Femmes

A TCM announcer said the classic cat fight of all times was in this movie. It is a humdinger. But it doesn't start at the ranch -- it runs all the way through!

So much has been noted about it, but wanted to comment on something about the Joan Crawford character. She works at a sales counter, yet has a nice place of her own and great clothes. She played a lot of shop girls, always having a knockout wardrobe, including over the top evening clothes and a very well appointed apartment. In the real world, a sales girl would have to be living at home or at the Y or have at least one roommate, and wouldn't be able to afford an expensive wardrobe. But, this is the movies, and we enjoy it that way.

Also, really enjoyed Virginia Grey's part as the savvy sales girl who prickles Crystal while she's on the phone with Steven. "Holy mackerel, what a line!" With so much cleverness going on, that sequence doesn't get much mention, but she was priceless.

How about that beauty clinic! What a setup.

And we do love to admire the clothes, which were so interesting then, their dressing up so much. There's a lot to check out in this picture, as well as catching the snappy lines, as has been mentioned here. Yep, play it again, Sam-antha.

After choosing George Cukor's "The Women" I was skeptical of its premise at first. I became quickly surprised at how often I found myself enjoying each catty scene or insult along with the characters' prima donna behavior. The story was two hours of hilarious female innuendo's and clever insults along with a deeper story between Mary, her daughter, and the familiar intricacies of divorce. The cast was perfect in their roles, each one bringing their own flair to the script. The all-female cast molded well gabbing amongst one another in a relentless barrage of gossip. I enjoyed this movie much more than I thought and I especially liked the end scene where all the women go at it. I recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys the genre.

The female of the species goes jungle red in tooth and claw in this brilliant screen adaptation of Claire Boothe Luce's famous Broadway play--a wickedly funny portrait of 1930s society women whose lives revolve around beauty treatments, luncheons, fashion shows, and each other's men. Socialite Mary Haines is the envy of her set: rich, beautiful, and happily married... but when her husband steps out on her with a gold-digging perfume counter sales clerk, Mary's so-called friends dish enough dirt to make divorce inevitable whether Mary wants it or not.

The script is wickedly, mercilessly funny, fast paced, razor sharp and filled with such memorable invective that you'll be quoting it for weeks and months afterward: "He says he'd like to do Sylvia's nails right down to the wrist with a buzz-saw;" "Why that old gasoline truck, she's sixty if she's a minute;" "Gimme a bromide--and put some gin in it!" And the all-female cast, which includes every one from Cora Witherspoon to Butterfly McQueen to Hedda Hopper, plays it with tremendous spark.

This was the last significant starring role for Norma Shearer, one of MGM's greatest stars of the 1930s, and she acquits herself very well as the much-wronged Mary Haines. But the real winners are the members of the supporting cast. Joan Crawford is truly astonishing as Crystal Allen, the shop girl who leads Mary's husband astray, and Rosalind Russell gives an outrageously funny performance as the back-biting gossip whose nasty comments precipitate Mary's divorce. Indeed, it is hard to do anything except rave about the entire the cast, which includes such diverse performers as Marjorie Main, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, and Lucille Watson. Even the smallest bit parts score with one-liners that have the impact of a slap in the face, and director George Cukor does an incredible job of keeping everything and every one in sharp focus.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about THE WOMEN is the way in which director Cukor ties the behavior of its characters to their social status. Possessed of absolute leisure and considerable wealth, their energies are inevitably directed into competition for the ultimate status symbol: a successful man. Cukor allows us to sympathize with Mary (Shearer) and laugh at Sylvia (Russell), but he also requires us to pity them--and indirectly encourages grudging admiration for the devious Crystal (Crawford) and the savvy Miriam (Goddard), characters who are considerably more self-reliant. Consequently, not only does THE WOMEN paint a poisonously funny portrait of women as a sex, it takes a hatchet to the society that has shaped their characters as well.

Unfortunately, this landmark comedy has not received the full benefit of what DVD offers. Although the print is crisp, the film has not been restored, and the extras are spurious and hardly do the film justice; while I would recommend the DVD simply because you're likely to wear out a VHS, the DVD has no great advantage over the VHS release. But whether you have it on VHS or DVD, this is one title that you must have in your collection: you'll watch it again and again. A must-have! Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The fact that Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford would consent to appear in a movie together is amazing. Shearer in 1939 was the queen of MGM, being the widow of studio production chief Irving Thalberg, and had her choice of material and co-stars. Crawford, although a power in her own right, didn't have Shearer's pull and complained bitterly about it. Crawford fought to take the somewhat supporting, albeit juicy, role because she needed an A picture after a string of flops. So she had to suck it up to work with Shearer.

The two stars had only one scene alone together, and there were no reported problems while filming, except one. Director George Cukor sent Crawford home early when she caused a distraction by loudly clicking her knitting needles off camera as Shearer tried to do her close-ups.

Crawford was proved right in taking the movie, it's one of her most memorable and, finally for once, villainous roles. As Crystal Allen, the scheming homewrecker who is out to sleep her way to a Park Avenue penthouse, she was ideally cast. It was her life.

Rosalind Russell, previously not known as a comedienne, surprised everyone with her rapid-fire sarcastic delivery. She would continue to perfect the biting style for 20 years until she reached the pinnacle with Auntie Mame. Roz gives the strongest performance of the film as the spitefully catty Sylvia Fowler, and I don't think Shearer and Crawford knew what hit them.

As for the long-suffering, hair-clutching, heavy-sighing Norma Shearer, even she was able to make the thankless role of noble Mary Haines memorable. One of her best moments is when she raises her nails and growls "I've had two years to grow claws, Mother, and they're Jungle Red!," and then goes to take her husband back from Crawford. Shearer has a few Silent Screen moments that look out of place, such as collapsing and weeping at her mother's knee. But she makes the character warm and likable and we root for her to win.

There are many gems in the all-female supporting cast. Most spectacular is Mary Boland as the heavy-drinking, high-living Countess De Lave. "L'amour L'amour" she wails as she's about to divorce her fourth studly husband -- for trying to kill her.

Paulette Goddard, the most beautiful member of the cast, is the best I've seen her, as the streetwise Miriam Aarons. Like Crawford, she plays a role she understands, the chorus girl who snags a millionaire. But unlike Crystal, Miriam has a heart -- and Goddard is great at doling out straight-shooting advice and rolling out put-downs under her breath.

Marjorie Main gives a preview of the persona she would later use as Ma Kettle. It was the first time she was able to step out and create the character, and she used it the rest of her career. I never tired of her raucous horse laugh.

I hope Hollywood has the good sense not to update this classic with another misguided remake. It is a priceless diamond in a golden setting.

This movie is two wonderful hours of gossipy, clever fun. The script is incredibly good and makes you wish every movie in the world could turn out as well as THE WOMEN. The performances all blend together perfectly, which is what you need if you are going to tell a story like this. Joan Crawford is sublime as the husband stealer and Norma Shearer plays the usual virtuous kind of part she always played in her career. However in my opinion, Roz Russell, who played Mrs. Fowler simply is at her best. It is one of the most funny and exquisite performances that i have ever seen given by an actress on film. It is plain to see she only cares about herself and her own superficial motives but you cant help being on her side and enjoying all the trouble she stirs up. And also Paulette Goddard gave a sassy performance as the sarcastic woman who has seen it all and wants no more of it. The best scene of hers is when she and Mrs. Fowler fight at the divorce ranch. I loved this movie!