The Women (1939)
92%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 4 nominations
A feast of sharp dialogue delivered by an expertly assembled cast, The Women makes the transition from stage to screen without losing a step.
The Women is a hilarious and glamorous film that will have you laughing from start to finish. With a star-studded cast including Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Fontaine, this movie is a must-see for any fan of classic Hollywood. The rapid-fire dialogue and witty banter between the characters will keep you on your toes, and Rosalind Russell steals the show as the malicious Sylvia. While the men may not understand all the boudoir talk, us ladies will definitely relate to the true-to-life characters. So grab your girlfriends and leave the men at home, because The Women is a movie night must-have.
Production Company(ies)
Audiovisual Development Bureau, Ministerio da Cultura BEI Comunicações Bahiatursa
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Loew’s Inc.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Georgetown, Massachusetts, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 1, 1939 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 14, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, directed by George Cukor, written by Anita Loos, Jane Murfin, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Katherine Howard, Mildred Martin, Mae Tinee, Colvin McPherson, Charles E Ward, Globe Staff, Ada Hanifin, Marion Aitchison, Ruth Lewis, Josephine O’Neill, Paul Koury, Ronald D Schofield, producer Hunt Stromberg, MPAA rating, divorce, adultery, fashion show, all-female cast, 1930s, MGM, Loew’s Inc., Mary Haines, Crystal Allen, Sylvia, Flora, Miriam Aarons, Peggy, Countess de Lave, The Women, sharp dialogue, expertly assembled cast, stage to screen, critic reviews, audience score, streaming, theaters, subscription, rent/buy
Worldwide gross: $50,007,546
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $68,883,484
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,199
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,511,830
US/Canada gross: $26,902,075
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $37,056,580
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,194
US/Canada opening weekend: $10,115,210
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,933,315
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 832
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $16,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,039,389
Production budget ranking: 1,323
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,868,211
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $34,975,884
ROI to date (est.): 103%
ROI ranking: 925
Joan Crawford – Crystal Allen
Rosalind Russell – Sylvia
Mary Boland – Flora
Paulette Goddard – Miriam Aarons
Joan Fontaine – Peggy
Director(s)
George Cukor
Writer(s)
Anita Loos, Jane Murfin
Producer(s)
Hunt Stromberg
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (4)
As one member of the female sex trying to be honest, we’ll have to confess that we squirmed, but also admit that we saw many of our sisters in their true life characters.
May 25, 2021
Katherine Howard
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Joan Crawford gives her best performance in several seasons as Crystal; Paulette Goddard brings striking good looks and expert playing to the ex-show girl who walks off with Miss Russell’s husband; and Joan Fontaine is a lamb among the wolves.
May 25, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
As one woman to another — DON’T miss The Women, girls — but better leave papa at home.
May 25, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The new film is one of the glossiest items of the year, fast comedy superbly cast and capably performed.
May 25, 2021
Colvin McPherson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
List The Women as one grand show. Better see it.
May 25, 2021
Charles E. Ward
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
The entire cast is so good that it’s hard to do any more than hand each individual a separate laurel wreath.
May 25, 2021
Globe Staff
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The characters are altogether too unimportant to waste time and space in writing about them.
May 25, 2021
Ada Hanifin
San Francisco Examiner
While the film has its serious moments, the comedy is of the sort that is irresistible.
May 25, 2021
Marion Aitchison
Tampa Bay Times
The Women fairly bristles with rapid-fire dialogue. Get your ears tuned to keep up with the pace or some of it will fly by in the rush.
May 25, 2021
Ruth Lewis
Austin American-Statesman
he rocking laughter is won by Rosalind Russell, as that malicious female, Sylvia. No trouble for Rosalind to filch the picture from the rest.
May 25, 2021
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
It is the men who will get the time of their lives listening to the kind of chatter that goes on behind boudoir doors.
May 25, 2021
Paul Koury
Kansas City Star
Clare Booth’s brittle satire on Park Avenue womanhood, The Women has been translated from stage to screen without losing any of its wallop, except for a certain toning down of dialogue to get by the Hays office.
May 25, 2021
Ronald D. Schofield
Sacramento Bee…
Plot
Based on a very clever comedy by Claire Booth, wife of Time Publisher Henry Luce and later Ambassador to Italy. One of the surprises was an all-woman cast, novel in the 1930’s. And although there were no men in the cast, most of the dialog was about them. The story is rather thin and depended on the fact that divorce, in the 1930’s, was not only difficult but almost impossible in New York. Mrs. Stephen Haynes learns that her husband is seeing a salesgirl at Saks, and reluctantly divorces him, abetted by her friends, all of whom have romantic problems of their own. In the 1930’s New York women who could afford it went to Nevada, where residency could be established quickly and divorce was relatively easy. The 1939 film, starring Norma Shearer, Paulette Goddard, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Crawford, was a hit. This one, with an even better looking cast, is definitely not, largely because someone tried to move a 1930’s situation comedy into the present.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Women features an all-female cast, including stars such as Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Fontaine.
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