Long before Sex And the City and Desperate Housewives, there was The Women. Filmed in 1939, this film is a delightful rendition of the Clare Booth Luce play. Fittingly, no men appear in film; but they certainly are referred to, fought over, chased and sought after throughout the movie. Thats why the tagline to the film is Its all about Men.

Dont think because this movie is old that theres no relevance to today. Besides being brought back to Broadway in 2001, the truly astonishing revelation here is that people really havent changed since 1939. Were still worried about the same things and we still find that same things funny.

From the beginning this picture relates Darwinism of the animal kingdom to high society by assigning an animal role to each characterfrom sly fox to gentle lamb. Then metaphorically goes into a sequence of two dogs yapping at each other while the milieu of society queens gossip in the backgroundsimply brilliant.

Basically put, Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) tidy little Manhattan world is turned topsy-turvy when she learns that her husband has been having a little tryst with Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). Early on, Mary plays right into the evil hands of Crystal, but soon wises up and protects her home and family with everything she is worth.

Theres only one way to say it, this show is funny and ironic. The complex relationships keep you riveted to the screen and the stars do a superb job of keeping the timing right on queue. My only complaint is a long fashion show sequence in the middle of the film, which really has nothing to do with the screenplay. Understanding that color movies were just beginning to be produced, this sequence is the only portion of the film brilliantly brought to the screen in colorthe balance of the film is in black and white as it should be.

Next time you are in the video store and there is nothing new to see, pick up a copy of The Women.

You wont be disappointed.

Genre: Comedy/Drama
MCAA Rating: NR
Runtime: 2h 13mins
Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
Director: George Cukor