The Women (1939)

7.7	Rating (86 ratings)
8	IMDB rating

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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

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Reviews

Estrogen: The Movie

4 years, 6 months ago at Jul 20 19:37

Michael M

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

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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 (3), Comedy (3), Marriage (2), Perfume (2), Divorce (2), 1939 (2), Maid (2), 1930s (2), Servant (2), Cook (2), Betrayal (2), Dog (2), Bermuda (1), Pregnant (1), Record Player (1), Salesclerk (1), Exercise (1), Phonograph Record (1), Based On Play (1), Dogfight (1)

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"LIFE SUPPORT Rosalind Russell In The Women, Rosalind Russell’s characterization of high society gossip Mrs. Sylvia Fowler defines the term “frenemy” decades before it was coined. Her delivery fluctuates between a purr and a growl, punctuated by an omnipresent sly smile. She’s fast-talking, yet enunciates every single word—just as pointed as her Jungle Red nails. Even more impossibly, Russell’s Sylvia manages to be both haughty and slapstick, all in the same breath. Russell’s chara"

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