Il mondo è delle donne

Slick, superficial CinemaScope stuff from Hollywood's early-'50s panic attack: How ya gonna keep 'em down at the flicks after they've seen TV? Fox tried to with big screens, splashy colors, and half a dozen or so stars crammed into one entertaining soap-opera premise. There's no cinema-making genius going on here, but the movie is overwhelmingly entertaining, both for its look and its morality. A consumerist's paradise, it's so stuffed with cars and gowns and doodads that you're seized with an overwhelming urge to go shopping after you've seen it. (The cars, in particular, are '50s-futurists designs from Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, and they're knockouts.) And the morality is so utterly of its time: The onscreen drinking and smoking are nonstop, the gender premises (men seek power, women seek men) are unquestioned, and the subtext is clearly that money and power are fine, but holding on to your man is what really counts. And to do that, you'd better learn to be a dear little klutzy wifey like June Allyson instead of a calculating harlot like Arlene Dahl. Of the women, Allyson's wife-waif act becomes monotonous, and while Dahl is luscious to look at and seems to be in on the joke of how one-note her character is, she's not really much of an actress. So Bacall, her crisp-sophisticate act honed to a fine sharpness, comes off best by default. The men are all OK, but New York is the real star.

Woman's World was recommended to me through a friend of the family, and I'm very glad they did! Through the 94 minutes of this film, I was laughing out loud constantly (mainly because of June Allyson's goofy character), but also on the edge of my seat wondering who would get the job! It's rather sad that this isn't as well known as it should be, because it is a real laugh but also very climatic.

Three men are up for a major promotion in a car company and the man in charge (Clifton Webb) decides that each are fit for the job, but his decision will be based on one thing: their wives. Bill (Cornel Wilde) and Katie (June Allyson) care about each other too much to sacrifice seeing each other often. Sid (Fred MacMurray) and Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall) fight constantly as her husband is a workaholic, which causes trouble with his health. Jerry (Van Helfin) and Carol (Arlene Dahl) seem to want the job too much, and Carol goes to extreme lengths in an effort to make Jerry get the job.

Woman's World is nothing deep or revolutionary, it's just a classy comedy (I could watch it for the fashions alone!) with some big stars. It does look dated from today's standards, but I still really enjoyed it! The plot stays the same (in many ways, this is good) throughout the movie. Simply, sophisticated and elegant. Great 1954 comedy.

Watching how the actors are strategically placed on screen while performing their chores in WOMAN'S WORLD made me recall how seldom close-ups were used when CinemaScope was new. Instead, medium shots are used almost extensively so that the screen is filled by someone standing far left and the other far right. Occasionally the camera does move in a little closer for an over the shoulder shot, but it's obvious that CinemaScope was new and lensing a film in Wide Screen was not an easy matter.

The performances are all interesting, with LAUREN BACALL and ARLENE DAHL coming off best, while JUNE ALLYSON is forced to play a klutzy housewife with too many slip-ups to be tolerable. CLIFTON WEBB is the auto executive who wants to examine the wives of men he's considering for a top job at his auto plant. The men are well played by VAN HEFLIN, CORNEL WILDE and FRED MacMURRAY.

If you liked films like EXECUTIVE SUITE, all about climbing the corporate ladder, you'll enjoy this one--and furthermore it has sumptuous settings enhanced by color photography. Women will enjoy all the costumes and men will stay tuned to see which man Webb chooses for his open executive job.

Witty dialogue helps with Lauren Bacall handling her lines with the kind of skill she always brought to these kind of roles. Arlene Dahl shows a little more skill than usual as an actress with a strong confrontational scene with Webb.

Worth a look, but don't expect anything deep.

Big, glossy drama about three men (and their wives) competing for a top job at a glossy auto company in glossy New York City. This is one of many of those mid-century films that touted NYC as the greatest city in the world what with its wealth of money and arts and society and all those tall buildings.

In this one Clifton Webb plays the imperial head of the Gifford Auto Co., which boasts its cars are "luxury on wheels." He's interviewing three company men for the general manager job. There's the rather grim Van Heflin from Dallas, easy-going Cornel Wilde from Kansas City, and the up-from-the-ranks Fred MacMurray from Philadelphia. Each one wants ... or thinks he wants ... the big job.

Then there are the wives. Webb tells us over and over again the the manager's wife must also be a special type of gracious thing who'll fit into the Long Island set. Heflin's wife is a man-eater and a social climber (Arline Dahl), Wilde's wife is the homey but not-so-dumb type (June Allyson), and MacMurray's is the salt-of-the-earth type (Lauren Bacall).

Each couple has some private domestic dramas to deal with as they are dazzled by Emerald City and as the men jockey for position. Dahl heads right for the prize (Webb) while Bacall and Allyson deal with life in the big city. Funniest scene has the latter two going to a "bargain basement" to buy an evening dress for Allyson and almost being killed in the mob of hysterical women. Film culminates in a weekend party at Webb's Long Island estate where his sister (Margalo Gilmore) assesses the wives.

As the title suggests, the women basically take the story while the men drone their way through the auto factory etc. And while the men are pretty much forgettable, the gals (and Webb) have a high old time. Allyson and Bacall are especially good. As for the cars, the various models are Fords and Mercurys and Lincolns (minus any emblems) are showcased and the story includes one of those "cars of tomorrow" scenes that's quite fascinating.

Also in the cast are Elliott Reid as the nephew, Alan Reed as the Italian restaurateur, and look fast for Billie Bird, Kathryn Card, and Elinor Donahue in the bargain basement.

Highly enjoyable mid-century drama with a dash of comedy.

Very good cast highlight this film. Also great fashions. Arlene Dahl steals the film as an ambitious, scheming wife. All in all-worth seeing!!