Director: George Cukor
Actors: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Phyllis Povah, Joan Fontaine, Virginia Weidler
Country: U.S.A.

George Cukor’s The Women has got to be one of my favourite films. Not only is it highly enjoyable, but the lines, the acting, the clothes, and the pace of it is all perfect. I never watched the play version of it, but I sure do like this film! It was the film that introduced me to Norma Shearer and I absolutely fell in love with her. It was also my first Joan Crawford film and I found her to be an amazing actress. I have read complaints about Shearer’s acting, but I thought she was really great and wasn’t overacting at all. My favourite scene has got to be when she says, “I’ve had two years to grow claws mother. Jungle red!” It’s such a shame that a once famous actress and the queen of MGM is now long forgotten.

Although there are some remarks that may make modern women cringe, I thought that the overall portrayal of women was incredibly accurate. Watching these women’s actions were almost looking at a mirror and I could relate to almost every character. Mary Haines (Shearer) is nobel and she sure knows how to get revenge! Sylvia Fowler (Russell) has the most outrageous clothes and hats (ref. Picture 2) and is the biggest blabbermouth ever. She is also someone who enjoys seeing other in pain, probably due to her not-so-great relationship with her husband. And Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen… my, my! She is fabulous and whereas Crystal is quite a… for the lack of better words, a bitch, I can sympathize to a certain extent. Actually, I wish I can be like her! She is gorgeous and knows how to fend for herself using words. Her final line, “There is a name for you, ladies, but it isn’t used in high society… outside of a kennel.”, is a perfect way to make an exit; while she did admit defeat, she at least got to say something nasty in a calm manner and leave in a superficially classy way.

All I can really say about this film is that it is FABULOUS and a film that everyone should watch once. I have watched it multiple times and it never fails to put a smile on my face. So many of the things mentioned in this film are true to this day and it’s really fun to see a glimpse into how high society women lived in those days. Seeing Rosalind Russell do all those exercises was hilarious and seeing how women got perms and facials was interesting as well.

IMDb Link: The Women
Where to buy: Amazon.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 4:30 pm and is filed under 1930s, Countries, U.S.A., Year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.