The Women (1939)

Possibly the most popular '39 film I hadn't seen yet, it stands out for having an all-female cast of more than 130. This includes the servants, the children, and even allegedly the animals (except for the roaring logo lion). Every contemporary major MGM actress except Myrna Loy and Greta Garbo participated. No wonder it's been remade a couple times, albeit less successfully and once with men.

If you want something that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, however, keep looking: The trailer's parenthetical subtitle aptly notes, "...and it's all about men!" Must've been the best way to sell tickets. Oh, the ladies talk about other things once in a while, especially each other, but the plot mainly concerns a mother (Norma Shearer) learning about a shameless gold digger (perhaps Joan Crawford's nastiest role) wrecking her home, so to speak. Everyone else will eagerly share an opinion on it, leaving us to wonder what they'd do without men in their lives.

Sexist by today's standards? I'm not sure. You can't really make an all-female movie, especially set in that era, without evoking a few stereotypes (e.g., gossip, cosmetics), but at least there are enough characters for a wide variety. I don't get the impression of an overall negative outlook on women. The story and screenplay were written by women, and director George Cukor was known to be gay, for what that's worth.

Not everything about the movie is dated. The question of how to handle issues of adultery might always remain timely, even if the days of quiet forbearance are more than one generation behind. That aspect actually stimulated my thoughts quite a bit. I still don't know the best answer, but you don't have to agree with the "happy ending" decision to respect the process that came to it.

I also respect the intellect of the script. When's the last time you heard "cicerone" in a sentence? Not all the barbs are clever and original, but considering how many jokes from the play got nixed by the Hays Publication Code, they did pretty well.

What I don't respect is the fashion show. In an abrupt shift from B&W to Technicolor and back, we see a stage presentation of women posing in outfits that no doubt hit the stores that fall. It has nothing to do with the story, making it the closest thing I've seen to a TV-style commercial break in a film on DVD.

I'm torn between calling TW a classic and knocking it down to "average." Regardless, it surely differs from your usual cinematic experience.