Double Feature

Last night, instead of reading W&P as I intended, I got hooked by TCM. First I had to watch The Philadelphia Story because as we all know, NO-ONE can pass up Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. All in the same movie!!! It was great. Katherine Hepburn was great, her clothes were kinda bad. I would never pick that party dress. Jimmy Stewart was great, he won the Oscar that year. Cary Grant was gorgeous and charming. His hair was super black and shiny. sigh.

Then they played another George Cukor movie, The Women, and it was great too. This film is a love it or hate it, with stereotypical portrayals of women, and old fashioned views on marriage and fidelity. The Women, based on a play by Clare Booth Luce starred Joan Crawford as the baddie, Norma Shearer as the excellent Mary Haines and Rosalind Russell as the very funny Sylvia Fowler. Russell's physical performance alone made the movie worth watching. Not to mention all the hair, hats and fabulous socialite outfits.

The crazy thing about this film was that there is not a male in it. At All. Even the entire supporting cast including extras was female. Female background people, female orchestra, female servants. Amazing. I kept expecting a husband to stroll on screen to subdue the wacky women. Nope.

Being a modern gal, it was a little tough to take this portrait of women as gossipy and silly and preening and dependent on men. The people I really take issue with were the absent male characters. What a bunch of lice! Cheating, Cheating Cheating. What were those poor New York Socialites to do? Gossip and file for divorce I guess.