yet that doesn't really hurt this. More important is that the pacing and dialogue can be quite fast; I was at least able to keep up... and it did slow down after the opening scene that hits the ground running at 100MPH and is as fast as Usain Bolt. Don't worry, the movie is not as exhausting as that first scene that introduces many characters at once. Anyhow, this was fun old-fashioned old-timey entertainment.