MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 341 this week

The Women (1939)

Not Rated  |   |  Comedy, Drama  |  1 September 1939 (USA)
8.0
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.0/10 from 9,254 users  
Reviews: 138 user | 57 critic

A study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.

Director:

Writers:

(from the play by) (as Clare Boothe) , (screen play), 3 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

Top 25 Trivia Items From the Last 25 Years

Here are some amazing facts and figures to deepen your appreciation of the movies you love.

See the full list

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 21 titles
created 19 Feb 2011
 
a list of 42 titles
created 09 Dec 2012
 
a list of 39 titles
created 12 Mar 2013
 
list image
a list of 25 titles
created 01 Apr 2013
 
a list of 49 titles
created 07 Jul 2014
 

Related Items

Search for "The Women" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Women (1939)

The Women (1939) on IMDb 8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Women.

User Polls

1 win. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Certificate: Passed Thriller | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.

Director: George Cukor
Stars: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt
Auntie Mame (1958)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.

Director: Morton DaCosta
Stars: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne
The Divorcee (1930)
Certificate: Passed Romance | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

When a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind.

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Stars: Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Chester Morris
Certificate: Passed Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Affluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.

Director: George Cukor
Stars: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
Possessed (1947)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.

Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Stars: Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey
Dark Victory (1939)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, and must decide whether she'll meet her final days with dignity.

Director: Edmund Goulding
Stars: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart
Stage Door (1937)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A boardinghouse full of aspiring actresses and their ambitions, dreams and disappointments.

Director: Gregory La Cava
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou
Holiday (1938)
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A young man falls in love with a girl from a rich family. His unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life is met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long suffering brother.

Director: George Cukor
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan
Humoresque (1946)
Drama | Music | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.

Director: Jean Negulesco
Stars: Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Oscar Levant
The Letter (1940)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing.

Director: William Wyler
Stars: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
Now, Voyager (1942)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

Boston spinster blossoms under therapy and finds impossible romance.

Director: Irving Rapper
Stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
Phyllis Povah ...
...
...
Lucile Watson ...
...
Virginia Grey ...
Pat
...
Muriel Hutchison ...
Jane
...
Florence Nash ...
Edit

Storyline

Wealthy Mary Haines is unaware her husband is having an affair with shopgirl Crystal Allen. Sylvia Fowler and Edith Potter discover this from a manicurist and arrange for Mary to hear the gossip. On the train taking her to a Reno divorce Mary meets the Countess and Miriam (in an affair with Fowler's husband). While they are at Lucy's dude ranch, Fowler arrives for her own divorce and the Countess meets fifth husband-to-be Buck. Back in New York, Mary's ex is now unhappily married to Crystal who is already in an affair with Buck. When Sylvia lets this story slip at an exclusive nightclub, Crystal brags of her plans for a still wealthier marriage, only to find the Countess is the source of all Buck's money. Crystal must return to the perfume counter and Mary runs back to her husband. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The year's mightiest cast in the hit play that tells on the women! See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

1 September 1939 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Mujeres  »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,688,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

| (Technicolor) (one sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stage actress who originated the role of Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell's role in the film) was Ilka Chase. She is probably best recognized by today's audiences as the Stepmother in the original Julie Andrews live TV musical production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Cinderella (1957), the kinescope of which was recently rediscovered and released on DVD. See more »

Goofs

The second model to enter for the fashion show is wearing a top with red spots (possibly strawberries) and a red skirt. After the cut she's wearing a top with red and blue stripes and a white skirt. See more »

Quotes

Sylvia Fowler: [Last lines] Mary Haines, don't you have any pride?
Mary Haines: No pride at all. That's a luxury a woman in love can't afford.
See more »

Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, before the photo images of the actresses are shown, their characters are revealed by images of various animals. See more »

Connections

Featured in MGM Greatest Moments: A Video Sampler (1987) See more »

Soundtracks

On Top of Old Smokey
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a cappella by Marjorie Main
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A fabulous fun movie!
14 June 2002 | by (boston , massachusetts) – See all my reviews

This movie is two wonderful hours of gossipy, clever fun. The script is incredibly good and makes you wish every movie in the world could turn out as well as THE WOMEN. The performances all blend together perfectly, which is what you need if you are going to tell a story like this. Joan Crawford is sublime as the husband stealer and Norma Shearer plays the usual virtuous kind of part she always played in her career. However in my opinion, Roz Russell, who played Mrs. Fowler simply is at her best. It is one of the most funny and exquisite performances that i have ever seen given by an actress on film. It is plain to see she only cares about herself and her own superficial motives but you cant help being on her side and enjoying all the trouble she stirs up. And also Paulette Goddard gave a sassy performance as the sarcastic woman who has seen it all and wants no more of it. The best scene of hers is when she and Mrs. Fowler fight at the divorce ranch. I loved this movie!


15 of 19 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Joan Crawford...I don't see it bcubedgirl
Favorite Character Alix1929
Lesbianism? garlandbrando
Not a Norma Shearer fan... kerrytrout
accent GLMDesigns
What's the deal with the one scene in color? ladylavende
Discuss The Women (1939) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?