The Women (1939)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Clare Boothe Luce (play)
Anita Loos (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 September 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The Female Of The Species . . . when the men aren't watching !

Plot:

Wealthy Mary Haines is unaware her husband is having an affair with shopgirl Crystal Allen. Sylvia Fowler...

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Marriage | Train | Pride | Dude Ranch

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Norma Shearer	...	Mrs. Stephen Haines (Mary)
Joan Crawford	...	Crystal Allen
Rosalind Russell	...	Mrs. Howard Fowler (Sylvia)
Mary Boland	...	The Countess De Lave
Paulette Goddard	...	Miriam Aarons
Phyllis Povah	...	Mrs. Phelps Potter (Edith)
Joan Fontaine	...	Mrs. John Day (Peggy)
Virginia Weidler	...	Little Mary
Lucile Watson	...	Mrs. Morehead
Marjorie Main	...	Lucy
Virginia Grey	...	Pat (perfume counter clerk)
Ruth Hussey	...	Miss Watts (Stephen's secretary)
Muriel Hutchison	...	Jane (Mary's maid)
Hedda Hopper	...	Dolly Dupuyster (columnist)
Florence Nash	...	Nancy Blake

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

France:U | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (1939) | UK:U (re-rating) (2004) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #5546)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Myrna Loy and Greta Garbo were the only top-tier female stars at MGM who did not star in this film, although Loy was considered for the role of Crystal Allen.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mary is reading in bed, the early long shots show the lamp on the left side of the bed to be a male figurineand the one on the right to be a female. In the close-ups the lamp on the left of the bed has changed and is female.

Quotes:

Peggy Day: I wish I could make a little money writing the way you do.
Nancy Blake: If you wrote the way I do, that's just what you'd make.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Cried for You

Cats

"The Women" owes its appeal to the great George Cukor. Without him, it would certainly have been a different movie. Because of his direction this is a Hollywood classic at its best.

They certainly don't make pictures like this anymore. Imagine what it would have cost to have a first rate cast to fill the shoes of all these women in today's Hollywood? It would probably be so prohibitive that no one in the present climate would touch it with a ten foot pole.

"The Women", as written by Clare Booth Luce for the stage, was a delicious comedy about New York society, as it was in the late 30s. Of course, by today's standards, this is a very chaste take on that subject. Had it been done today, it would have been done entirely different and the excellent text by Ms. Luce would have probably been thrown away to satisfy the taste of contemporary audiences.

Norma Shearer was excellent as Mary Haines, the suffering wife, who has no clue of how her husband has fallen to the charms of Crystal Allen, beautifully played by Joan Crawford. Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine and the rest of the cast seem to be having a lot of fun while playing these women.

One thing does come clear, those women had a style and a sophistication well beyond the times they lived. It's very clear that Claire Booth Luce was well ahead of it all, as she had an understanding for what was going on around her. What a thrill it must have been to have been around New York in that glamorous era!

Women: Love them, as we cannot live without them!