Looking back at The Women

It's been quite different viewing The Women--not quite a melodrama, but not quite a screwball comedy, which kind of threw me for a loop. It was unexpected but not unpleasant. I think the fact that the film is quite strong, well written, directed, and acted, is what makes it so enjoyable. It brings out the right balance between comedy and drama, allowing you to care for the main character, but at the same time by bringing in the funny it doesn't weigh you down with histrionics.

The opening sequence is always important in any film, and George Cukor does a great job here by basically breezing you by this world of women. From the bickering dogs to the biting exchanges inside Sidney's, it's clear that this film will be an almost uncensored look at what Park Avenue ladies are really like. And here in the beginning we can see the employees catering to the rich ladies complacently, but as soon as they get away their real opinions come out, very much how these friends are with one another.

I suppose with how the material is written, the film could've gone with a different tone, but instead I have to say that the acting establishes the ridiculousness right away. And it's exaggerated, but you kind of get the impression that that's who ridiculous the High Society ladies really are. These bored women, who have nothing better to do except get pampered, relish upon hearing nasty gossip about their so-called friends. And while with Mary's friends things are always comedic, Cukor sets the right tone when Mary is alone or with her daughter and mother. Mary's story is definitely more serious, which I have to say is an interesting choice considering that I believe Clare Boothe's intention in writing the play was for it to be a satire. The way Mary's storyline evolves, especially the end, there's nothing satirical about it. It may have been a bit confused, but regardless, the film somehow works, in particular due to the strong acting.

There are some of the finest actresses in this film: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Povah, Florence Nash, Lucile Watson, and some of the other minor roles are played by equally talented actresses. And the best part is that each actress makes the character her own. They could be one-noted characters, but these ladies make each one different and stand out. Shearer is simply lovely in this role. I couldn't get over how good she was as Mary. I was equally impressed with Crawford as Crystal. Both these actresses managed to give pretty authentic performances that I think still work well today, Crawford more so as the conniving man-trap. But when you look at the rest of the supporting cast, Russell, Boland, and Goddard, for example, they each have wonderful comedic timing. They know how to play supporting roles that enhance the performance of the lead. Russell, though, pretty much steals the show. I can't get over how much fun it is to watch her in her first scene as she finds out "Stephen Haines is stepping out on Mary."

But of course the writing is what allows these actresses to give such stellar performances. The dialogue is complete subtext, something you don't see nowadays because people need things spelled out and with a diagram or flow chart or PowerPoint presentation. But there is so much innuendo in this film that's nasty and can only be enhanced by the performances. I love the phone call between Sylvia and Edith in the beginning of the film in which they say how horrible it is that they have to face Mary after knowing Stephen is cheating on her, but the tone of their voices and the delight on their faces say otherwise. I also think, especially after reading the script, that the characters were very well developed and this made it easy for the actresses to take their roles and bring life to them.

I kind of wish--I think I've said this before--that Clare Boothe, Anita Loos, and Jane Murfin had taken this story further and made it a true satire. It would've been a lot of fun to watch, to see it truly be ironic, or even screwy. But I think that at the end of the day, The Women is a wonderful film that you really can't find much wrong in, unless you wanna get nitpicky. It might not be a screwball comedy, but it'll make you laugh, it'll touch you in some ways, might remind you of people you know or relationships you have, but overall, you'll simply have a good time. It's not to be missed.

The Women as a screwball comedy

Having looked at the structure of The Women, I wanted to look at just the comedic part of the film that is so often referred to as a screwball comedy and see how much of it really is true to the genre. The truth of it is that at first I could only think of the dialogue, but upon rewatching the film a few more times I started seeing some things that are also reminiscent of the genre. So I wanted to see just how much of it could be considered a screwball comedy if you don't focus on the melodrama. Had Mary's storyline been more comedic, could this have been a screwball comedy? I kinda have a feeling that even so this would've been more satire, but I still wanted to see the screwy aspects of this film.

Straight off the bat, a key ingredient missing in this film is a man! What is a screwball comedy without a man? He's certainly talked about a lot, in fact quite a few men are talked about, but none ever appear, and that's okay, I'm not complaining, but the lack of men kinda makes it hard to classify this film as a screwball comedy. Where's the sexual tension between the two leads? It's all off screen apparently. And the tension that is often expressed through dialogue is not sexual. It's just women being catty to one another. But the tension is never elevated to levels of screwiness. The one who perhaps is the silliest of the bunch is Sylvia Fowler, who Rosalind Russell just plays to perfection. But while she is looking to disrupt Mary Haines' home life out of sheer jealousy, we're not following her story or how she goes about it. Sure, we see her first and see her spreading the gossip around about the Haines' marriage, but Sylvia never really goes out in full-blown antics to disrupt Mary's life. Perhaps following her around for a bit would've been funnier. In fact, I think if what Clare Boothe was really going for was a satire, then Mary's love life should've taken more of a back seat and the focus on the women and their friendships should've come front and center. The friendships are a focus, but the main storyline is Mary's marriage. But of course, we watch for the women.

One screwball ingredient in this film is the great supporting cast. Every performance, outside of Norma Shearer's, is purely hilarious. The women truly deliver exaggerated variations of their characters and in such delicious ways. And the thing that keeps the film going is the supporting cast. We love to watch Russell as Sylvia being the gossipy wife with no backbone, and Joan Fontaine's Peggy the naïve newlywed who's so in love. There's Lucile Watson as Mary's mother, the sage old woman who knows best and has some of the best lines in the films like, "I'm an old woman, my dear. I know my own sex." My favorites are Mary Boland's the Countess who's such a believer of l'amour that while divorcing she falls in love again, and Paulette Goddard's Miriam Aarons, the no-nonsense chorus girl who ends up with Sylvia's husband in the end. These caricatures are played to perfection by the actresses and enhance the comedy part of the film.

Another screwball comedy aspect to this film is the look at the rich vs the working class. This film looks at the lives of the rich and makes fun of them. But while rich people in the genre are usually clueless, the women here really aren't, except for Mary. These women call each other out to their faces about their hypocrisy and move along. It's ridiculous but entertaining because you never do that with friends, but think about it if you did tell them, don't talk about me behind my back while I go use the phone, and you know they will! So it's almost as if the women are too smart here. It would've been interesting to see them up against the men and see if they outsmarted them because clearly, the women identify themselves with who they're married to.

Now to look at another woman, Crystal Allen is the working-class girl and she definitely knows better than the Park Avenue ladies that surround her. Joan Crawford plays Crystal so convincing and ruthless when it comes to stealing Mary's husband. Crystal is another no-nonsense girl who can outsmart Mary and Stephen, but only until the end when her scheming catches up with her. But the incredible thing about it is that Crystal is still tough. She walks away knowing she'll be back to the perfume counter, but she keeps her head high and exits with, "There's a name for you, ladies, but it isn't used in high society ... outside of a kennel." Even though Crystal is a gold digger, you kinda like that she leaves having the last line. And while this isn't how screwball comedies tend to go, this character certainly is reminiscent of the tough working class you root for that is so familiar to the genre.

At over two hours in length, The Women is a long film, which isn't typical of the screwball comedy. I'm pretty sure Mary Haines' storyline takes a bunch of time and slows it down as well. If you took the comedy aspect of the film, it's probably about the right length of a typical screwball comedy, but then there's no backbone to the story without Mary's storyline. The Women definitely has screwball comedy aspects to it, but it's a rather different type of comedy, not quite screwy, not quite satire, but still flat-out funny. Would've been great to see a screwball comedy of this and without the men; parody women's film. But the truth of it is that if you do like films of the genre, then you will find things in The Women that will delight you and remind you how much it is kinda like a screwball comedy.

The comedy/drama structure in The Women

Trying to write about The Women within the screwball comedy context is kinda hard because I really like the film so it's difficult to look at it objectively. I'm just completely enamored with the performances by the entire cast pretty much. Even if there's something that kinda bugs me, I get over it. But anyway, since I've already established that this isn't a true screwball comedy, I thought I'd look at the structure of The Women.

This film could be described as a comedy-drama, some might call it a screwball comedy but even then it's wrong. What it really seems to be if anything, or what it aims to be, is a satire. And this is where it really gets to me because I probably would have really really loved that film even more. But this film isn't a full-fledged satire either. A huge reason is due to Mary Haines' storyline. And to get into that, you have to look at the structure of the film. The Women is basically two films in one: the comedy one is that of all the women that surround Mary Haines' life, and then the drama one that is Mary Haines' domestic life. Why would Clare Boothe choose to melodramaticize Mary's life when she was most likely looking to satirize the lives of filthy rich women? Who knows? But to be honest, I haven't read the play this film is based on, nor have I read much about the origins of the play, so it could very well be that Mary's storyline wasn't supposed to be so melodramatic. And in all fairness to Norma Shearer, she does a divine job portraying Mary. I never get the sense that it's unbearable. Some might see it as over the top, but there's something about Shearer that allows her to get away with it. Even that ending! But I kinda wish that Boothe and Anita Loos and Jane Murfin would've taken it a bit further and just made it all flat-out hilarious.

The film pretty much jumps back and forth from comedy to drama. The only reason I can see the story choosing to take a dramatic approach to Mary's storyline is that in not wanting to trivialize infidelity, they didn't want to poke fun at Mary. But the problem with this is that it weakens Mary in the end, but that's for another matter. So, the great thing is that it does start at such a high point by bringing you into this world of catty women, the comedy is full-on. The film starts out big and slowly it closes in to Mary's friends Sylvia and Edith, and then finally it zeroes in on Mary and her home. Now, while the opening scene is one crack after the other, and especially vicious when it gets to Mary's friend, once it gets to Mary's home life, while it is light, any semblance of hilarity is gone. At the Haines household, it's domestic bliss, but of course we know better. When Mary's friends come over for tea, the comedy begins again and when all women are present the subtext continues, but whenever Mary is alone, taking a phone call for example, the drama is brought in right away. There is nothing to make fun about when it comes to Mary's home life.

The great thing about this choice of structure, in signaling out Mary's home life as the drama aspect of the film, is that it is done seamlessly; it establishes it right away in the opening sequence so you're trained to respond accordingly. And it does it in a way that runs smoothly. It's never jarring because Mary is established, even when amongst her friends that she is the more serious and straight-laced of the bunch. She is that good friend who'll never talk about you behind your back. And even when Lucile Watson as her mother tells her what awful friends she has, Mary never listens, oblivious to it so it seems. But really she kind of just puts up with it.

Another great point about this choice of structure is that it allows for comedy relief. Had this been the type of film that would've been that melodramatic film aimed at women, it could've been great or really lousy. I think with Shearer in it, the film could've been fine, but you never know. But a way to get all types of audiences in is to throw in some comedy. Even Shakespeare threw in comedy in his tragedies in order to lighten the mood a bit. There's only so much drama you can put up with. And for every down point in Mary's life, there's always a scene that follows it with some great comedy. When Mary, already knowing about Crystal Allen, gets a call from Stephen canceling dinner plans on Mary, the scene that follows is one in which we not only finally meet Crystal, but it's done via Sylvia Fowler and Edith Potter in hilarious form. The scene isn't just funny, it's strong. Joan Crawford shows a Crystal that isn't intimidated by the likes of Sylvia or Edith, plus she gets her way when Stephen tries to cancel plans on her. Rosalind Russell and Phyllish Povah are also great, Russell standing out the most with those great facial expressions and comebacks. The great part about the comedy aspect of the film is that it allows the characters to spread their wings and show exactly what they're made of.

While things switch back and forth in the first half of the film, things turn more serious at the midpoint as Mary and Stephen decide to get divorced. This is where things get slow, but it's understandably so as there's more dialogue, and more crying on Shearer's part. But when Mary is explaining to little Mary about the divorce, it gets unbearably melodramatically long, to the point that Virginia Weidler's little Mary just comes off as over-the-top. As the focus is on Mary, things are more dramatic at this point, and this accentuates Mary's feelings on the divorce. The comedy part here is when Mary is accompanied by Joan Fontaine's Peggy Day and then Sylvia joins them at the divorce ranch in Reno. There they meet Mary Boland's the Countess with her "l'amour, l'amour" reflections and Paulette Goddard's Miriam Aarons, forever funny even when dishing out the advice to Mary. Miriam sits Mary down and finally knocks some sense into Mary, although it comes a bit too late. So here we have again, the women all gathered together and hilarity ensues, but as soon as the focus is just on Mary, the drama comes back in.

Now, in order for the film to end on a high note, the balance has to tip more on the comedy side. Here is where things finally change. While we initially see Mary the same, she's dropped Sylvia as a friend and gained Miriam and the Countess as new friends. Once again there are moments of seriousness, especially with little Mary, but once Mary realizes that Stephen is miserable with Crystal and seemingly missing Mary, everything changes. This is where things go the way of a screwball comedy, Mary realizes she's got to fight for her man, even if it means getting a bit screwy. Now, Mary doesn't get all Irene Bullock or anything, but she plays dirty, tricking Sylvia into dishing out dirt on Crystal and then sending Hedda Hopper out to milk it out of the guilty parties even though it comes at the expense of the Countess' happiness and pride. When the Countess comes crying, Mary looks at the other women with a look of relish at finding out the dish behind the Countess' crying. It's kind of comical, but a bit bizarre. Of course it all ends with Mary going back to Stephen with open arms with that dramatic music.

Looking back at the structure of The Women, it's quite interesting to see how it was laid out. For what the film could've been as a melodrama, I appreciate that there was a lot of comedy in it and how it was so well structured in establishing what would be satirical and what would remain dramatic. I wonder if I'm totally missing the point and that Mary's storyline is supposed to be satirical as well. If that's the case I think they should've gone more over the top. In any case, this film hits the right points, bringing in more drama when the conflict is needed and then turning it lighter toward the end when the happy ending is to be delivered. The clear organization of the storyline allows you to care about Mary and laugh at the silliness that surrounds her all the way to the end, even while you root for her to get back with Stephen.

Women at Sydney's, at home, gathering for tea

It's clear to me that The Women is quite different from the other films I've seen so far, not just because it's not a true screwball comedy, but due to its large cast. So, as I sat and watched the opening of this film, I realized that there were several scenes to consider, mostly because of the ensemble cast. Regardless of this fact, the great thing about the opening is that you know right from the beginning what kind of film you're watching, the tone is set across the different characters, and it's for sure to be a funny film.

The credits are rather long, but they make it fun at the same time by introducing each actor not by her face but by the animal equivalent of her character before dissolving into her true face. And I like this because a lot of times when you have a large cast, it might take you a while to figure out who is who and what their business is. With this lovely set-up, George Cukor is telling you who's who plus what kind of character they play. Norma Shearer? A deer. So naturally Virginia Weidler who plays her daughter is a fawn, yet Lucile Watson as the grandmother? An owl. Joan Crawford? A lioness. So it's a different and fun way to see the credits. But once the credits are all done, the real fun begins.

The squabbling begins right from the start as the dogs of two different women start to fight right in front of Sydney's. And then their owners start barking at each other as well to mind after the other's dog. So the cattiness of women is set from the get-go and off the scene goes. Inside Sydney's we follow all the different activities women go through to be beautiful! admired! desired! appealing! And it's not just young women, it's women of all ages. When an older lady sits to get a facial, her friend pushes the beautician to the side--literally bumps her off with her hip--and looks into magnifying glass to see wrinkly eyes and exclaims, "Good grief! I hate to tell you, dear, but your skin makes the Rocky Mountains look like chiffon velvet!" It's this kind of blunt and brutal honesty that makes you realize this film is gonna be like no other. But from that room you go to other rooms, women taking mud baths and exclaiming there are worms in it, a girl going from room to room looking for her grandmother just as if she was in a girls' locker room. There are all the sunbathers getting their tans and the massages too. Then there's the exercise rooms, and in one of them the girl finally finds her grandmother, all the while you hear crack after crack from the women. This is a great tracking shot that takes you through the world of women, and in this specific place it gives you a behind-the-scenes look, if you will, establishing the content and the tone of the film.

Finally, though, you get to Rosalind Russell's Sylvia getting her manicure from Olga. Russell looks positively bored listening to the gossipy Olga, until she hears Stephen Haines. Russell does such a great job here of showing not just interest but that of a beast ready to devour and die right there. She's so desperate to hear that she takes out her cotton swabs, raises her voice that she can't hear, and then finally screams for someone to get the hair dryer off of her. She exaggerates everything to the right level and pulls it off beautifully. You're dying as you watch her, because secretly you've probably felt the same way too, just never showed it off like she did. Of course, Sylvia does what every good girlfriend does, she starts making phone calls and spreading the juicy news to none other than Phyllis Povah's Edith, who seems to have a more children than fingers to count them with. And if you weren't sure about the tone, at this point it's unmistakeable. Edith not only says all the right things, but with such irony. While Russell has sarcasm in her tone, Edith has a smile from ear to ear upon learning the news, and while she says it's awful, her facial expressions truly betray her.

Then there's the Haines household, where the opening sequence truly wraps up. While the tone in the earlier scenes is much quicker and filled with bite, Shearer is by far presented more serious, as her storyline follows throughout the film. We see happy Mary Haines and her daughter, little Mary, enjoying a horse ride. This little bit is clearly shown to show the idyllic lifestyle in the Haines home, a sharp contrast to the news we've just found out about Mr Haines. After showering, Mary sits with her daughter and reminisces through old photographs about her honeymoon. Shearer is so lovely here. She has a way of striking the right poses, and even though you might want this to be a full-on comedy, you can forgive the film because Shearer is great to watch, you can tell she is completely in love and remembers vividly her honeymoon. All this makes it sad to realize that Stephen's got a wandering eye.

Meanwhile, the guests arrive for Mary's tea gathering, and the funny is brought back in. This is good because we don't dwell too much on the dramatic side of things. Sylvia is constantly dropping hints about Stephen's infidelity, and dying to tell Edith the details without dishing it all out to Joan Fontaine's Peggy and Florence Nash's Nancy. Even here, Nancy can see right through Sylvia, calling her the "spider in the parlor." Peggy is the quiet one, still in love and too much of a romantic for this group of women. When Mary finally joins them, Sylvia is quick to drop not-so-subtle hints about the state of affairs in Mary's marriage. And while Peggy cannot catch on, Nancy does and tries to mollify the situation while Edith looks on horrified when Sylvia suggests to Mary that she go see Olga at Sydney's to get a jungle red shade of a manicure. The right hook to leave you hanging and eager to continue watching.

This opening sequence runs for about twenty minutes and it is quite long, but I think it establishes everything important due to the large cast. Perhaps the whole tracking shot at Sydney's could've been taken out, but then you would miss out on so much fun with the women inside, plus the fact that I think Cukor was trying to establish in that this is a unique look at the lives of women behind closed doors. It's also great at gradually introducing you to all types of women and their lives, and doing so in a funny way. But perhaps the most important thing here is that it goes by smoothly and fairly quickly. It's easy and fun to watch these women, with the performances they give. What's also good here is that from the beginning we find out the main point of the film, Mary Haine's marriage, and the right tone is set. There should be no confusion that as we follow Mary at home things will be on the dramatic side, while with the other women things are going to be downright hilarious due to both performances and great dialogue. The Women is a bit more complex in that it mixes genre, plus has a large ensemble cast, but Cukor manages to define clearly the type of film he's showing in those first twenty minutes. And from the look of things, it's gonna give you a bit of everything.

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."