Personal Canon ~ #97
The Women
"JUNGLE RED!!!"

[editor's note: The following article was originally posted in October 25th, 2005. It is republished here with some alterations.]

The Women (1939)
Directed by George Cukor. Screenplay by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin based on the play of the same name by Clare Boothe Luce
Starring: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Phllis Povah, Marjorie Main and Joan Fontaine.
Production Company & Distributor MGM Released 09/01/39

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If you ask any group of film buffs to name Hollywood's pinnacle year --it's "best year ever" chances are that "1939" will be uttered quickly and then argued aboutThat was the year that brought us Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka and at least a dozen other extremely beloved films. Also strutting around in theaters that year was a bitchy but endearing comedy/melodrama mix. The film's impressive star line up was headlined by Norma Shearer as Mrs Stephen Haines. She was orbited by stars of similar (or then just-lesser) stature: Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Fontaine among them. Even with the mega-wattage and box office pull of the stars the film bore the sexist, reductive tagline:

“It’s all about men!”

Not that it isn't about men, I must quickly add. Or at least women's ideas about the men in their lives. The drama and comedy in The Women comes from the way the gathered actresses fight over men, adore men, adjust themselves for men, connect themselves to men and sabotage each other --presumably also for men. What? You thought with Roz Russell and bitchtastic Joan Crawford in the mix that this wouldn't be catty? This film is often so feline that I remain surprised after multiple viewings that director George Cukor opts to open with barking dogs rather than hissing cats as the first reel unspools. For those hoping for enlightened gender roles, this is not the film.

Alas, not all the ideas promoted in the film about the way marriages crumble or survive are so dusty. Pieces of The Women may have aged unflatteringly, but as a whole the movie retains a sharp wit [why are 30s and 40s movies so funny and today's comedies so strained?] and, though the movie is often cacophonous with the sounds of children, pets, and gossiping groups, a good sense of balance. Cukor knows when to shut off the noise and allow Norma Shearer's strong and dignified performance to hold the chaotic processions together. Improbably, she even seems like an admirable pillar of feminine strength when she's learning to get catty.

"Jungle Red!" indeed.

Despite regular Oscar love for 'The First Lady of MGM' (Norma Shearer had 5 Oscar nominations and 1 win behind her when this film premiered) AMPAS voters dismissed The Women with nary a nomination. Not even for its celebrated stars empathetic turn as the wronged housewife. Perhaps it was too fluffy? Nevertheless it remains a jolly good, surprisingly serious time at the movies. Whether you're after a witty comedy, old Hollywood eye-candy, or memorable performances, the film delivers. The jokes are funny, the sets and parade of outfits are glamourous or amusingly outre (you have to see Rosalind Russell's "eye" dress to believe it), and the gaggle of movie stars assembled are a collective hoot.

Hollywood, forever bereft of new ideas, has been planning to remake The Women forever. A year ago we heard that Diane English (TV’s Murphy Brown) would be at the helm and Annette Bening, Meg Ryan, Uma Thurman, Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd would be the women in question. But we’d been there before with other glitzy projected line-ups and none have ever come to pass. If the Hollywood powers that be could convince enough lawyers, agent, and divas du jour to cooperate, they might one day arrive at a start date with an all star cast. But whoever and whenever they do, they’ll have their work cut out for them trying to surpass the original.

 

-Nathaniel R

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