The Women (1939)

A very funny movie this may very will be the all time classic "chick flick". Tons of gossip and cat fights and the main thing that i believe caught the attention of many people with this movie is realism. In some cases this is truly how some women act and I believe that's what ads to the comedy and success of this movie is that so many people and especially women can relate. I feel as if this movie really went after the topic of divorce and maybe how many women back then had the fear of being replaced or having their husband cheat on them by a younger women. As i said before women could relate to this film very easily and it gave a sense of women coming together and really was one of the first movies to start this idea or give off the impression of feminism. An overall very funny comedy with a well put together all-star cast of female actors who all did an incredible job with this film.

One thing can be said about this film with certainty: It is a must-see for any film enthusiast. Adapted from a play, "The Women" features a massive cast that is all female. And that cast includes many of the major stars of the day and many actresses that will later be stars.A few of them that deserve special mention are Norma Shearer, who gives a wonderfully sensitive performance as Mary Haines. Joan Crawford, who plays the villainess Crystal Allen, really demonstrates the full range of her abilities: in some scenes she shifts effortlessly and instantly from one emotion to another which a rapidity that feels so authentic. Rosalind Russell plays the gossip Sylvia Fowler, who is the epitome of the passive-aggressive meddler. Joan Fontaine is charming as Peggy Day, a younger bride. And Marjorie Main gives her usual broad performance, a comic counterpoint to the anxieties of the women around her.Much of the credit for the successes of this film go to director George Cukor. Stories from the set are evidence that his guiding hand crafted many of the performances and gave the film, in general, a cohesive integrity.The film's narrative is simple. Mary Haines discovers that her husband might be having an affair. When the alleged home wrecker is revealed--a shopgirl--she must decide how to deal with the situation. Throughout the film, women are given an opportunity to voice their feelings and concerns, mostly about relationships with men and other women.The B&W film includes a full color section, a fashion show, featuring the designs of Adrian. It's an effective use of color, but it leaves one thinking how wonderful this film, if shot only in Technicolor, could be.Today's viewers might wonder if this film (with a script primarily written by Anita Loos, adapted from a play by Clare Boothe Luce) passes the Bechdel Test, given its emphasis on the feminine. I will leave that to viewers to discover, but there is a lot of talk about men in this film. And the Test has been shown to be a superficial measure of a film's overall value.This is a valuable time capsule from 1939, Hollywood's golden year.

I thought this movie was very very interesting and I had never seen a movie like it before I have watched this one. I found it very interesting that it not only portrayed women in its entirety but it was completely cast by women. I feel for the time that this movie came out, this was huge seeing how women did not seem to have as equal of an opportunity as men did growing up and even throughout their lives they could be subject to unfair treatment. One scene I was not a fan of in the movie was the fashion show. One thing I find to like in every film is consistency throughout the film. If the movie is black and white I like it to stay black and white throughout the film. I do understand it is different for the time this movie came out but for such a great film this is one thing I did not like. Aside from that I thought this was a very interesting movie and I really did like it even though I was skeptical going into it

If there is something I wasn't entirely pleased with in this title is the actual lengths director George Cukor went to to avoid showing any male figure whatsoever during its whole plus-two hour long duration. I'm pretty certain that was due to him perhaps striving to be compliant with the play's own take in the story but, if anything, this decision of his has only contributed to the "staged stage" feeling (let's call it that) there is to it. Thanks to that decision, which in my humble opinion, doesn't do the acetate media it is on any favors, I, a proud cinema lover, was left with many questions which only detracted from the whole film watching experience per se, such as: Is it a comedy or a drama? Are we supposed to laugh or to be compassionate about Mary's roller-coaster-like plight she unfortunately goes through? When are the heinous false friends' masks finally going to fall and will they ever get what they deserve? Therefore, my rating it with 3 and half stars.But in the end, some of the excellent performances given by the likes of Russell, Shearer and why not, the young Weidler (who plays Little Mary), kinda saved the day - even more so when one thinks about how NOT so awfully bad the title has aged. Though the lush technicolor sequence, as gorgeous as it was, didn't help it in that department, (not due to he wardrobe, mind you, but actually the sheer amount of time it was dedicated to it).