A friend had a vague recollection of a movie. Sadly the key words from his recollection are not useful for a search. Trust me on this. You don’t want to know what you’ll get. I tried. :eek:
He thinks it was black & white. He thinks it featured Bette Davis (but he was really unsure of this and she’s got a billion film credits from that period and none of them sounded right. He also thought the title was “Women”–IMDB doesn’t list such a film.
The movie opens with shots of various women getting on a train. The women’s pictures are transposed (fade-ins?) of animals–he remembered this specifically. (so there was for instance, a woman/lamb, woman/cat, woman/panther, woman/hen type montage). The story is how they interact with each other on this train ride and how their stories weave together. He thought they were all going to Vegas to get divorced for one reason or other.
He thought that everyone else on the train (the ticket taker, the person with the food cart, all the kids) were also women.
This ring any bells for anyone? Searching “Film/women/animal” (remember, that’s the only part he’s 100% sure of) does not bring up workplace-safe results.
I’d love to find him a copy so if anyone can help, it’d be much appreciated.
That’s the classic film The Women. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Marjorie Main. The credits are women “cast” as various animals. The film doesn’t open with the train trip, though – the train to Reno occurs much later.
Norma plays Mrs. Stephen Haynes, who discovers her husband’s stepping out with shopgirl hussy Joan Crawford. She tosses her hubby out, much to her catty friends’ glee/delight. Much amusing bitchiness is had by all. No men are in the cast. It’s a great flick!
Edited to add: Darn! Came last in the simulpost. Ah well. also, it’s too bad but your friend just missed it on TCM this Sunday!
Joan Crawford was the star. The women/animals were shown during the credits, to indicate what kind of ‘animal’ they were - JC was a panther, the nice leading lady was a deer, etc. Not one man was seen in the movie, though.
oops, just posted simultaneously with choie! There was a recent remake, but I heard it wasn’t very good at all.
You’re very welcome! I’ll take your word on the Google search. I’d say it’s mostly comedy, though there are some straight moments of drama (particularly a very moving conversation between Norma Shearer and her daughter). But mostly a rapid-paced acid-tongued comedy. Pretty old-fashioned regarding women’s roles in marriage and their relationships with men and each other – not to mention the silly, slow-moving fashion show early on, which is the only section of the film in vivid color and exists just to highlight costumes by the OTT designer Adrian – but otherwise it’s a hoot with terrific performances across the board. My favorite’s Paulette Goddard as the wily Miriam (token Jewish gal!) who gets some of the best snarky lines.
Cool…he’s almost certainly going to insist I watch it with him (and I’m really intrigued by what everyone’s said about it so that’s not a problem ) but I really don’t like weepy-tragedy-soap-opera-y dramas unless I’m in JUST the right mood (and I rarely am). What you described sounds fantastic. I love rapid-fire acid-tongued comedies.
No males of any kind appear in the film. All of the 130 roles were played by women, all of the animals (e.g., dogs and horses) were female, and none of the artwork in the background depicts the male form.
The original play was written by a woman (Claire Booth Luce) and the screenplay was written by two women (Anita Loos and Jane Murfin).
The fashion show is a riot. Some of the outfits would not be at all out of place today, and others are so outlandish that it’s impossible to believe anyone would ever have worn them even on a runway. There’s one that’s kind of a glowing green laboratory costume with a test-tube background that freaks me the hell out.
I love the outfits that are worn during the picnic scenario. That big gingham skirt is exactly what you’d wear for a day out in the country.
I also wanted to note that this film was remade as a musical in the 1950s, retitled “The Opposite Sex” and starring June Allyson, Joan Collins, and Leslie Neilson (men do appear in this one).
I LOVE fashion shows in movies! Doesn’t matter what year, either. It’s a little time capsule (even though the fashions are usually so far out no one would actually wear them IRL).
That would be an interesting thread - “movies that feature fashion shows”. I like the calendar girls in “DuBarry Was A Lady” - not, strictly speaking, a fashion show, but women dressed up in costumes to pose for each monthly calendar page. I remember seeing that kind of thing long ago, it was a more kitschy naive time.
I don’t remember which movie it’s in, but isn’t there a similar musical number, “The Girl I Love Is on a Magazine Cover…” featuring models posed in “magazine cover” frames–Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, and the like?
:eek:
I love that film.
My buddy gets a birthday present (He saw the film once in the '70s on TV and just those few images stuck with him.)