The Women (1939)

I've only seen The Women once before in my life--there's a long reason why, but to surmise it has to do with Joan Crawford and my love for Bette Davis--but I do remember enjoying it and loving the dialogue between the characters. It's such an incredibly strong film that I wished I hadn't waited so long, but I did. And I never saw it again until the other day. So what I remember most about it was the dialogue and Norma Shearer extending her open arms widely for her ex at the end of the film with such great silent-film flair. And to be quite honest, I watched this again and while I still love the film, it's not a screwball comedy. So I took another look at this greencine article, from which I picked my eleven films from the list Gregg Rickman recommends, and lo and behold I read that these are his

favorite screwball comedies (and other good romantic comedies from the screwball era of the 1930s/early '40s).

So I guess that explains Nothing Sacred making the list. Regardless, The Women is still a wonderful film, very funny and just so happens to not have any men in it. So, I still want to give it a try and look at least at its screwball aspects, because especially those scenes at the Reno ranch are undeniably screwy.

What sets this film apart is the dialogue. I mean the best part of this film is the banter between these women; it's so dead-on and hilarious. Women can be so vicious without ever laying a finger on another person, and this film does such a great job of capturing that biting tongue and bringing out the comedic ring to it, all without getting too reality-TV catty. What better way to respond to little Mary's announcement that she ran into Mrs Potter at the zoo than by her grandmother saying, "Was she visiting with the snakes?" And then there are Crystal Allen's gems, such as when she tells Mary Haines that if Stephen doesn't like anything she's wearing she takes it off.

But there are also the performances. Rosalind Russell is a delight here to watch! She has so much fun as Sylvia Fowler, and her faces whenever she hears a delicious gossip! She delights at the other women's misfortunes and it seems as if it's the only thing that grabs her attention. Her face when hearing that Mary's husband was seeing someone else is to die for; her excitement at trying to get the hair dryer off of her because she couldn't hear the manicurist just demands laughter. And then her rushing off immediately to call Phyllis Povah's Edith Potter, another one who devours the gossip, saying all the right things a friend does but with such irony.

As for the other two leads, Norma Shearer delivers a really wonderful performance, but hers is a more dramatic role. In fact her performance and story are the things that makes the film a more dramatic film than a comedy. It seems as if Mary Haines is the only sane character among the entire cast presented. Nothing about her or her situation is particularly comedic. Instead we get a character that is presented as a saint, a martyr even. And to antagonize the saint is Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen. And who better to play the villan to Shearer's angel than Crawford? She's got the look, attitude, and chops to play Crystal. There's no denying Crystal's true intentions, and she gets some of the best lines. She's always one step ahead of the women--very much true to the genre in that the working class is always smarter than the rich. And Crawford makes it easy to not like her. She's got the scowl on her face, but when faced with Sylvia or Mary, she always displays that self-assuredness that makes her fun to watch. You sympathize with Mary, but Crystal is more real and not a victim at all--she's a survivor.

While I didn't care much for the fashion show sequence, I did enjoy the fashion in the film. All the dresses and accessories, especially the rock on Shearer's finger! But by far, I had a lot more fun watching the film after the halfway point when the setting changes to Reno. Mary Boland and Paulette Goddard are great in this film. Love them and their characters. They definitely bring the much needed lighter fare to the film before allowing it to turn into a melodrama, which thankfully it doesn't--I think that's because in the end you want Mary to get back with Stephen; Crystal doesn't deserve him. Boland as the Countess and her constant references to "L'amour, l'amour--that's French for love," never gets old. And Goddard's Miriam Aarons is the much needed boost that Mary needs, a true friend finally! Not to say Joan Fontaine's Peggy isn't, because she is, but she's in the vain of Mary, naïve and way too green for my taste. Although, I did get a kick out of her phone call reconciliation with her husband and her ending with, "Is it all right if I reverse the charges?" in a dreamy state. And then when Sylvia arrives and dukes it out with Miriam once she realizes her husband is leaving her for Miriam has got to be one of the funniest, if not the funniest, scenes in the film. Not every day you get to see Russell take a bite out of Goddard's calf.

So, The Women is definitely fun to watch and a true gem of a film. Is it a screwball comedy? Not a true one, but there are some areas that are definitely reminiscent of the genre and I'm sure one could make a strong case for it. George Cukor really did a fine job of not objectifying the women, but instead he gives us a compelling cast of characters. I can only imagine the amount of patience required with the level of estrogens going off the charts on the set. And I couldn't help but like the ending. I normally would roll my eyes at that kind of thing, but with all the laughter going on in between, I really wanted Mary to get back with Stephen, and I was happy they did. I finished watching the film and all I could think was, "God, that was really good."