3 Women (1977)

Two roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other a mysterious teenager, share a bizarre relationship.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writer:

Robert Altman

Stars:

Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shelley Duvall	...	Millie Lammoreaux
Sissy Spacek	...	Pinky Rose
Janice Rule	...	Willie Hart
Robert Fortier	...	Edgar Hart
Ruth Nelson	...	Mrs. Rose
John Cromwell	...	Mr. Rose
Sierra Pecheur	...	Ms. Bunweill
Craig Richard Nelson	...	Dr. Maas
Maysie Hoy	...	Doris
Belita Moreno	...	Alcira
Leslie Ann Hudson	...	Polly
Patricia Ann Hudson	...	Peggy
Beverly Ross	...	Deidre
John Davey	...	Dr. Norton

Storyline

Pinky is an awkward adolescent who starts work at a spa in the California desert. She becomes overly attached to fellow spa attendant, Millie when she becomes Millie's room-mate. Millie is a lonely outcast who desperately tries to win attention with constant up-beat chatter. They hang out at a bar owned by a strange pregnant artist and her has-been cowboy husband. After two emotional crises, the three women steal and trade personalities until they settle into a new family unit that seems to give each woman what she was searching for.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | surrealism | identity swapping | social satire | identity | 

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Taglines:

1 woman became 2/2 women became 3/3 women became 1

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1977 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Robert Altman's 3 Women

Filming Locations:

The Hidden Springs Ranch Club, Thousand Palms, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lion's Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The nickname of Mildred Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) was "Millie" whilst the nickname of Mildred Rose (Sissy Spacek) was "Pinky".

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Goofs

When Millie and Pinkie prepare for dinner party, the time line is way out of whack. Scene begins in early morning, as Millie wakes Pinkie and tells her she is going grocery shopping for the dinner. Millie returns from store (presumably within an hour or so), Pinkie carries out garbage after spilling shrimp cocktail on herself and, en route to trash cans, meets dinner guests who say they can't come because they're on way to a beer joint instead - a scene that would have occurred no later than mid-morning and means that seven or more hours are unaccounted for.

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Quotes

Millie Lammoreaux: Okay, now, what's wrong with ya?
Pinky Rose: Nothin'?
Millie Lammoreaux: Well, there's gotta be somethin' wrong with ya.
Pinky Rose: My bathing suit's too big?
Millie Lammoreaux: No. I mean, why else would you be here if it weren't somethin' like your legs or your arms. There's gotta be somethin' wrong with ya.
Pinky Rose: Oh, my back! Oh, my back! And my leg. My leg. My leg hurts.
Millie Lammoreaux: Okay, your back and your legs. This is for people with bad back and legs.

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Connections

Referenced in Mulholland Drive (2001)

User Reviews

Altman's best movie

Put together a top-shelf Raymond Carver story and the last two reels of 2001 and you have a dim idea of the unique genius of Altman's 1977 masterpiece, probably the most original movie ever made within the studio system. Shelley Duvall is a practiced flirt and would-be social butterfly, oblivious to the total failure of her Donna Reed mystique, and Sissy Spacek is the childlike tag-along who idolizes her. That's all I'll say about the story, which makes turns you couldn't have guessed at in ways that can't be summarized. Humane, funny, staggeringly strange and deeply creepy, THREE WOMEN defines certain social strata and modes of interaction that you've never seen in a movie before or since--and then goes out on a mystical limb that makes the last third of APOCALYPSE NOW look prosaic. With all due respect to NASHVILLE, MCCABE and many others, Altman never made a better film.