"The Women" Movie Clip - Norma Shearer

Mary Haines decides to leave her husband after discovering that he is having an affair

[@blondthought5175]

This is high quality stylized acting from Norma Shearer. It has just the degree of elevation above normal speech that makes it a touch transcendent. Beautifully done.

[@Madelyn5454]

I cannot get over the sheer brillance of the dialogue and thé acting

[@scottgates6993]

I agree. And think of this: in 19 years this movie will be 100 years old! Actors of today can take a lesson, I think.

[@lynngregory393]

That was Claire Booth Luce and her characters are as real today as when she wrote it!

[@RaymondHng]

@@lynngregory393 The film is based on Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by *Anita Loos* and *Jane Murfin* , Lucile Watson played the role of Mrs. Morehead in the film.

[@danielyoung5137]

I understand the play achieved legendary status during its Broadway run-l think something like 600 performances or more in an era when a six month run was the sign of a hit. Clare Boothe Luce was a shrewd ol’ gal who knew things and wrote ‘em down. The recent remake of the movie couldn’t play to compare b ecause the times are so different now.

[@leodefine86]

Norma Shearer always on point! Her acting is truly perfection! Very few actress could do it so effortlessly!

[@brianksigley1467]

I love the line "we change the way we do our hair or hire a new cook...." This is my go-to movie when nothing else interests me

[@hismom5600]

Here bc of Ashley SaysSo. But also because I'm a vintage movie freak and love this film!❤️

[@marissawilson4644]

Same!!

[@1984msmocha]

Same, girl, same

[@jimjimmyjames59]

"A man has only one escape from his old self - to see a different self in the mirror of some woman's eyes..." Yup!

[@misskeyla2152]

That was deep😱

[@marce2409]

Wise

[@Momster1000]

Genius line.

[@rosajohnson5212]

Chile, I was all into the actress playing her mother!!!! She played that role!

[@highlyfavored12]

The mother was of a different era. It's where a woman is aware of the cheating, but turns her head for the sake of family and finance.

[@annedavis6090]

@masakasama I remember a reference to "stripes"... diamond bracelets 🤫

[@SanFranDentist94301]

Nah, shes saying people make mistakes and the mistake most men make is philandering.

[@darkvioletskull]

@@SanFranDentist94301 is it a mistake if it’s a daily activity?

[@SanFranDentist94301]

@@darkvioletskull *She said*

[@ms.miwitdatbul520]

Cheating respectfully.

[@cor8129]

"This story isn't new, it comes to most wives". How wise and true.

[@kathleendubois7128]

😢

[@juliaalexander5788]

And you're supposed to just smile, act like you don't know, move on......for the children of course, also make sure they are taught honesty, integrity, and respect 👏 (sarcastically)

[@zlatkajupe]

@@juliaalexander5788 Not anymore. 70% of divorces are initiated by women and I think it's great. No longer are women putting up with this nonsense

[@brendapayne6603]

When the mother tells Mary that she has a daughter to think about, it appears she is also thinking about herself. She apparently put Mary first when her husband cheated on her.

[@chetyoubetya8565]

Rubbish.Having children doesn't mean you are required to sacrifice your soul.

[@Paradise-cq1gx]

@@chetyoubetya8565 🤦 children are innocent and they certainly aren't trying to ripped anyone's soul out or make you sacrifice your life but they do deserve to feel safe and secure & to be given a solid foundation when young esp if the parents are not in abusive relationship that it's dangerous. I have spoken to ones whom parents got divorced when young and most have many issues still to this day. Children should not be an afterthought at any point when this is planned but rather the primary focus in any changes and be given support they deserve & if it delays a parent's happiness for a bit til the child is old enough to handle it better then maybe it's for the best.

[@JustAPrayer]

@ Paradise-cq1gx Children shouldn’t be an afterthought, but sometimes you staying together IS what hurts your children. Parents can’t keep fighting and cheating secret from kids for long (and lets be honest, spouses who get forgiven for cheating usually end up doing it again). I know my mother grew up in an unhappy home with a awful mother and she and her brothers used to plead with their father to leave her and never quite forgave him for refusing to. Divorce is a complicated decision and shouldn’t be made lightly but sometimes it is the right choice.

[@auntiem71]

Very wise mother...lovely scene.. excellent acting and diction...

[@johnfd0210]

I love Lucile Watson in this; she is always good, but really exceptional as the mother.

[@marce2409]

Perfection on both actresses. Bravo!!!!!

[@roberttrepagnier9149]

Brilliant movie. Not a single man in it. The original "chick-flick". Amazing acting.

[@srkh8966]

Robert Trepagnier Even the animals were female

[@RaymondHng]

@@srkh8966 And the authors of the books on the shelves

[@Be12397]

There sure isn’t a single man in it, is there? 🤣 never even missed them.

[@haintedhouse2990]

if only today's "chick-flicks" could be half this good.

[@Celluloidwatcher]

Wonderfully done, The Women, directed by George Cukor, displayed spirited acting by a superb cast, lead by Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, and Paulette Goddard, among others. And everything seen from a woman's point of view, a noted departure from conventional film, only because it was based on the 1936 Broadway play by Claire Booth Luce. Thanks for presenting the video clip.

[@hollyb6885]

Rosilind Russell was a treat in this movie

[@kianicole2327]

These Women back in the day had a different type of Beauty

[@MATRICULAT3D]

LoL. You mean these men/castrato/eunuchs/Baphomets.

[@ellenbrandman7724]

The men were handsomer, too!

[@susanford2388]

Great outfits.

[@catlover34fl]

What an entertaining movie! I've seen it several times and never tire of watching these talented women in their roles. Damn good actresses, every one of them. I love them all in this 1939 version.

[@millers3888]

What a great actress Norma Shearer was. Part of the first generation movie stars.

[@davedvlaries7764]

Although Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell had to lobby for, respectively, Crystal and Sylvia, producer Hunt Stromberg had wanted Norma for Mary Haines from the very first. So did Louis B. Mayer. Crawford's most recent films hadn't been box office bonanzas, and incredible as it is to believe in hindsight, Russell had no established creds in comedy. Norma's _Marie Antoinette_ , on the other hand, had been robustly successful the previous year, and Mayer wanted her on board for added box office insurance. Norma did not want to play Mary; she thought the part bland and "too noble," and was privately nervous of appearing with so many other actresses younger than she. But Norma was also a trooper and a 'company man' since the founding of MGM. "Her face rather plump, a slight bulge around the hips disguised for the most part by Adrian's wide, pleated skirts, Norma gives an effectively spare performance. Warned by [George] Cukor, the character could easily appear a worthy bore, she brings a minimum of weight to the pathos of betrayal, and concentrates on the struggle not to betray her feelings. With impeccably restrained technique, she gains sympathy by never playing for it." - _Norma Shearer_ by Gavin Lambert, Knopf books, May 1990. Even after the film's enthusiastic public acceptance, Norma continued to undervalue her contribution, and she was wrong. After the gilded excess of _Antoinette_ and her outrageous fake countess in _Idiot's Delight_ the moment couldn't have been better for displaying Norma's ability with a light touch and skilled underplaying, while still creating a character we'd very much like to meet. Yes, the flashy parts of Crystal and Sylvia are more immediately attention-grabbing and memorable, but repeated viewings reveal that it is Norma who provides what a friend of mine calls _The Women_ 's "central nervous system."

[@danielfoster3798]

Dave dvlaries c

[@jackanthony976]

Yes, she was a great actress. But according to her, she did not fit into the new style of acting of the 1940's. She felt like a relic of the 30's when competing against a new regime of female actors. So she left the movies after a few more undistinguished films. Crawford knew how to reinvent herself and adapt to changing times. MIss Shearer admitted that she could not. Although I think Miss Shearer could have gone on if she could have accepted herself as getting older and accepted new kinds of roles. It was a strategic error on her part to turn down the film Mrs. MIniver. She might have discovered a new side of herself.

[@FashionistaDude]

JACK ANTHONY is mostly right in his assessment of Norma Shearer. But I think that she did not want to see a different side of herself and reinvent herself, not that she thought herself incapable.

[@cynthiawilson4500]

the first time I watched this movie I never realized that not one single man was in the movie..and they weren't missed.

[@susanlewis4301]

Even the animals were girls.

[@rodwillis4080]

Now, this is what I call keeping it real!

[@veem8497]

The Women-one of my favorite movies❣️ Norma was married to the great film producer, Irving Thalberg.

[@hollywoodxx7607]

NORMA SHEARER WAS SO GREAT

[@chase2182]

Incredible acting!

[@monorailred1]

I feel so badly for her. Wonderful movie.

[@astafford2901]

"But this is today! Steven and I are equals!" Nearly 80 years ago notions of equality were ringing and yet were still running circles around square one. Goodness...

[@Katya_Lastochka]

Um, you're not any closer to equality, only farther apart. Equality is in the mind. Two people can do different jobs and still be equals. Don't patronize people until you yourself have the problem solved.

[@chetyoubetya8565]

Well you can put lots of the blame for that on women themselves.They want to be equals one minute but when it's not convenient they want to be dainty helpless little flowers.

[@sisplease6344]

Chet youbetya- stop categorising women.

[@srkh8966]

Chet youbetya men are so fragile

[@Thomas-Bradley]

@@srkh8966 And is it not true what this person said? So apparently it is fragile men when we say something unflattering about your gender but golly do the feminists scream to the mountains when we made unflattering remarks about you women

[@TheReeShow]

The mother seeing she couldn't reason with her and getting straight to the point about family values instead of romance. But in the 21st century we realise now that a healthy separation is better for children than an unhealthy marriage. It's interesting to see the changing of values and beliefs through time.

[@SanFranDentist94301]

But actually they needed a break from.each other. Mary was naive and unassertive...yet, stubbornly proud. She had some growing up to do.

[@berjaboy]

Lucile Watson, the mother, has the classic mid Atlantic accent from that period. Born in Canada and spending most of her life in the USA, her accent is anything but N. American. But actors from that time were trained to make voices more appealing to an international audience. Katharine Hepburn was also famous for her mid Atlantic accent.

[@ThePlataf]

I'm not from N. America, but Lucille and Katherine definitely sound like they are.

[@jeremynv89523]

Lucille Watson used the tapped 'r', which was a feature of the older version of the Mid-Atlantic accent. By the 1940s, it was officially dropped, along with some other features.

[@chase2182]

Very few actresses have the ability to make me cry like Norma!

[@jamesfox2579]

LOVE Lucille Watson!! Excellent movie!!

[@haintedhouse2990]

she's so good NS: mother what are you doing? LW: fumigating!

[@davemattia]

A complete nobody, her mother brought Norma as a teenager to Florenz Zigfield who dismissed her as: "A cross-eyed, dog with stubby legs. " That would have sent most aspiring actresses packing, but she persisted, taught herself to correct her cross eyes when she had to and became a legend. You have to admire that.

[@kevinmitchell8650]

Mature subjects and brilliant acting. More than entertainment.

[@KeeKeeSoto]

Who's here because Ashley Says So 👋🏾

[@jasminepearson1496]

I am!

[@retire14pattaya9]

I notice norma still has a bit of the silent film body language whereas joan crawford was contemporary from the 1920's to the 1970's

[@veesmith3004]

This what makes Shearer such a complete artist. She acted with her whole body and she had the most expressive face but the most natural sounding voice of all the great stars. She could be posh without sounding affected like Crawford and the rest.

[@haintedhouse2990]

yes especially Norma's emoting in the last shot of the film - a definite throwback to another era.

[@heathernikki5734]

2 amazing actresses

[@bannedheretic2971]

Very wise mother

[@ccirish4519]

It will never be over as long as you love him

[@minuit6305]

Still something that happens today and unfortunately will continue to happen as long as time passes.

[@fan2jnrc]

All what her mother says is so true. The voice of reason.

[@tula1433]

Yes because back then women accepted what the essence of a man was. Man was a social role with certain expectations. And while there were good and bad things about both genders they at least understood their differences. Now? Society makes excuses for women’s hormones but not mens. A woman can cheat and still somehow be the victim of the situation just by saying “he wasn’t emotionally there for me” if she cheats on a man. If a man cheats on a woman, he’s somehow the asshole for saying that “she wasn’t there physically” for him. Men are men. At the end of the day we’re all mammals, who have been socialized. Most mammals act like animals. Humans act like animals and try to pretend they aren’t! At least this older generation knew that some things were better left unsaid and that men and women had different needs as a species.

[@susiemcd4249]

every different female pov is presented in this play/film and each is written with empathy

[@goddessravenlovelife7452]

The interesting thing is in this film Joan Crawford and Norma shearer were from the same studio and Norma's husband Irving thalberg was in charge of the studio. Joan had a jealousy of this fact so a bit of the rivalry off screen may of spilled onto screen as they competed for many roles

[@tombennett3827]

That is true. Norma saw THE WOMEN on Broadway, and pitched it to MGM as a vehicle for herself. She recommended Joan for the role of Crystal Allen even though they were rivals and didn't like each other.

[@mickellmiller148]

Here bc of Ashley

[@02chevyguy]

Wow! She's going to Bermuda because her throat is sore? I wonder where she would go if she had a hangnail? France?

[@kinndah2519]

🤣

[@trudytriad4574]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rosajohnson5212]

We'll do what we think we must to see our kids happy.

[@lavinder11]

Really? he set up the pretext so that her daughter would have an excuse to get away. Also, it was normal for rich people to get away to the countryside or a tropical location whenever they were sick. It was thought that nature or the salt air would cure them.

[@tombennett3827]

In the '30s Hollywood was making lots of movies about rich people. Seeing them was a form of escapism for the millions of people who were living in poverty because of the depression. THE WOMEN was a part of this.

[@omnibus4157]

There must have been millions of women getting STDs when their husbands philandered, and welp! What could you do, ladies? Men just _had_ to get some "strange", and wives (and sometimes babies) had to live with it, no matter what. But in a Hays Code-era movie, no one was going to touch that aspect with a ten-foot pole, were they?

[@hughhaefner5486]

And back then there were no antibiotics so did they just have to live with an STD? Or were there at least medications to ease but not cure symptoms?

[@omnibus4157]

@@hughhaefner5486 There were sulfa drugs, which were an early group of antibiotics, but because of the stealth and stigma of this kind of disease, most people had no idea they were infected, or didn't go to the doctor until it was advanced enough to cause sterility, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, they had miscarriages or bore a child with it, or they themselves died. It was out of control until the government decided to be frank about things in the late 30s, and began public anti-STD campaigns. Also, states and cities instituted blood tests so that couples couldn't get married if either of them had an STD.

[@michaelglover2871]

The mother sounds exactly like Patricia Routledge, though they are about two generations apart.

[@SwimmerPrince]

OMG I was thinking the same thing!!

[@user-sn5jr1ji9h]

I agree with many that Joan Crawford had the juiciest role of this movie. However, Norma Shearer does an excellent job as the mistreated wife. Rosalind Russell is also fabulous as the kooky Mrs Howard Fowler.

[@veesmith3004]

Norma is the emotional heart of this movie.

[@eamonnbyrne5373]

I love them all but Mary Boland is my favourite

[@alfredbonnabel7022]

Spoiled women like us...🌷

[@Rest65432]

Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer did have a competition between each other and it was over Norma's husband. On the set of The Women Joan knitted angrily while waiting for her scene and her knitting needles made a very loud sound while filming.

[@kasiopeeya]

"But this is *today*. Stephen and I are *equals*". Said in 1939.

[@JimmyOgilvie52]

Audio?? Where's the beef?

[@amandarose2007]

Very sad that in this "story" women are hatefully pitted against one another for the sake of men.

[@trudytriad4574]

That's why the blechdel test is so important. Lol

[@loretta_3843]

There are some great lines in this film🤭 It's interesting as a look on society too - 2022, the claims of equality look ridiculous, what's worse, there's still work to do!

[@paulaguenon9298]

What happen to the sin of adultery?

[@tracyjacksonjackson4221]

Nothing. It is still in the top ten. Even today women are advised to turn a blind eye to a cheating spouse. Men will be men is what older women will tell you. The wages of sin is death. Adultery had a way of killing your spouse's love for you.

[@markrichards6863]

@@tracyjacksonjackson4221 True, but remember women cheat too. It's a tale as old as time.

[@tracyjacksonjackson4221]

@@markrichards6863 Yes Women do cheat too. However, women have far more to lose. I have never known a man to be branded with a Scarlett A for cheating on a spouse. However, once upon a time, women were.

[@fan2jnrc]

Are you even serious ? 😂

[@bornagain2890]

Yes

[@deirdre108]

02:10-02:46 CB Luce was really on point here.

[@jimrick6632]

AGAIN NO SOUND.....

[@Chutney1luv]

Norma, could act her azz off! And she got her man! She didn't act for long, after her marriage! 😅

[@susanford2388]

"We are equals" - well said. What year was that then?

[@christownsend7552]

Tehn yeuhz

[@annedavis6090]

I can barely hear this

[@trudytriad4574]

Norma is better in this scene

[@brendapayne6603]

Always liked Lucile Watson. Not a major star, but a fine actress.

[@feliscatus1834]

No, go out & have an affair yourself!!

[@newlanddewinter4692]

And what would that have done to her daughter and her reputation in their society in 1939.

[@lindaeasley4336]

@@newlanddewinter4692 society was harsher on woman's role in a relationship back then . If a man cheated on her , even flaunted it in public. , humiliating his wife , she was suppose to sit back and wait for him to grow tired of his mistress . The answer was not to do the same thing . It was to divorce the bastard. My grandmother, who was born in 1897 faced divorced parents

[@srkh8966]

Felis Catus She can’t-code. Now, in earlier films she does.

[@cindychristian1700]

@@srkh8966 If they ever did a real authentic remake of this movie many things would have to change because many women today wouldn't consider getting a cheating husband back "winning!" A different approach with the same ending!

[@misled1982]

" we are equals" mmm not darling...sadly in 1939 you were only seen as a wife mother and housewife....sad

[@jeffreyclarke736]

misled1982 And that was more equal than we are today.

[@misled1982]

well I would like to think we evolved as a sociaty

[@brianoyler4777]

mislead1982, no, there were many women who worked in 1939. My grandmother was one of them. Even Norma Shearer was a working woman. Besides, within a few short years many women went to work for the war effort. Please do your research before you start generalizing about different eras.

[@misled1982]

Brian Oyler I know, my grandma was also working in the hat department in department store!! Still women were still thought as mothers, wives etc before being considered career women...

[@MrKrayola13]

But many starting working in more important roles and higher positions, could divorce,remain unmarried, vote, more sexual liberation, in this time period it was all very new and freeing. Even today women are still not quite equal unfortunately but we're still working on it.

[@akrenwinkle]

00:05 The maid who walks into the room... is it my imagination, or is this the same actress who gave Joan Crawford a hard time at the perfume counter?

[@jonathanmcvay4499]

No, it’s not.

[@akrenwinkle]

@@jonathanmcvay4499 What I should have said was "the same actress who gave Joan Crawford a hard time in the little room behind the perfume counter." Joan was on the phone with Mary's husband, and this blond co-worker keeps making fun of her. She's shown briefly here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joLGaICZZZeCg6s

[@missjemma9978]

love norma shearer hate joan crawford

[@mehmetokay7073]

Now that's what I call civilized living. Listen to your mother Norma. I wonder if Norma had an understanding with Irving Thalberg in her real life marriage?

[@lindagurrera685]

On 1 hand I hate that the mother is advising her to stay in this relationship and acting like a grown man is acting like a little boy that is not responsible for his actions .on the other hand it's 1939 and although women worked career women were few and far between .well into thec1970s women were expected to marry and make a home .so divorce was hard at this time if she divorced Steven and wasn't a professional in her own right - what was her options ? Remarry or work a menial job .unfortunately this is y most women stayed in abusive lovless unfulfilled marriages and when they cheated the women had to look the other way .Thank God for women's lib

[@ferzach8687]

The only decent coment here

[@lindagurrera685]

@@ferzach8687 thank you

[@SanFranDentist94301]

Wrong Stephen would have to pay maintenance. A lot of it since he publicly cheated.

[@veesmith3004]

Mary is the ultimate feminist because she does exactly what SHE wanted to do in taking Stephan back. Decades later Hillary Clinton did a similar thing. Whatever you do it should be your choice.

[@lindagurrera685]

@@veesmith3004 sorry dont agree he will do it again and by going back shes just telling him it was ok to do what he did

[@chrismorrison2805]

It's so much better now that we are "Equals," isn't ladies? Enjoy it.

[@annapplegoldfinch6931]

I have my own money, no kids I never wanted, no cheating husband to clean up after, and I'll never have to be pretty or healthy for anyone's benefit but myself. Yes, I am enjoying equality very much, thank you.

[@adamgarrick3778]

@@annapplegoldfinch6931 Congratulations on behaving like an adult.

[@rosemaryfranzese317]

I don’t rate Norma as one of the truly great actresses. She had the chance to end her career on a great film, Mrs Miniver but instead to chose Her Cardboard Lover because she didn’’t want to play the mother of adult children. Truly great actresses don’t turn down really brilliant roles for reasons of vanity. I like Norma and she could be very good but she’s no Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck or Joan Crawford for that matter

[@veesmith3004]

Truly great actresses do turn down great roles if they have enough MGM stock that they never have to work again in life. Davis and Crawford had to work because they needed the money and notoriety. Norma had a happy marriage for forty years until her death. The others didn’t have that. Norma was the greatest and most versatile of her era. There will never be another like La Norma.

[@tracyjacksonjackson4221]

Society gives men a pass when it comes to infidelity. Unfortunately, God will not. Thou shalt not commit adultery. It is not a good idea to make vows to God and not keep them. Marriage vows are made to God as well as to each other.

[@lukamilas8648]

👍

[@jeremynv89523]

"OH, can it, Mrs. Jackson. You religious wives bore me. I bet you bore your husbands, too."

[@BLUEOHIO]

Sorry Joan Crawford so much better and own this movie

[@noel888]

Its easier playing a bitch.

[@lindaeasley4336]

Norma did a good job in this film but Joan and Rosalind stole the show

[@jackanthony976]

Crawford hated Shearer and did everything to upstage Shearer. The director George Cukor was not having that and gave Crawford a tongue lashing for trying to sabotage his movie.

[@lindagurrera685]

Agreed

[@markrichards6863]

Nah, Rosalind Russell owned every scene she was in, gets most of the big laughs, is completely ridiculous, yet believable, back stabbing and hateful, but you love her any how. Its a comedy after all. I think Rosalind was the special sauce that pulled the whole thing together. Without her,, the whole film would have been very flat. And no one could have played that character but Rosalind. Joan had a great line at the end and never looked more gorgeous. Norma made a great martyr. But there were solid performances all around.

[@FedericoT69]

Looking at Shearer, you can almost forgive Stephen Haines for dumping her for Crystal Allen. Come on now.

[@cindychristian1700]

Miss Shearer was considered a great beauty! She was also playing a classy, rich, housewife who was supposed to be somewhat older than the Crystal Allen character! She really was a beautiful woman!!

[@heathernikki5734]

I’m a Joan fan but they were both beautiful

[@MATRICULAT3D]

These baphomets sure did entertain us.

[@timw2498]

It’s entertaining, but stupid on so many levels.

[@heathernikki5734]

Of course a man said this. What a ridiculous comment.

[@heathernikki5734]

Cue ball headass

[@SwimmerPrince]

Mary's mom (Lucille Watson) had very similar voice and accent to Hyacinth Bu...quet from Keeping Up Appearances (Patricia Routledge)