Steel Magnolias (1989)

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Robert Harling (screenplay), Robert Harling (play)

Stars:

Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sally Field	...	M'Lynn Eatenton
Dolly Parton	...	Truvy Jones
Shirley MacLaine	...	Ouiser Boudreaux
Daryl Hannah	...	Annelle Dupuy Desoto
Olympia Dukakis	...	Clairee Belcher
Julia Roberts	...	Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Tom Skerritt	...	Drum Eatenton
Sam Shepard	...	Spud Jones
Dylan McDermott	...	Jackson Latcherie
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Sammy Desoto
Bill McCutcheon	...	Owen Jenkins
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Aunt Fern
Knowl Johnson	...	Tommy Eatenton
Jonathan Ward	...	Jonathan Eatenton
Bibi Besch	...	Belle Marmillion

Storyline

Pivoting around the lively Truvy Jones' Louisiana beauty parlour, a tightly-knit band of friends, confront griefs, loss, life's unforeseen tragedies and heartaches with what they do best: gossiping and sharing. The spirited diabetic and bride-to-be, Shelby; her always supportive mother, M'Lynn; Truvy's gawky assistant, Annelle; the city's curmudgeon, Ouiser; and the town's former first lady, Clairee, are the warm Southern belles who know how to survive life's challenges with their unwavering friendship. But when Shelby decides to conceive, things will turn upside down..

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Plot Keywords:

louisiana | beauty parlor | friendship between women | female bonding | wedding | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes laughter is a matter of life and death.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Steel Magnolias

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,425,440, 19 November 1989

Gross USA:

$84,614,512

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,759,512

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Rastar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts; and two Oscar nominees: Dolly Parton and Sam Shepard.

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Goofs

Twenty six minutes into the movie, M'Lynn tells the women that the doctor said "children aren't possible" for Shelby. Yet 65 minutes in, when the ladies find out Shelby is pregnant, Truvy exclaims "and the doctors said Shelby couldn't have children!" and Annelle says "yeah what do they know, I guess she showed them!" M'Lynn replies in a corrective tone "the doctors said she SHOULDN'T have children, there's a big difference". Well, M'Lynn is the one who said "not possible" about the baby to these ladies earlier in the movie, so she shouldn't be snotty and act like they're stupid when they get excited about the pregnancy. She changed her statement from "not possible" to "shouldn't do it".

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Quotes

Clairee: Anne Boleyn had six fingers.
Ouiser Boudreaux: Who's Anne Berlin?
Clairee: Anne Boleyn. She was one of the six wives of Henry VIII.
Ouiser Boudreaux: I never watch public television.
Clairee: She had six fingers.
Ouiser Boudreaux: What happened to the other four?
Clairee: She had 11 total.
Ouiser Boudreaux: Are you trying to confuse me, Clairee?
Clairee: No. I just want to expose us to a little more culture. And that's not easy to come by in this neck of the woods.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.73 (2013)

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Soundtracks

TWO STEP MAMOU
Written by Wayne Toups, Jay Miller and Jean Arceneaux
Performed by Wayne Toups and Zydecajun
Courtesy of Polygram Special Products, a division of Polygram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

A thoroughly decent drama with an all-star cast

A thoroughly decent drama with an all-star cast. While none of the male characters were fleshed out, that simply wasn't the focus of the movie, and I understand that in the source play, none of them ever appeared on-stage. The women were all very strong, if sometimes foolish, and the acting was first-rate. Nice photography of Natchitoches.