Sylvia and Edith meeting Crystal...
One loyal friend of Mary is Peggy (a quiet but still good performance by Joan Fontaine). After Mary runs into Crystal and has an argument with her husband, who is kept off camera, and the argument is wonderfully told to the audience by the maid to the cook in the kitchen, Mary heads to Reno for a divorce. There she runs into several more women including Paulette Goddard as Miriam (looking sensational and full of fire) and is seeing Sylvia's husband on the side. We also meet the delightfully eccentric The Countess De Lave (played by Mary Boland) who loves men like most people love candy. She just can't get enough of them.
CATFIGHT!
Once in Reno, the women settle down until Sylvia shows up and says she is getting a divorce too and finds Miriam is the other woman. Which leads to a hilarious catfight with hats, shirts, and skirts soon being ripped to pieces. The Women is an amazing film with Cukor guiding all these talented actresses perfectly and creating a masterpiece. Norma Shearer who started in films in the mid-20's and made several pre-code Hollywood melodramas where she was often cast as the sexy and independent woman is more motherly in this film. And her final screen exit is a little too over melodramatic but for the most part she is good as Mary. Rosalind Russell is a hoot as Sylvia and gets in some choice bits. But it's Joan Crawford who stands out the most as Crystal. Not only is she smart, funny, sexy and gets to deliver most of the film's most memorable lines, she is also drop dead beautiful here. Her classic line at the end of the film is one for the books..."There's a word for you ladies, but it's not used in society..outside of a kennel." Damn. Of course things work out eventually by the end of the movie, but the fun part is getting there to see it.
A meeting of enemies...
Winner of 4 Monties including Best Film, Director, and Supporting Actress (a tie between Roz and Joan).
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