The Women (1939)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Clare Boothe Luce (from the play by)
Anita Loos (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 September 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The Female Of The Species . . . when the men aren't watching !

Plot:

A study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.

Plot Keywords:

Gossip | Countess | Divorce | Perfume | Marriage

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Mrs. Stephen Haines - Mary
Joan Crawford	...	Crystal Allen
Rosalind Russell	...	Mrs. Howard Fowler - Sylvia
Mary Boland	...	The Countess De Lave - Flora
Paulette Goddard	...	Miriam Aarons
Phyllis Povah	...	Mrs. Phelps Potter - Edith
Joan Fontaine	...	Mrs. John Day - Peggy
Virginia Weidler	...	Little Mary
Lucile Watson	...	Mrs. Morehead
Marjorie Main	...	Lucy
Virginia Grey	...	Pat
Ruth Hussey	...	Miss Watts
Muriel Hutchison	...	Jane
Hedda Hopper	...	Dolly Dupuyster
Florence Nash	...	Nancy Blake
Cora Witherspoon	...	Mrs. Van Adams
Ann Morriss	...	Exercise Instructress
Dennie Moore	...	Olga
Mary Cecil	...	Maggie
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Miss Trimmerback
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Wagstaff (scenes deleted)
Dorothy Adams	...	Miss Atkinson (uncredited)
Ruth Alder	...	Woman Under Sunlamp (uncredited)
Mariska Aldrich	...	Singing Teacher (uncredited)
Meeka Aldrich	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Barbara Jo Allen	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Judith Allen	...	Corset Model (uncredited)
Maude Allen	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
Effie Anderson	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Mary Anderson	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Dorothy Appleby	...	Treatment Girl (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	Mud Bath Nurse (uncredited)
Bunny Beatty	...	Debutante in Powder Room (uncredited)
May Beatty	...	Fat Woman / Society Woman (uncredited)
Wilda Bennett	...	Mrs. Carter (uncredited)
Joan Blair	...	Miss Atkins (uncredited)
Gladys Blake	...	Miss St. Claire (uncredited)
Marie Blake	...	Stockroom Girl (uncredited)
Betty Blythe	...	Mrs. South (uncredited)
May Boley	...	Mud Mask (uncredited)
Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Erskine (uncredited)
Frederika Brown	...	Head Saleswoman (uncredited)
Veda Buckland	...	Woman (uncredited)
Aileen Carlyle	...	Miss Hicks (uncredited)
Shirley Chambers	...	Girl in a Bath (uncredited)
Lita Chevret	...	Woman Under Sunlamp (uncredited)
Dora Clement	...	Woman Under Sunlamp (uncredited)
Mabel Colcord	...	Woman Getting Massage (uncredited)
Beatrice Cole	...	Negligee Model (uncredited)
Mildred Coles	...	Debutante (uncredited)
Nell Craig	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Esther Dale	...	Ingrid (uncredited)
Mary Dees	...	Girl (uncredited)
Eva Dennison	...	Old Girl (uncredited)
Estelle Etterre	...	Hairdresser #2 (uncredited)
Dot Farley	...	Large Woman (uncredited)
Nance Lee Ferrar	...	Edith Potter's Daughter (uncredited)
Flora Finch	...	Woman Window Tapper (uncredited)
Ruth Findlay	...	Pedicurist (uncredited)
Agnes Fraser	...	Debutante (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Mrs. Goldstein (uncredited)
Grace Goodall	...	Head Saleswoman (uncredited)
Rita Gould	...	Dietician (uncredited)
Grayce Hampton	...	Dowager in Powder Room (uncredited)
Sibyl Harris	...	Fashion Show Commentator (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Olive (uncredited)
Winifred Harris	...	Mrs. North / Society Woman (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
Brenda Henderson	...	Mrs. Jones' Daughter (uncredited)
Jany Hope	...	Edith Potter's Daughter (uncredited)
Joey Hope	...	Edith Potter's Daughter (uncredited)
Virginia Howell	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Carol Hughes	...	Salesgirl at Modiste Salon (uncredited)
Jane Isbell	...	Edith Potter's Daughter (uncredited)
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Princess Mara (uncredited)
Alice Keating	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
Carole Lee Kilbry	...	Theatrical Child (uncredited)
Carole Lee Kirby	...	Theatrical Child (uncredited)
Lucia LaCerte	...	Treatment Girl (uncredited)
Lenita Lane	...	Mrs. Spencer's Friend (uncredited)
Priscilla Lawson	...	Hairdresser #1 (uncredited)
Leni Lynn	...	Edith's Oldest Daughter (uncredited)
Leila McIntyre	...	Woman with Bundles (uncredited)
Janet McLeay	...	Girl in Shadowgraph / Glamour Girl (uncredited)
Butterfly McQueen	...	Lulu - Costmetics Counter Maid (uncredited)
Greta Meyer	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Helene Millard	...	Cosmetic Saleswoman (uncredited)
Sue Moore	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Natalie Moorhead	...	Woman at Modiste Salon (uncredited)
Gertrude Needham	...	Woman (uncredited)
Hattie Noel	...	Maid on Train (uncredited)
Florence O'Brien	...	Euphie (uncredited)
Mimi Olivera	...	Manicurist (uncredited)
Blanche Payson	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Edith Penn	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper	...	Tough Girl (uncredited)
Virginia Pine	...	Glamour Girl (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Miss Fordyce (uncredited)
Aileen Pringle	...	Miss Carter - Saleslady (uncredited)
Catherine Proctor	...	Woman in Cabinet (uncredited)
Isabel Randolph	...	Woman in Cabinet (uncredited)
Renie Riano	...	Ugly Saleswoman (uncredited)
Ruth Rickaby	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Jo Ann Sayers	...	Debutante (uncredited)
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Saleswoman Pat (uncredited)
Peggy Shannon	...	Mrs. Jones (uncredited)
Mildred Shay	...	Helen - Crystal's French Maid (uncredited)
Clarice Sherry	...	Girl (uncredited)
Florence Shirley	...	Miss Archer (uncredited)
Irene Shirley	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Gertrude Simpson	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)
Ann Teeman	...	Makeup Artist (uncredited)
Terry	...	Fighting Dog at Beauty Shop (uncredited)
Charlotte Treadway	...	Companion Woman (uncredited)
Beryl Wallace	...	Woman in Cabinet (uncredited)
Josephine Whittell	...	Mrs. Spencer (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood	...	Sadie - Old Maid in Powder Room (uncredited)
Charlotte Wynters	...	Miss Batchelor (uncredited)
Mary Young	...	Grandma (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Clare Boothe Luce		(from the play by) (as Clare Boothe)
Anita Loos		(screen play) and
Jane Murfin		(screen play)
F. Scott Fitzgerald		uncredited
Donald Ogden Stewart		uncredited

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
David Snell
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
Oliver T. Marsh		(director of photography)
Joseph Ruttenberg		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(film editor) (as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis
Jack D. Moore		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Woehler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wade B. Rubottom	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Stunts
Donna Hall	....	riding double: Virginia Weidler (uncredited)
Stevie Meyers	....	riding double: Virginia Weidler (uncredited)
Audrey Scott	....	riding double: Norma Shearer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adrian	....	fashion show
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Other crew
George King	....	dance teacher (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Loew's (produced by) (as Loew's Corporation)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Delphi Filmverleih Produktion (1991) (Germany) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2004) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (Italy) (video)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ethel Barrymore Theatre  play presented at: for 666 performances in its triumphant run
• Max Gordon Plays & Pictures Corporation  movie made by arrangement with

Also Known As:

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #5546) | France:U | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:A (original rating) (1939) | UK:U (re-rating) (2004) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Re-released in France in May 1974.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Barn doors for a sound stage light appear to be hanging from the 'ceiling' in Mrs. Haines' living room. It is visible during Mary's conversation with her guests from the moment where Peggy helps her put on a necklace, up until they leave the room.

Quotes:

Mary Haines:I'll be doing the cooking so you know what he'll get.
Little Mary Haines:I know - indigestion.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Veronica Mars: Debasement Tapes (#3.17)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes

"Claws, I've Had Two Years To Grow Them"

It was fitting that MGM was the studio that brought The Women to the screen. Claire Boothe Luce's play which ran on Broadway for 657 performances, was her view of the Republican ladies of Park Avenue, in whose society she fit in so well.

None of those studio bosses were exactly flaming liberals, but probably the most political of all was Louis B. Mayer who served on the California Republican State Committee and had his stable of stars ready to do or die for the GOP whether they wanted to or not. Mayer was very active in the campaign to defeat Upton Sinclair for Governor of California in 1934 and put all of MGM's propaganda resources to defeat the radical Mr. Sinclair.

Claire Boothe Luce knew this world well and certainly had the satirical skills to define it. But make no mistake about it, the real villain here is Joan Crawford, shop girl, working class, and I've got no doubt is a Democrat.

Norma Shearer is her opposite, tasteful, refined, and unfortunately getting a little stale with age. Why would her husband now be eying Crawford at the perfume counter if not so.

Due to a lot of interference by not so well meaning friends like Rosalind Russell, who does nothing but gossip about others, Shearer's marriage does break up and her husband goes off with Crawford. Norma's down, but not out.

The Women has aged very well as entertainment. It's as fresh as it was when first presented on Broadway in 1936. There's always the complaint about no good parts for women being written for the female sex. Definitely not as good as the characters that Clare Boothe Luce created in this play.

My favorite in the cast is Rosalind Russell. Usually cast as second leads and colorless heroines, she fought hard for the part she got her as the heroine's best friend and worst nightmare. She also fought hard to share above the title billing with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford who had lots more seniority at MGM than Russell. In her memoirs Russell gives total credit to George Cukor for bringing out comedic talents that no one really thought she possessed. Russell had done comedy before, but had not been as well received as she was in The Women.

George Cukor always had that reputation as a women's director and I think this film with the obvious title probably is what gave him that reputation. The Women takes a lot of its edge also from the real life situation at MGM. Norma Shearer, being the widow of Irving Thalberg, was the dowager queen of the lot and she still got the first pick of dramatic parts. Only Greta Garbo at MGM who was in a different plane of existence practically topped her. The rest got Shearer's leavings, especially Joan Crawford. That led to a lot of resentment around MGM.

Among the supporting cast look for good performances from Joan Fontaine as the young and shy divorcée, Mary Boland as the scatterbrained Zsa Zsa Gabor of the day, Paulette Goddard who gets Russell's goat, her man, and the best of her in a chick fight and Marjorie Main as the wisecracking owner of a Reno dude ranch where the women stay when they're shedding their mates.

Within two years Norma Shearer would retire from the screen and Joan Crawford in four years would leave MGM. This was the last really good film either of them did at Leo the Lion's den and it's fabulous.