- Starring
- Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
- Writers
- Anita Loos, Jane Murfin
- Director
- George Cukor
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 133 minutes
Overall Score
Rating Summary
The Women found the lively Mary Haines (Shearer) devastated to discover from her friends that her wife Stephen is cheating on her. From there, she seeks solace and advice from her circle of friends and mother, all the while her daughter Little Mary (Virginia Weidler) is left equally distraught and confused by what’s going on.
This film works best when it features these actresses at the top of their game. They all lean into satirical element yet sell the pathos just as efficiently. Shearer is her usual luminous, radiant self, and transitions from drama to comedy seamlessly. Crawford brings the dark intense confidence that would keep her a big star for such a long period of time as Crystal Allen, Russell is fierce, headstrong and slightly comical as Sylvia Fowler, Joan Fontaine is sweet and demure as Peggy Day, Paulette Goddard is spirited and vivacious as Miriam Aarons, etc. Each member in the cast has enough personality to stand apart from each other, and it especially helps in their plentiful interaction with each other.
One of the most impressive aspects of this production is its social critique, particularly of identities and true meanings of feminism in the context of the era in which they exist, and the class struggles of the individual characters. Director George Cukor explored these themes in two different productions he directed in 1933 – the social class struggles of Dinner at Eight and the feminism ideals of Little Women. In this film, there is a glimpse into the differing classes of the rich, the housewives, the social climbers, and the importance that men play in their lives, even though men never appear in the movie. Viewers could read the latter statement as either intentional satire or a choice made to adhere to the Production Code of the time.
As noted, not a single man is seen or heard throughout and that detail is reflected in the production design: even in props such as portraits, only female figures are represented, the pets in this movie are all portrayed by female animals. The sound recording is also remarkable for how it layers the women screaming over each other.
If there’s any problem with the film, it’s that it runs for too long as there are perhaps too many storylines juggled in the story. As entertaining as it is to see all the actors bouncing off one another, the film as a whole could’ve used some streamlining to feel more focused. Meanwhile, the infamous 10-minute technicolor dance sequence, as much as it is a technical marvel and features some extravagant costumes courtesy of the legendary Adrian, feels completely out of place, and almost worth skipping past entirely. It might boast some on-paper feminist ideas, it doesn’t always translate them to the screen all that smoothly. It could’ve afforded to be more self-aware about the toxic relationships it portrays, or the fact that all the women seem to talk about in this movie is men.
That being said, The Women is an underrated gem that captures all the actresses involved giving it their all, with some of the sharpest dialogue from the era. Even with its flaws it’s hard not to consider this a classic in the women’s film catalogue. Fans of Norma Shearer and Rosalind Russell should check this one out as each get some really moments to truly shine.
still courtesy of Turner Classic Movies
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