dsmith6068
An excellent movie about gossip, infidelity, and divorce, circa 1936 (from original play) even if the movie was made in 1939. But the movie was made in black and white, which I think detracted some. Except for the 6-minute fashion parade in color (deleted per director in some versions, but restored on TCM version), all the scenes were in B/W. But you can tell that most of the ladies are wearing great dresses that would have really stood out if the whole movie had been made in color. Also several scenes involving "Jungle Red" nail polish would have stood out better in color.
SimonJack
Is there another movie that has more leading ladies of Hollywood in it than "The Women" of 1939? Or another Hollywood film with an all- female cast? Clare Boothe Luce wrote the original play by the same title in 1936. It is a satire (comedy of manners) of a segment of the wealthy upper class of women in 1930s New York. These weren't the blue bloods of high society. Nor were they the young wealthy Manhattan partying set. Rather, they were women of means who were married to prominent professionals and businessmen. They lived mostly in the wealthy suburbs of the city. Since their husbands were in the higher echelons of business, they were not among the idle rich. But the lifestyle of the women revolved around social gatherings among themselves, beauty parlors, the latest fashions, attending fashion shows, and dinner parties. Binding this group together, and rife within it, is gossip. Satires often have a serious or somber element as well. It's usually some aspect of society that falls victim or suffers from the thing being satirized. This film clearly has both elements. Which is why I find it interesting that so many reviewers have raved about this film as a comedy, as though there was no pathos. Yet, the pathos is very real and evident. To miss it is to miss the fact that this is a satire, which is something more than a straight comedy. Insofar as it goes, the humor is quite good for plain comedy. Yet, it all comes about through or connected to one thing – gossip. So, while the characters come and go and the locales change some, the thread of the plot evolves around gossip. And the gossip-ridden humor begins to wear thin. Some of the same reviewers disliked or thought Norma Shearer's more serious role as Mary Haines was out of place. Indeed, for a plain comedy of battling women it would be. But, Clare Luce wrote this as a satire. So, the damage of gossip on lives and real people is part of the story. I don't know if her original play has a happy ending as in this film . But, I'm sure it has the double whammy of what befalls Sylvia (Rosalind Russell) and Flora (Mary Boland). They get their medicine, so to speak. Sylvia for being the conniving queen of gossip, and Flora for her dismissal of such goings- on as being unimportant, because "amour" will go on. This movie doesn't come anywhere near the funniest films of all time, as a number of reviewers seem to think. But it is funny and good. The cast is too large to name them all, but Rosalind Russell has to be mentioned. Her performance is exceptionally good. The opening credits -- with a different animal shown beside each key person, are very funny. It gives viewers a heads up of what's to come.Those interested in clothing may enjoy the fashion aspects of this film. For others, several minutes of a fashion show here may seem an eternity and a minus for the film. It does give a peek at fashions of the day, although these were all created by Adrian (Adrian Adolph Greenberg), a prominent designer of the day for MGM. My DVD of the movie has a bonus short film, "Hollywood: Style Capital of the World." IMDb doesn't have a listing for this short. It gives information about Adrian and his staff, and shows some of their creations for MGM movies of the past. It then goes into previews of some of the other films then underway at MGM. It occurred to me that the garment industry, fashion designers in Paris and New York, and clothiers around the world might scoff at MGM's presumption in saying that Hollywood was the style capital of the world. So, I don't know if that little featurette even got much play in theaters of the day. Still, it's implication makes a point that one can argue. When Hollywood designed clothing for a modern plot – one taking place during the age of the film's debut, it probably influenced styles among the populace and with clothing makers.Here are some of the funny and biting lines from the movie. For more hilarious dialog, see the Quotes section here on this film's IMDb Web page. Mary Haines (played very well by Norma Shearer), "The big fish aren't always the most important, you know."Mrs. Morehead (Mary's mother, played by Lucille Watson), "Don't forget that it's being together at the end that really matters. I'm an old woman, my dear. I know my sex."Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell), "The way you say that makes me feel like vermin." Exercise instructor (played by Ann Morriss), "That shouldn't be much effort. I mean crawling up the wall."Peggy Day (Joan Fontaine), "Edith, I think Sylvia is a perfectly dreadful woman and I'm going to tell her so." Edith Potter (Phyllis Povah), "Oh, darling. She can't help it. It's her tough luck that she wasn't born deaf and dumb."Mrs. Morehead, "Another piece of motherly advice. Don't confide in your girlfriends. If you let them advise you, they will see to it, in the name of friendship, that you lose your husband and your home."Sylvia, "Why, Mary Haines. Haven't you any pride?" Mary, "No pride at all. That's a luxury a woman in love can't afford."
Antonius Block
If you're having a little trouble following all of the chatter in the beginning of the movie, with what seems like too many characters and too much talking, just bear with it. The movie settles down nicely, and deals with the age old problem of infidelity. It has the interesting distinction of having a completely all-female cast, as well as quite a bit of star power. Norma Shearer is sweet and natural as always, and Joan Crawford plays her husband's mistress perfectly, with just the right amount of deviousness. Add Rosaline Russell and Joan Fontaine among others, and have them parade around in both high fashion, so well put together, as well as in exercise clothing at the spa, and wow, it's just a pretty film to watch. Oh, and while most of the film is in black and white, there is a fantastic six-minute fashion show in the middle which breaks into full color. The film had to conform to the dreaded Code, but it treats the subject of adultery more bluntly than I would have expected for 1939. When Shearer's character finds out about it, it's interesting to watch her mother's advice, which boils down to ignoring it because most men stray, including her father. I also loved Cukor's shot of Russell telling Shearer what to do, her bossy image appearing in 3 mirrors behind the stricken Shearer. There are some silly scenes here and there, the film gets a little sidetracked now and then, and I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but it's well worth watching.
