The Women (1939)

7.7	Rating (94 ratings)
7.8	IMDB rating

Add to favorites

Edit page

Buy at Amazon

Directed by

George Cukor

Starring (View all)

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

Joan Fontaine
Mrs. John Day - Peggy

Lucile Watson
Mrs. Morehead

Phyllis Povah
Mrs. Phelps Potter - Edith

Written by (View all)

Clare Boothe Luce

Anita Loos
(screen play) and

Lists

131 votes

6,006 Movies For a Post-Covid World... (6013 items)
list by ToonHead2102

Published 12 years, 6 months ago

14 comments

101 votes

Movie References in Photoshoots (74 items)
list by brazilfashion

Published 11 years, 9 months ago

16 comments

85 votes

Watched in 2013 (674 items)
list by Coby

Published 10 years, 11 months ago

7 comments

67 votes

The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (1003 items)
list by jaytoast

Published 13 years, 2 months ago

28 comments

55 votes

Bathtub Scenes - Movies (77 items)
list by Kandi

Published 8 years, 1 month ago

8 comments

View all The Women lists (61 more)

Cover art, photos and screenshots

6 votes

5 votes

4 votes

View all The Women pictures (73 more)

Reviews

Estrogen: The Movie

9 years, 4 months ago at Jul 20 19:37

Michael M

1 vote

The Women is surely one of the greatest celebrations in cinema of femininity and the female form; even the animals featured in the film are all female in this unabashed display of women being women. Unless you’re easily offended by a movie in which the majority of its female cast are vicious gossips then stay away; stereotypes are greatly exaggerated as part of the film’s humour. As Sylvia Fow... read more

View all The Women reviews

Description: The Women follows the lives of Manhattan women, focusing in particular on Mary Haines (Norma Shearer), the cheerful, contented wife of Stephen and mother of Little Mary (Virginia Weidler). After a bit of gossip flies around the salon these wealthy women visit, Mary's cousin Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) learns from a manicurist that Mary's husband has been having an affair with a predatory perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). A notorious gossip, Sylvia delights in sharing the news with Mary's friends; she sets up Mary with an appointment with the same manicurist so that she hears the rumor about Stephen's The Women follows the lives of Manhattan women, focusing in particular on Mary Haines (Norma Shearer), the cheerful, contented wife of Stephen and mother of Little Mary (Virginia Weidler). After a bit of gossip flies around the salon these wealthy women visit, Mary's cousin Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) learns from a manicurist that Mary's husband has been having an affair with a predatory perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). A notorious gossip, Sylvia delights in sharing the news with Mary's friends; she sets up Mary with an appointment with the same manicurist so that she hears the rumor about Stephen's infidelity.

While Mary's mother (Lucile Watson) urges her to ignore the gossip, Mary begins to have her own suspicions about her husband's increasingly frequent claims that he needs to work late. She decides to travel to Bermuda with her mother to think about the situation and hope the rumors will fade. Upon her return, Mary heads to a fashion show and learns that Crystal is in attendance, trying on clothes in a dressing room. Mary, at Sylvia's insistence, confronts her about the affair, but Crystal is completely unapologetic and slyly suggests that Mary keep the status quo unless she wants to lose Stephen in a divorce. Heartbroken and humiliated, Mary leaves quickly. The gossip continues, exacerbated by Sylvia and her friend Edith (Phyllis Povah), who turns the affair into a public scandal by recounting Sylvia's version of the story to a notorious gossip columnist. Mary chooses to divorce her husband despite his efforts to convince her to stay. Mary explains the divorce to Little Mary.

On a train to Reno, where she will get her divorce, Mary meets several women with the same destination and purpose: the dramatic, extravagant Countess de Lave (Mary Boland); Miriam Aarons (Paulette Goddard), a tough-cookie chorus girl, and, to her surprise, her friend Peggy Day (Joan Fontaine), a shy young woman. Mary and her new friends settle in at a Reno ranch, where they get plenty of unsolicited advice from Lucy (Marjorie Main), the gruffly warm-hearted woman who runs the ranch. The Countess tells tales of her multiple husbands and seems to have found another prospect in Reno, a cowboy named Buck Winston. Miriam reveals she has been having an affair with Sylvia Fowler's husband and plans to marry him. Peggy, who has discovered that she is pregnant, is urged to call her husband, resolve their misunderstanding and end the divorce proceedings, which she successfully does. Sylvia arrives at the ranch, now that her husband has requested a divorce("Well girls: move over."). When she discovers that Miriam is to become the new Mrs. Fowler, a catfight ensues. Mary succeeds in breaking up the fight. Miriam convinces her that she, too, should forget her pride, get her husband on the phone and try to patch things up before their divorce becomes legal in a few hours. Before Mary can decide, it rings — the call is from Stephen, who informs Mary that he and Crystal have just been married.

Two years pass. At the Haines apartment, Crystal, the new Mrs. Haines, is taking a bubble bath and talking on the phone to her lover, who turns out to be Buck Winston, now the husband of the Countess de Lave (Mary Boland) and a successful radio star. Little Mary overhears the conversation before being shooed away by Crystal, who, unsurprisingly, has no time or patience for the child. Sylvia figures out with whom Crystal has been speaking and having an affair. Still an unrelenting gossip, Sylvia tucks this information away for later use. Mary hosts a dinner for her Reno friends to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Countess and Buck, after which the Countess, Miriam, and Peggy go to a party and urge Mary to come along. Mary decides to stay home. She chats with Little Mary, who inadvertently reveals how unhappy Stephen is and mentions Crystal's "lovey dovey" talk with Buck on the telephone. This news changes Mary's mind about the party. She gets dressed up, intent on fighting to get her ex back: "I've had two years to grow claws, Mother -- Jungle Red!"

At the party, Mary manages to worm the details of the affair out of Sylvia, then makes sure that a gossip columnist (played by a real-life one, Hedda Hopper) is alerted to it. Mary tells the Countess that her husband Buck has been having an affair with Crystal, then informs Crystal that everyone knows what she's been doing. Crystal doesn't care and tells Mary she can have Stephen back, since she'll now have Buck to support her. The Countess reveals that she has been funding Buck's radio career and that with Crystal he will be penniless and out of a job. Crystal resigns herself to the fact that she'll be heading to Reno herself and then back to the perfume counter, adding: "And by the way, there's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society -- outside of a kennel."

Mary, triumphant, heads out the door and up the stairs to win back Stephen, who is waiting for her.
... (more)

Release date: 1 September 1939
UPC: 012569520523

Tags: Gossip (4), Comedy (3), Divorce (3), Cook (2), Marriage (2), 1939 (2), Betrayal (2), 1930s (2), Dog (2), Maid (2), Fashion Show (2), Perfume (2), Servant (2), Countess (2), Drama (1), Revenge (1), Jealousy (1), Friendship (1), High Society (1)

My tags:

Add tags

Update feed

Capnolagnia1 added this to a list 3 months, 3 weeks ago

The Metro Goldwyn Mayer Story (1935-1939) (240 movies items)

"Released on September 1, 1939"

Kandi added this to a list 5 months, 1 week ago

Paulette Goddard - Partial Filmography (11 beauty items)

" Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland and Norma Shearer"

cteddiesgirl added this to a list 6 months, 1 week ago

Movies/Titles I Have (7076 movies items)

moviebuff added this to a list 2 years, 1 month ago

Movies Aspiring Filmmakers Should Watch (126 movies items)

hulkargh voted for an image 2 years, 3 months ago

PulpRoman added this to a list 2 years, 5 months ago

The Fashion Industry in Films (31 movies items)

PulpRoman voted for an image 2 years, 5 months ago

Henny voted for an image 2 years, 6 months ago

JxSxPx added this to a list 2 years, 11 months ago

TCM’s Essentials Vol 2: Another 52 Must See Movies (52 movies items)

"“I like this movie is women writing about women…. And it’s not women jus talking to women about their own lives. So much if about how their husbands are affecting . The fact that you don’t see these husbands is amazing – you don’t get distracted from the women’s journeys.” - Drew Barrymore “It’s fun seeing Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, who were famous rivals at MGM, standing up as rivals in this movie…. It’s so cleverly done because every scene in the movie men logic"

samira added this to a list 2 years, 12 months ago

W (246 movies items)

westly voted for 2 images 2 years, 12 months ago

Campagnola voted for an image 3 years, 3 months ago

shotswerefired voted for an image 3 years, 3 months ago

Kandi posted a image 3 years, 3 months ago

Stehako added this to a list 3 years, 3 months ago

Top Ten Performances - Rosalind Russell (12 movies items)

" as Sylvia - Mrs. Howard Fowler "

Kandi posted a image 3 years, 6 months ago

Kandi added this to a list 3 years, 6 months ago

Mailbox - Movies (20 movies items)

" Marjorie Main"

jeffpsych added this to a list 3 years, 6 months ago

601 favorites (607 movies items)

Kandi voted for an image 3 years, 8 months ago

SA-512 posted a image 3 years, 8 months ago

napier voted for a review of The Women 3 years, 9 months ago

“The Women is surely one of the greatest celebrations in cinema of femininity and the female form; even the animals featured in the film are all female”

Stehako added this to a list 4 years, 3 months ago

National Film Registry Titles (738 movies items)

jeffpsych added this to a list 4 years, 5 months ago

1001 favorite films (1020 movies items)

moviebuff added this to a list 4 years, 7 months ago

Moviebuff's Top 15 Defining Movies from 1930-39 (15 movies items)