The Women stars Norma Sheerer as Mary Haines, a blissfully married women who is completely unaware that her husband Steven has been carrying-on with Crystal, the predatory perfume-counter girl played with snide glee by Joan Crawford. Her cousin, and notorious gossip, Sylvia Fowler (played by Rosalind Russell at her shrill best) finds out and delights in informing everyone in their social circle, while cruelly arranging for Mary to find out from her manicurist. A devestated Mary decends first into denile, and then eventually defeat, deciding to get a quicky Reno divorce. While in Reno, she befriends an asortment of divorcees including the unquenchably romantic Countess De Lave (Mary Boland), tough-cookie showgirl Miriam Aarons (Paulette Goddard), and the timid Peggy (Joan Fontaine) who is part of Mary's social circle back in New York. They all settle in a Reno ranch owned by salt-of-the earth Lucy (Marjorie Main) to wait out their divorces. A cat-fight breaks out, duplicitous Sylvia is knocked off her high horse, and Mary realizes that she was a fool to lie down so easily and let Crystal make off with her man. Fortuantely, as in all Hollywood comedies of the era, Mary ulitmately triumphs and everyone gets their just desserts.
Notice that I haven't pointed out any noteworthy actors from this film? That's because there are none. No man ever appears on camera in this film, and the filmmakers went to great pains to make sure that everything up to the animals on the ranch were female. When it was originally released the tagline of the film was It's all about men, as a tongue-and-cheek way of juxtaposing the fact that there are no men in the film with the fact that the film is all about the joys and woes of hertosexual relationships. Pretty cute.
Two things, not including than the cleaver writing and delivery of all the catty lines, stood out to me the most aabout this film during my last viewing: the fashion and Paulette Goddard. During the film the viewer is treated to a ten minute sequence of a late thirties high society fashion show, featuring the most dazzling array of the era's haute couture. Similarly, the ladies spend the entire film in some truly jaw dropping numbers- my favourites being Paulette Goddard's riding outfit, which makes her look like she's in some sort of Wild West cheerleading revue and the intergalactic hat and tulle number that Rosalind Russell dons in the final climax. On the subject of Ms. Goddard, why have I never noticed her before? She plays the street-wise girl brilliantly, ranking up there along with some of Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Arthur's best tough talking dames. I smell a future bombshell for the ages subject.
I recommend this film for anyone who enjoys some good catty fun. Oh... and please do not go anywhere near the dismal 2008 remake. Here's the trailer.
