{"id":43619,"date":"2019-05-06T11:01:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T18:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43619"},"modified":"2021-01-24T10:58:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T17:58:09","slug":"women-the-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43619","title":{"rendered":"Women, The (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I knew this sort of thing happened to other people &#8212; but I never dreamed it could happen to us!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-43621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Poster.jpg 665w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a wife (Norma Shearer) learns her husband has been stolen by a ruthless golddigger (Joan Crawford), she files for divorce and soon finds herself in similar company with many of her friends &#8212; some old, some new. Will she find a way to get her husband back &#8212; and does she even want to?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Divorce<\/li>\n<li>George Cukor Films<\/li>\n<li>Gold Diggers<\/li>\n<li>Infidelity<\/li>\n<li>Joan Crawford Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Fontaine Films<\/li>\n<li>Norma Shearer Films<\/li>\n<li>Paulette Goddard Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Rosalind Russell Films<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is clearly a fan of this &#8220;delicious adaptation (by Anita Loos) of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Women_(play)\">Clare Boothe&#8217;s classic stage comedy<\/a>, directed by George Cukor, and starring a peerless all-female cast&#8221;. He notes that &#8220;the characters are like wild animals &#8212; claws and fangs bared &#8212; let out of their cages&#8221;, and writes that the &#8220;picture is an ideal starting point for discussions on how women are portrayed in film&#8221;: while &#8220;some find the film&#8217;s portrayal of women objectionable&#8221;, these &#8220;women are resilient, always pulling through when men let them down&#8221;. He adds that &#8220;it&#8217;s a joy watching scenes between women who are friends &#8212; because, of course, friendships between women have traditionally been ignored by male filmmakers&#8221;; and &#8220;even though they often betray each other through gossip (a habit they don&#8217;t wish to break), there is camaraderie among them. They obviously care for one another, know the petty problems the others have living in a society where the men control the money.&#8221; Peary concludes his review by noting that &#8220;most unique is that <em>all<\/em> these women have a genuine sense of humor&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Cukor obviously loves these characters&#8221;, so &#8220;we can forgive him for intentionally over-doing it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m in agreement with Peary&#8217;s assessment. Despite the story being set in a very specific time and place (an era when divorces necessarily involved a trip to Reno), and perhaps coming across as dated for that reason, it remains timeless in many ways, thanks to the nuanced portrayals of the various women. As Peary writes, &#8220;Shearer&#8217;s friends range from young to old (she also has a special relationship with her mother and daughter) and include golddiggers (Goddard), passive wives (Fontaine), those who financially support their men, those who use their husbands&#8217; money to fritter their days away, those who push men around, and those who have been dumped by their wayward husbands&#8221;. The lack of any actual men in the cast or on screen (a clever convention of the original play) allows us to concentrate exclusively on the <em>women<\/em> of this story, which is surprisingly refreshing. Of course, it&#8217;s lacking in diversity in countless ways (we see no women of color or lesbians) &#8212; but it&#8217;s authentic to its milieu and realistically doesn&#8217;t stretch farther than Shearer&#8217;s actual life would. Speaking of Shearer, she&#8217;s in top form here, easily holding her own against Crawford&#8217;s iconically shrewish Crystal. The direction and cinematography are top-notch as well.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Norma Shearer as Mary<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Shearer.png 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joan Crawford as Crystal<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Crawford.png 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine direction and cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography.png 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Cinematography2.png 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A witty, often biting script<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Women-Script.png 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult classic. Nominated by Peary as one of the Best Pictures of the Year in his Alternate Oscars. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032143\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/women39.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/509\/the-women#articles-reviews?articleId=17973\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KfhmtChiw5M\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I knew this sort of thing happened to other people &#8212; but I never dreamed it could happen to us!&#8221; Synopsis: When a wife (Norma Shearer) learns her husband has been stolen by a ruthless golddigger (Joan Crawford), she files for divorce and soon finds herself in similar company with many of her friends &#8212; some old, some new. Will she find a way to get her husband back &#8212; and does she even want to? Genres, Themes, Actors, and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43619\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43619"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65569,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43619\/revisions\/65569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}