The Women (1939)

 2/4

Starring: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Lucile Watson, Phyllis Povah, Paulette Godard, Mary Boland

Not Rated (Probable PG for Sexual Material)

It's all about the women...And their men!

Okay, fine.  That's the tagline for "All About Eve," another movie about deceit, backstabbing and all other sorts of treachery.  Unfortunately, despite a cast to die for and a well-respected director, "The Women" is a bit of a mess.  Actually, it's a big mess.

"The Women" details the comings-and-goings of New York City's high society women.  They spend money as fast as their husbands can make it and gossip about the love lives of the people they know.  Mary Haines (Shearer) is the center of this milieu.  She is happily married to Stephen, has a beautiful daughter, and enough money to ensure that all her material needs are provided for her.  Then her friend Sylvia Fowler (Russell) gets a bombshell: Stephen is having an affair with the perfume girl, Crystal Allen (Crawford).  Naturally, juicy gossip like this doesn't stay secret for very long.

The longer "The Women" goes on, the less sense it makes.  And it runs longer than two hours.  All the star power that the film has can't camouflage the fact that the characters are not sharply defined.  Apart from Mary, Mary's daughter, Crystal and Sylvia, none of the other characters are clearly established.  I kept wondering who was who and who knew what.  It was a frustrating experience, and eventually I just gave up.  And while I concede that having an all-female cast (including the extras and the animals) is a clever gimmick, it exposes the seams in the plot.  It doesn't work.

The film does have an ace in the hole, and that's the acting.  But with a cast that reads like a who's who of screen sirens from the time period, could I expect anything less?  Norma Shearer, whose career ended in retirement a few years after this movie was made, is perfect as Mary.  The actress gets us on her side with heart and humility.  Although she puts up a tough front, news of the affair (and the way she finds out about it) hurts her deeply.  Joan Crawford is deliciously vile as Crystal, the bloodsucking vixen we just love to hate.  She isn't a vampire, but she might as well be!  Rosalind Russell is a scene-stealer as Sylvia, a live wire, brassy gossip who say and does things that propriety demands that she does not.

"The Women" does have some good moments.  The scene where Mary discusses with her mother (Lucile Watson) what to do about the affair is wonderfully written and acted.  And the scene where Mary lets her daughter knew what has happened is heartbreaking.  It also has some humorous moments too.  Crawford's first scene is amusing, especially when Russell comes on.  But the for the most part the dialogue doesn't zing or have the naughty interest that gossip has.

Many critics feel that "The Women" is a classic.  I do not.

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