The Women (1939)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

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

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 | Dude Ranch | Gossip | Train | Marriage

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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
Cora Witherspoon	...	Mrs. Van Adams
Ann Morriss	...	Exercise instructress
Dennie Moore	...	Olga (manicurist)
Mary Cecil	...	Maggie (Mary's town house cook)
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Miss Trimmerback (notary)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Adams	...	Miss Atkinson (uncredited)
Ruth Alder	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
Mariska Aldrich	...	Singing teacher (uncredited)
Meeka Aldrich	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Barbara Jo Allen	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Judith Allen	...	Corset model (uncredited)
Maude Allen	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
Effie Anderson	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Mary Anderson	...	Young girl (uncredited)
Dorothy Appleby	...	Treatment girl (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	Bud bath nurse (uncredited)
Bunny Beatty	...	Debutante in powder room (uncredited)
May Beatty	...	Fat woman / Society woman (uncredited)
Wilda Bennett	...	Mrs. Carter (uncredited)
Joan Blair	...	Miss Atkins (uncredited)
Gladys Blake	...	Miss St. Claire (woman with tough girl) (uncredited)
Marie Blake	...	Stockroom girl (uncredited)
Betty Blythe	...	Mrs. South (uncredited)
May Boley	...	Mud mask (uncredited)
Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Erskine (uncredited)
Frederika Brown	...	Head saleswoman (uncredited)
Veda Buckland	...	Woman (uncredited)
Aileen Carlyle	...	Miss Hicks (uncredited)
Shirley Chambers	...	Girl in a bath (uncredited)
Lita Chevret	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
Dora Clement	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
Mabel Colcord	...	Woman getting massage (uncredited)
Beatrice Cole	...	Negligee model (uncredited)
Mildred Coles	...	Debutante (uncredited)
Nell Craig	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Esther Dale	...	Ingrid (Mary's country house cook) (uncredited)
Mary Dees	...	Girl (uncredited)
Eva Dennison	...	Old girl (uncredited)
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Wagstaff (uncredited)
Estelle Etterre	...	Hairdresser #2 (uncredited)
Dot Farley	...	Large woman (uncredited)
Nance Lee Ferrar	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
Flora Finch	...	Woman window tapper (uncredited)
Ruth Findlay	...	Pedicurist (uncredited)
Agnes Fraser	...	Debutante (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Mrs. Goldstein (uncredited)
Grace Goodall	...	Head saleswoman (uncredited)
Rita Gould	...	Dietician (uncredited)
Grayce Hampton	...	Dowager in powder room (uncredited)
Sibyl Harris	...	Fashion show commentator (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Olive (uncredited)
Winifred Harris	...	Mrs. North / Society woman (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
Brenda Henderson	...	Mrs. Jones' daughter (uncredited)
Jany Hope	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
Joey Hope	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
Virginia Howell	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Carol Hughes	...	Salesgirl at Modiste Salon (uncredited)
Jane Isbell	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Countess Tamara (uncredited)
Alice Keating	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
Carole Lee Kilbry	...	Theatrical child (uncredited)
Carole Lee Kirby	...	Theatrical child (uncredited)
Lucia LaCerte	...	Treatment girl (uncredited)
Lenita Lane	...	Mrs. Spencer's friend (uncredited)
Priscilla Lawson	...	Hairdresser #1 (uncredited)
Leni Lynn	...	Edith's oldest daughter (uncredited)
Leila McIntyre	...	Woman with bundles (uncredited)
Janet McLeay	...	Girl in Shadowgraph / Glamour girl (uncredited)
Butterfly McQueen	...	Lulu - Costmetics Counter Maid (uncredited)
Greta Meyer	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Helene Millard	...	Cosmetic saleswoman (uncredited)
Sue Moore	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Natalie Moorhead	...	Woman at Modiste Salon (uncredited)
Gertrude Needham	...	Woman (uncredited)
Hattie Noel	...	Maid on train (uncredited)
Florence O'Brien	...	Euphie (uncredited)
Mimi Olivera	...	Manicurist (uncredited)
Blanche Payson	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Edith Penn	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper	...	Tough girl (uncredited)
Virginia Pine	...	Glamour girl (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Miss Fordyce (uncredited)
Aileen Pringle	...	Miss Carter (saleslady) (uncredited)
Catherine Proctor	...	Woman in cabinet (uncredited)
Isabel Randolph	...	Woman in cabinet (uncredited)
Renie Riano	...	Ugly saleswoman (uncredited)
Ruth Rickaby	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Jo Ann Sayers	...	Debutante (uncredited)
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Saleswoman Pat (uncredited)
Peggy Shannon	...	Mrs. Jones (uncredited)
Mildred Shay	...	Helen, (Crystal's French maid) (uncredited)
Clarice Sherry	...	Girl (uncredited)
Florence Shirley	...	Miss Archer (uncredited)
Irene Shirley	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Gertrude Simpson	...	Stage mother (uncredited)
Ann Teeman	...	Makeup artist (uncredited)
Terry	...	Fighting dog at beauty shop (uncredited)
Charlotte Treadway	...	Companion woman (uncredited)
Beryl Wallace	...	Woman in cabinet (uncredited)
Josephine Whittell	...	Mrs. Spencer (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood	...	Sadie, (old maid in powder room) (uncredited)
Charlotte Wynters	...	Miss Batchelor (uncredited)
Mary Young	...	Grandma (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Clare Boothe Luce		(play) (as Clare Boothe)
Anita Loos		(screenplay) and
Jane Murfin		(screenplay)
F. Scott Fitzgerald		uncredited and
Donald Ogden Stewart		uncredited

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
David Snell
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
Oliver T. Marsh		(director of photography)
Joseph Ruttenberg		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis
Jack D. Moore		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Woehler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wade B. Rubottom	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Stunts
Donna Hall	....	riding double: Virginia Weidler (uncredited)
Stevie Meyers	....	riding double: Virginia Weidler (uncredited)
Audrey Scott	....	riding double: Norma Shearer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adrian	....	fashion show

Other crew
George King	....	dance teacher (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Delphi Filmverleih Produktion (1991) (Germany) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2004) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (Italy) (video)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ethel Barrymore Theatre  play presented at
• Max Gordon Plays & Pictures Corporation  movie made by arrangement with

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:

Butterfly McQueen's film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the fashion show, the hands of the model in the red gown and fur stole noticeably change position between the long shot and the close-up.

Quotes:

Sylvia Fowler: [Showing her nails to Mary] Mary, how do you like that?
Nancy Blake: Too, too adorable.
Sylvia Fowler: Ah, you have no idea how it stays on... I get it at Sydney's, you should go Mary. A wonderful new manicurist, Olga's her name, she's marvellous. Isn't that divine? Jungle red!
Nancy Blake: Looks like you've been tearing at somebody's throat!
Sylvia Fowler: [Smacks her hand on the table] I'll be darned Nancy if I let you ride me anymore!
Mary Haines: Oh Sylvia, Nancy's only trying to be clever too.
Sylvia Fowler: Well, she takes a crack at everything about me... Even my nails!
Mary Haines: Well I like them, I really do. Sydney's, Olga's, jungle red... I'll remember.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Misadventures of Margaret (1998)

Soundtrack:

On Top of Old Smoky

Divinely Funny

I just saw this film for the first time a few months ago. I laughed harder than I remember laughing at anything made in the last twenty years. The Women is brilliantly written, brilliantly acted, and a whole lot of fun! Norma Shearer is such a sympathetic Mrs. Haines, and the "Jungle red" scene had me in laughing fits. I just could not stop the video for anything. Rosalind Russell was so funny! I thought the scene in the exercise room was absolutely hysterical. I've always been a fan of the demeure Joan Fontaine of Rebecca, and I was surprised to see her here, though not surprised that she played the lamb! This film is such a delight. I think anyone of any age would enjoy it.