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By
NICK ZEGARAC
How does one take a totally
acidic down right risqué Broadway play and
transform its wickedly perverse dialogue into a
brutally funny cinematic experience? Well, if
you're director George Cukor -- working under the
rigid constraints of a production code that does
not permit lascivious banter -- then you simply
ask the show's scenarist, Anita Loos to write even
more acidic double entendres to get her point
across. The result: 1939's "The Women," an
inspired and scathing, divinely hilarious comedy
with 135 women and no men.
The plot centers on Mary Haines (Norma Shearer),
blissfully living in her fool's paradise as a
happy wife and contented mother. That is, until
she accidentally learns that her husband Steven is
having an off-camera affair with ruthless mantrap
Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). Determined to,
first, save her marriage, then later, live the
remainder of her days as a carefree divorcée, Mary
eventually comes to an understanding. She wants
Steven back!
Mary's gaggle of fair weather friends include her
vapid and gossipy cousin, Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind
Russell), naïve ingénue Peggy Day (Joan Fontaine),
the ruthlessly charming Countess DeLav (Mary
Boland) and vixen on the make Miriam Aarons
(Paulette Goddard). At one point the film
degenerates into a riotous catfight, complete with
pulled hair, lots of kicking and even a racy
full-bodied bite on the thigh.
Buttressed by its stellar performances,
outstanding dialogue and a fashion show sequence
shot in blazing Technicolor (in an otherwise B&W
film), "The Women" is 99½% pure magic. Only its
ending leaves something to be desired.
Crawford and Shearer were hardly the best of
friends. With both divas at MGM, Crawford was fond
of saying of Norma, "How can I compete with her?
She sleeps with the boss!" True, since Shearer was
married to VP, Irving Thalberg at the time.
Fearful that "The Women" would prove the catalyst
for a real life catfight, Cukor kept the two
actresses separate for as much of the shoot as
possible. He really had nothing to fear: both
Crawford and Shearer behaved like total
professionals both on and off camera and their
mutual loathing worked marvelously well in their
on screen confrontations.
Warner's DVD is a miracle of mastering. The B&W
picture exhibits a near pristine rendering with an
exemplary grayscale, solid deep blacks, perfectly
realized contrast levels and very clean whites.
The Technicolor fashion show is so vibrantly
realized it seems to burst into 3-dimensionality
of the screen. Rarely does pixelization intrude
for a very smooth, thoroughly satisfying visual
presentation. Fine details are so breathtakingly
defined that close ups often yield the thickness
of make-up and accuracy of hair strands and
fabrics used in costumes. Only during the opening
credits is there a subtle hint of mis-registration
that results in a slight haloing effect around
lettering and the main title artwork, but neither
is distracting. The audio is mono and extremely
well balanced. Extras include the complete
isolated musical score and a "Romance of
Celluloid" short subject on Hollywood style.
Any year but 1939 and "The Women" would surely
have won Best Picture. In the year of "Gone With
The Wind" it never had a chance. Thankfully, we'll
always have the film on DVD. |
