Women Who Write
by JenExxifer | created - 31 Oct 2019 | updated - 6 months ago | PublicMovies & TV shows I've watched that feature female characters who possess a passion for the pen!
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1. Romancing the Stone (1984)
PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman
Votes: 103,349 | Gross: $76.57M
A movie about a woman romance writer that was written by a woman, Diane Thomas! Joan Wilder may look like a female Indiana Jones but she isn't; she is her own character and she would just as soon stay home to write than go out, but when family is in trouble it leads her on an adventure just like a character in one of her books -- and leaves her with a new story for her next best-selling romance novel! Don't miss the knife-wielding opening scene where Joan's fearless heroine Angelina coolly kills the man that shot her dog and stole her bible!
2. Anne of Avonlea (1987)
TV-G | 58 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Anne Shirley accepts a teaching position at a girls boarding school in a town dominated by a rich and belligerant family determined to make her life miserable.
Stars: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Marilyn Lightstone, Schuyler Grant
Votes: 10,192
Anne Shirley is a positively delightful female character originally created by a Canadian writer from another time and world, Lucy Maud Montgomery! In Anne's continuing adventures, she sets out to explore the brave new worlds of teaching, writing, and life outside of Avonlea, where she finds new foes who she eventually turns into friends by besting them at their own game with Anne's typical follies along the way!
3. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
Director: Peter Faiman | Stars: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil
Votes: 115,481 | Gross: $174.64M
Sue Charlton is a journalist on a mission to get a story, and it's a good thing she has her dad's newspaper empire to fund her worldwide adventures that include chasing down an elusive crocodile hunter in the Australian outback! Ironically, the story doesn't end as well for her fiance editor who loses his woman to the subject of her writing efforts which boosted the circulation of the newspaper!
4. Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Comedy
A soon to be divorced Beverly Hills socialite is determined to prove to her husband and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do, by becoming a den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills Girl Scouts.
Director: Jeff Kanew | Stars: Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross
Votes: 11,433 | Gross: $8.51M
A Beverly Hills housewife needs a best friend, and there is no better best friend than Vicki Sprantz, a trendy romance novelist who is happily married to her divorce attorney husband and even gets writing ideas from her TV star teen daughter! But beware: She won't take no for an answer when it comes to retail therapy!
5. His Girl Friday (1940)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 63,178 | Gross: $0.30M
A fast-paced script that captures the anxiety-filled rush that is the newspaper game! Too bad Hildy didn't have sense enough to leave it all behind, but it's fun to watch Rosalind Russell lose her character's cool while getting manipulated by Cary Grant as the ex-husband who can't let her go for the sake of selling more newspapers!
6. Emil and the Detectives (1964)
Approved | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Emil goes to Berlin to see his grandmother with a large amount of money and is offered sweets by a strange man that make him sleep. He wakes up at his stop with no money. It is up to him and a group of children to save the day.
Director: Peter Tewksbury | Stars: Walter Slezak, Bryan Russell, Roger Mobley, Heinz Schubert
Votes: 824
'Pony' is a young whipper-snapper student columnist for her school's paper with a nosy nose for reporting, and the main female role in the movie! Not one to rest on her laurels when cousin Emil is late to arrive at their grandmother's in Berlin, she jumps on the first clue and joins in the sleuthing adventure with the detectives, because all good reporters know a story must be written when the adventure ends!
7. Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Music
Ramones fanatic and delinquent Riff Randell battles it out with the strict new principal of Vince Lombardi High School, Miss Togar, with help from the Ramones.
Directors: Allan Arkush, Joe Dante | Stars: P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young
Votes: 11,207
Riff Randell is a teenage lobotomy rock-and-roller on a mission to get her songs to the Ramones! When not writing songs and ditching class, she enjoys hanging out with her best friend, super-science geek Kate Rambeau, and being a thorn in Principal Togar's side at Vince Lombardi High!
8. Heathers (1988)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime
At Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk
Votes: 115,894 | Gross: $1.11M
How does a girl survive teenage angst while being friends/enemies with the most popular group of girls in high school? She writes in her journal! Even though writing doesn't solve all of Veronica's problems, it does shed light on a very real truth -- writing in a journal is legal; murder and blowing up high schools isn't!
9. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 242,779 | Gross: $92.82M
Not to be confused with a gymnast, the wide-eyed effervescent journalist Sally Albright, as could only be played by Meg Ryan, is by far one of the most dynamic and lovable female writer characters ever created for the big screen by a woman writer, Nora Ephron! While the film does not focus on Sally's career, it very accurately captures the magnetic and unpredictable nature that is woman, especially a woman who writes!
10. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson
Votes: 190,909 | Gross: $126.53M
Another woman writer role for Meg Ryan that finds her secretly tracking down a mystery man on the opposite side of the country under the guise that it's research for her column! What would women reporters do without the publications they work for to fund their sneaky adventures, and what does it say about women writers who are less than honest with their fiances about what they're up to? What, indeed!
11. She-Devil (1989)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy
A surprisingly resourceful housewife vows revenge on her husband when he begins an affair with a wealthy romance novelist.
Director: Susan Seidelman | Stars: Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr, Ed Begley Jr., Linda Hunt
Votes: 19,078 | Gross: $15.35M
Mary Fisher lives in a palace by the sea, where she writes escapist romance novels for housewives from her world of grandiose delusion as only one of the most delusional actresses of modern times could portray -- Meryl Streep! While Mary thinks her pink bubble of writing bliss could never burst, she gets more than she bargained for when she lures a lecherous married man away from his dysfunctional home, leaving his jilted housewife to plot revenge against him and Mary's picture perfect life!
12. The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
PG | 84 min | Family, Horror, Mystery
When a family moves to a country home, the young girls experience strange happenings that have a link to an occult event years past.
Directors: John Hough, Vincent McEveety | Stars: Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, Carroll Baker
Votes: 7,067 | Gross: $5.00M
Mrs. Curtis doesn't have Bette Davis eyes, but she does write charming children's books while her husband works as a composer! The couple temporarily uproot their two daughters to England for his musical work, but when Dad's away, the daughters discover eerie happenings in their leased manor that leave Mrs. Curtis in a world of worry. Even though the movie is about the oldest daughter, it does feature a happily married woman writer as a character -- and that's rare in the world of women who write!
13. Hart to Hart (1979–1984)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
The globe-trotting adventures of amateur detectives Jonathan and Jennifer Hart.
Stars: Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, Lionel Stander, Lee Wilkof
Votes: 8,795
What does a self-made millionaire look for in a wife? Mad writing skills, and creative role playing too!
14. The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
PG | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The sole surviving Texas Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury) of an ambush arranged by outlaw leader Major Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish (Christopher Lloyd) returns to fight back as a great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger.
Director: William A. Fraker | Stars: Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Matt Clark
Votes: 2,518 | Gross: $12.62M
Amy Striker is a newspaper woman of the west and a writer who knows what writing is all about -- it's a weapon!
15. Superman (1978)
PG | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando
Votes: 187,566 | Gross: $134.22M
When not writing for The Daily Planet, Lois Lane is downing fresh squeezed orange juice!
16. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Approved | 75 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
Director: William Castle | Stars: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal
Votes: 30,841
Ruth Bridgers is a gossip columnist with a gambling problem!
17. The Bat (1959)
Approved | 80 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people.
Director: Crane Wilbur | Stars: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon, John Sutton
Votes: 6,200
Murder-and-mystery author Cornelia van Gorder spends a summer in the country and winds up solving the murder mystery of the Bat!
18. Funny Farm (1988)
PG | 101 min | Comedy
A couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith Osborne, Kevin O'Morrison, Joseph Maher
Votes: 25,012 | Gross: $25.54M
When husband Andy gets writer's block working on a novel, his wife Elizabeth pens a playful children's book!
19. The Affairs of Martha (1942)
Approved | 66 min | Comedy, Romance
Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Marsha Hunt, Richard Carlson, Marjorie Main, Virginia Weidler
Votes: 508
Being a maid in a well-to-do community has its perks -- juicy inspiration for a book!
20. Girlfriends (1978)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
A photographer and her girlfriend are roommates. She is stuck with small-change shooting jobs and dreams of success. When her roommate decides to get married and leave, she feels hurt and has to learn how to deal with living alone.
Director: Claudia Weill | Stars: Melanie Mayron, Eli Wallach, Adam Cohen, Anita Skinner
Votes: 3,086
Anne is a novice writer who wants to do more with her writing, but life takes over as she becomes a wife and mother!
21. Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Mystery, Romance
The author of a controversially racy best-selling book tries to hide her celebrity status from her provincial small-town neighbors, who would be scandalized if they knew.
Director: Richard Boleslawski | Stars: Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall
Votes: 2,953
Theodora is brought up by her aunts in a town where sin is simply sinful, and her only way to experience what she's not allowed to experience is to write scandalous best-selling book!
22. Richard Jewell (2019)
R | 131 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Security guard Richard Jewell is an instant hero after foiling a bomb attack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but his life becomes a nightmare when the FBI leaks to the media that he is a suspect in the case.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley, Ryan Boz
Votes: 97,753
In real life, reporter Kathy Scruggs wrote the defamatory article that targeted Richard Jewell (and I believe obstructed justice in finding the real bomber) by leaking to the public that the FBI was investigating Richard Jewell as a person of interest in connection with the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing; her article was published before Richard Jewell was informed of such investigation and the article set off a media-induced frenzy whereby news outlets essentially convicted Richard Jewell of the crime based on his character without a trial or being formally charged; Richard Jewell was ultimately proven to not be the bomber.
A great story of what's wrong with modern media and a perfect example of how not to be a journalist!
23. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
In 1968, the night of Halloween brings mayhem in a small town when a group of friends discovers a notebook written by a mysterious girl that foretells terrifying events.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams
Votes: 85,303 | Gross: $68.95M
Stella is a young girl who wants to be a writer; after scary stories come to life, she's inspired to write the truth in order to set the author free!
24. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
Director: Peter Godfrey | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 12,028
25. Death Becomes Her (1992)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
When a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini
Votes: 131,381 | Gross: $58.42M
26. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
I.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Votes: 236,489 | Gross: $40.14M
27. Mr. Church (2016)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
"Mr. Church" tells the story of a unique friendship that develops when a little girl and her dying mother retain the services of a talented cook - Henry Joseph Church. What begins as a six month arrangement instead spans into fifteen years and creates a family bond that lasts forever.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson, Natascha McElhone, Xavier Samuel
Votes: 31,269 | Gross: $0.69M
28. Meet John Doe (1941)
Passed | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Votes: 14,905
29. Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996)
TV-PG | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Professional writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher uses her intellect, charm, and persistence to get to the bottom of every crime she encounters.
Stars: Angela Lansbury, William Windom, Ron Masak, Louis Herthum
Votes: 29,272
30. The Lost City (2022)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A reclusive romance novelist on a book tour with her cover model gets swept up in a kidnapping attempt that lands them both in a cutthroat jungle adventure.
Directors: Aaron Nee, Adam Nee | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Votes: 158,790 | Gross: $105.34M
31. Farewell Mr. Kringle (2010 TV Movie)
G | 83 min | Comedy, Romance
A magazine journalist who no longer celebrates Christmas visits the quaint town of Mistletoe to blog about an inspirational - albeit questionably delusional - man who parades around pretending to be the real Santa Claus.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Christine Taylor, Christopher Wiehl, William Morgan Sheppard, Lin Shaye
Votes: 646
32. The Holly and the Ivy (1952)
Approved | 80 min | Drama
A heartwarming tale of an English minister and his family reunited at Christmas time. Their story includes a remembrance of their World War II trials.
Director: George More O'Ferrall | Stars: Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 2,000
33.
Family Matters (1989–1998)
Episode:
Short Story
(1989)
Not Rated | 24 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Rachel writes a short story with characters that resemble the Winslow family.
Director: Joel Zwick | Stars: Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Rosetta LeNoire, Darius McCrary
Votes: 196
34. Copycat (1995)
R | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara
Votes: 65,953 | Gross: $32.05M
35. Critic's Choice (1963)
Approved | 100 min | Comedy
Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.
Director: Don Weis | Stars: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell, Rip Torn
Votes: 1,117
36. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
In 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best
Votes: 20,897
37. Without Reservations (1946)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
En route to Hollywood, an author becomes smitten with a marine, though he is unaware of her celebrity status and is critical of her best-selling novel.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, Don DeFore, Anne Triola
Votes: 1,928 | Gross: $3.00M
38. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Votes: 53,270 | Gross: $4.36M
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