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Summary: Oh, these hateful women......I loved them all!
Review: ....but I particulary "despised" Rosalind Russell who played her part with a brilliant balance of wit and wickedness. And while Ms. Boothe's wonderfully insightful play (and this brilliant movie adaptation) may have tried to teach us women a thing or two about tragedies that ensue from the grief we willingly heap upon members of our own sex, she must have been absolutely convinced that any gender rehabilitation was way beyond hope. And my journies through this life will never convince me otherwise. Frankly, I'd sooner try to reform a black widow. The odds of success are better.
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Summary: Fun! Campy! Razorsharp...
Review: What a great movie! As the cliche goes, "They don't make 'em like that anymore." And that's too bad. The Women is at once funny, fast-paced, razorsharp, and very well-acted. Not a single male in any of the scenes. Norma Shearer is ok in the lead role but, as usual, Rosalind Russell and Joan Crawford steal the show. The WAV files I have from this movie are many because the jabs are so wicked! I only wish it was in DVD...
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Summary: DY-NO-MITE!
Review: Wow. This movie is absolutely brilliant. Having spent 9 of my most formative years in an all-girls school, I can attest to the beastly, fascinating manner in which women interact with each other; and this film captures it all perfectly. The gossip! The back-stabbing! The use of men (who, in <The Women,> never once grace the screen) to gain power over one other! But in case I'm making <The Women> sound like a frenzy of bitchy back-biting, let me assure you that it is written with incisive wit and acted with panache. Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
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Summary: "The Women" Says it all
Review: "The Woman" is one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen. For one thing there are no men here. But you don't miss them because they are the subject of the movie. The movie is adapted from a play by Clare Boothe, directed by wonderful George Cukor and has Butterfly McQueen (Ms. Scarlett, I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies), famed columnist Hedda Hopper and Hattie McDaniel in it as well Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind and others in the starring roles. Ruth Hussey plays a secretary and Virgina Grey is stunning as a store clerk. This comedy deals with issues that are never ending, cheating husbands, bitchy friends and divorce. Rosalind Russell as Norma Shearer's catty underhanded cousin is my favorite. These actresses are at their freshest and most beautiful. In the film all of the principals are wealthy, very much "high maintenence" and bored so they do lunch and go to fashion shows. Although the movie is black and white the magnificent fashion sequence is in color. I saw first saw "The Women" on a small b/w TV, imagine my surprise years later when I saw it on a color set and they started showing the fashions. WOW! Joan Crawford has one of her best man grabbing, husband stealing roles in this movie. At one point when the husband needs to cancel their date. She becomes indignant because "he tried to stand Joan up for his wife". Another time in a confrontation with the wife she says "When Stephen doesn't like what I'm wearing, I take it off" Are we sure this movie was made in 1939??However, all of these women are such a tight knit clique that they even go to the same divorce dude ranch in Reno (group divorce??) which is owned by Margorie Main who has no sympathy for these rich spoiled and pampered women.If you like your movies sharp, witty, fast paced and classy this is the movie for you. It's as fresh now as it was in 1939, especially when Mary (Norma Shearer) tells her mother, after she has found out that her husband is cheating on her, "Mother, this is the 20th century. . ." Her mother has said that Mary's father did the same thing and she kept quite, that Mary should also "keep quiet, do nothing and say nothing." There are so many witty quotes that time has not tarnished that you will be tempted to use them yourself.
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Summary: SHIMMERING MGM COMEDY
Review: Some women are classy. Some women are sassy. And some women are brassy. You see them all here. One of George Cukor's finest, most polished films, "The Women" runs rampant with malicious gossip, simpering ingenues, a delectably delightful comedy. Norma Shearer plays sophisticated, classy socialite Mary Haines, with all the essentials a woman needs: a husband, child, white picket fence, large luxurious house... and a brassy gossip for a best friend, Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell, in one of the meatiest roles of her career). Recently, Sylvia has come up with gossip of particular interest: Mary's hubby Stephen has been seen with a sassy young ingenue, Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford at her most Joan Crawford). While Mary is brushing her way through the rumors, gossip, (whatever you call it) Crystal uses every ounce of allure in her 16-inch waistline to lure the wealthy Stephen away. Can Mary's grace and principles outshine Crystal's ... er, Crystal's... especially with Sylvia chattering a mile a minute in the background? And although George Cukor may be known as being "a woman's director", men should want to see the film too, for in the cast of 135, all are women... that's right. Not a single man in sight. Well, with two hours of women, comedy, women, style, and women, how can you go wrong with this one? Trust me: you can't.
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Summary: Great Comedy! Joan Crawford Shines!
Review: This is defintely one of the best comedies of all time. It is a classy and impressive motion picture, not like the majority of comedy films that are made today. The film is all about the behaviour of upper class women in the 1930's. The story revolves around happily married Mary Haines (Norma Shearer), her gossipy cousin Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell), and the sleek and cunning Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). Using her seductive manner, Crystal (Crawford) seduces Mary's (Shearer) husband with hopes of eventual marriage between the two, therby securing her a wealthy lifestyle. But Mary will do whatever it takes to get her husband back. Along the way we are introduced to other women who are having the same problems. Wonderful performances by the entire cast, however Crawford is the highpoint of the film. She is an absolute steal as the bitchy, clever, & seductive perfume saleswoman. Definitely a must-see film.
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Summary: THIS ONE'S A HOOT!
Review: We take this one down to the beach house every year, and it never fails to bring joy to the group involved. It's the kind of camp you can hoot and holler at, make your own dialouge additions, and just revel in the absurdity of this classic!
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Summary: A Very Stylish Hissy Fit
Review: "The Women" is one of the bitchiest movies ever made. The opening scene in a beauty parlor sets the tone as one "friend" tells another, "I hate to tell you deah, but your skin makes the Rocky Mountains look like chiffon velvet." The politics are completely reactionary, even for 1939, as they present divorce as an unmitigated tragedy for a preteen child. But the film still lives because of its firecracker repartee, its comic tension (a cat fight is always about to break out, and frequently does), and its wonderful cast, including Joan Crawford, Roz Russell, Norma Shearer, and Paulette Goddard. No men appear in this film--not even a photo or a voice of one. The plot has to do with sneaky man-trap Crystal (Joan Crawford) setting her sights on Steven Hanes, husband of Mary (Norma Shearer), and eventually getting him, which sends Mary out west to be "Reno-vated" for a Nevada divorce. This is really just a useful excuse to set up the girls in different kinds of conflict. It may be something of a guilty pleasure, but I've seen this movie several times and could see it again.
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Summary: Buy it, buy it, buy it
Review: I can't give this film high enough praise - the three things that make a film great to me are character actors, eccentric characters, and good dialogue, and this film has all three. One of the things I don't understand - Norma Shearer was getting Oscar Nominations like crazy all through the 30's for films that weren't NEARLY this good (Romeo and Juliet, A Free Soul, Marie Antoinette) and yet the Academy passed her up on this one (most of her nominations were given to her out of sympathy - her hubby Irving Thalberg, who had died in 1937, was EXTREMELY well-liked in Hollywood). Shearer and Joan Crawford both are excellent in this film (the scene they have in the dressing room together is pure electricity), and Rosalind Russell's Sylvia Fowler is just spectacular . . man oh man, WHY DIDN'T THIS WOMAN EVER WIN AN OSCAR! (There is no such thing as a "bad Rosalind Russell movie.") By rights Roz should have made the AFI list of top female actresses, I guess they think, who needs personality when you have Marilyn Monroe . . . But the acting all around is first rate - Mary Boland is spectacular as the Countess de Lave, Phyllis Povah plays Edith Potter, the role she originated on Broadway, to perfection, Marjorie Main plays what might be called a precursor to her "Ma Kettle" character of the '50's, the gorgeous Paulette Goddard is outstanding, not to mention Joan Fontaine, Lucile Watson, Virginia Wiedler, Hedda Hopper as a gossip columnist, and a little-known actress named Florence Nash who is a HOOT in the party scenes as Nancy, the "old maid" of the group who is reminiscent of Dorothy Parker . . One more thing, if you like this one, see "Auntie Mame" with Rosalind Russell and Coral Browne (Amazon used to have it for sale, but as of now it's on moratorium - hopefully they'll re-release it) - but if you've never seen this comedy, by all means, treat yourself to it today.
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Summary: HILARIOUS HEN PARTY
Review: Having played 657 performances on the New York stage and been translated into 10 languages, Clare Boothe's famed comedy, THE WOMEN was inevitably made into a movie - with considerable changes in the process. Apart from the rather unneccesary addition of the fashion show - which at once impedes the story and advertised Hollywood's bad taste in clothes (here, anyway) it remains a highly entertaining (and rather unique) film. As a narrative, THE WOMEN relates the sad case of a well-disposed and intelligent young matron (played by the 39 year-old Norma Shearer) who loses her husband to a chippy, retrieves him by resorting to the predatory tactics conventional among her friends...........As a satire, it scathingly derides the conduct of useless, metropolitan females. As social document, it reveals, with horrifying realism, the workings of such heretofore neglected 20th century phenomena as the Reno dude ranch and the deluxe beauty shop. With not one male in the whole cast, this movie is a hoot from start to finish! Norma Shearer is cast as Mary Haines, the nice woman who's husband has cheated; Rosalind Russell is a riot as the foul Sylvia Fowler, and Crawford scored a triumph as bitchy Crystal Allen, the slick shopgirl whom Stephen Haines has interest in. Paulette Goddard is a beautiful lynx and she's fun; zesty and modern in her playing. Mary Boland is a hoot as the she's always looking for "l'amour" (in real life she never married!) Classic line from the countess: "Give me a bromide. And put some gin in it!" Joan Fontaine is the essence of sweet simplicity and Marjorie Main is her usual kick as Lucy who runs the Dude Ranch (the scene in which she sings is rather obvious, loud and annoying, in my opinion) Norma Shearer, for some obscure reason, is an actress which is rarely seen on television, but her acting was quite good and she's surprisingly modern and natural in her playing. Crawford and Shearer, ironically, were rivals in real life (for plum MGM movie roles in the thirties - Crawford's once-famous crack: "How can I compete with Norma? She sleeps with the boss!" (referring to her husband Irving Thalberg, who died in 1937) - contained some sarcasm and perhaps bitterness - which surely added to their very effective characterisations!
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