The Women
Short description
The Women follows Mary Haines, a wealthy New York wife and mother whose comfortable marriage is quietly undermined by gossip. Word of her husband's affair with a shop girl, Crystal Allen, reaches her through the beauty-salon chatter of her social circle, in particular her friend Sylvia Fowler. Pressed by Sylvia rather than left to decide for herself, Mary confronts the situation and the couple's marriage moves toward divorce. The story plays out largely among women, in a world of manicures, lunches and shifting loyalties.
George Cukor directed this 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the fifth of the seventeen films he directed in chronological order, arriving between Holiday and Gone with the Wind. Anita Loos, Donald Ogden Stewart and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the screenplay from Clare Boothe Luce's play. Norma Shearer leads as Mary, with Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen, Rosalind Russell as Sylvia Fowler, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine among a credited cast of 122. The film runs 133 minutes.
Reception has been strong across sources. On IMDb it holds 7.7/10 from 16,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.2/10 from 183 votes. A critics' rating of 8.6/10 from 64 reviews places it above the audience scores. Made for 2 million USD, it took 2 million USD worldwide.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was remade as the musical "The Opposite Sex" (1956), in which June Allyson, Dolores Gray, and Joan Collins played roles previously performed by Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Crawford.
- Costume designer Adrian had been working with the most glamorous ladies of Hollywood for some time. In addition to the costumes for the film, he was also asked to create a multitude of dresses and outfits for a fashion show in "technicolor" format, which was to be inserted into a black-and-white film. In 1939, "technicolor" was still considered a novelty, and producer Hunt Stromberg wanted the fashion show to be a real surprise for the film's audience. Adrian created over 200 costumes for the actors involved in the film.
- When Mary calls Steven during lunch, she puts a cigarette in her mouth, strikes a match to light it, but the cigarette doesn't catch, and Mary holds it unlit in her mouth throughout the conversation. When she hangs up, the cigarette is already smoking.
- In addition to the all-female cast, all the animals shown in the film (many dogs and horses) were also female, and no works of art depicted men (males) – with the exception of a bull in the picnic scene during the fashion show.
- His name is not listed in the credits, but Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) contributed to the writing of the screenplay.
- The most expensive jewelry in the film was a ring with a huge square stone, which Mary wore on her finger at the beginning of the film. Borrowed for the filming, it was worth $175,000.
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