When Clare Booth Luce's play The Women came out, some people suggested that it had really been written by George S. Kaufman. It was an absurd rumor with no merit, and his response to it was, "If I had written it, why would I have signed Clare Boothe's name to it?"

In her 1977 memoir Life Is a Banquet Rosalind Russell describes one of the many times that George Cukor gave her a small bit of directing advice that turned out to have a big effect. For a scene in the powder room, Cukor told her to wait for the ladies to leave, and then turn around and look at her teeth in the mirror. It was revealing, he said, of the way women behaved when no one was looking. "So I waited for the others to leave, then bared my teeth at myself in the mirror," said Russell, "and eventually got credit for an inspired moment, courtesy of George Cukor."

In the film's dressing room scene just before Mary has her confrontation with Crystal, Cukor gave Rosalind Russell the direction to think of her character Sylvia as a bee as she chatters away to Mary. "Get into her ear," said Cukor, "and if she turns away, get into her other ear." In this scene Cukor also made a shrewd choice to shoot Sylvia's reflection in the dressing room mirror as she buzzes around Mary, creating the illusion of four Sylvias chattering away instead of just one.

In her memoir Rosalind Russell said that The Women was not only responsible for bringing her acceptance as a comedienne, but it also brought her, in a way, to her future husband, producer Freddie Brisson. It seemed that before they met, Brisson was on a ship crossing the Atlantic, traveling from England to America. The only movie they had on board was The Women which they played often. Brisson had no interest in seeing it, especially as he heard one of the female voices (Russell's) "screaming and carrying on." Finally, however, Brisson decided to see what he was missing. "He remembers thinking," said Russell, "'I will try to live through this picture.' And when I came on the screen in the first scene, he laughed, and he claims he said, 'I'm either gonna kill that girl, or I'm gonna marry her.'"

In her 1978 autobiography No Bed of Roses actress Joan Fontaine recalls that Norma Shearer, as the star of The Women received some extra pampering. "A maid, dressed in black uniform, with frilly cap and apron," she said, "attended her before each take, handing the star a mirror and powder puff from a makeup tray."

Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper has a small role in The Women as what else...gossip columnist Dolly Dupuyster. She appears in the last reel of the film, observing the backstabbing among the ladies in the final confrontation when Mary exposes Crystal as a conniving adulterer.

In her 1952 book From Under My Hat Hedda Hopper shared a few observations from her experiences on the set of The Women. "While the picture was in production," she said, "life on the sound stage was as rugged as the lines being spoken. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Paulette [Goddard], Roz Russell, Mary Boland, Lucile Watson, Joan Fontaine, and Marjorie Main all carried their little sharp razors. Norma and Joan Crawford never were what you'd call bosom pals. During Norma's close-ups, Joan would sit out of camera range and knit. When Paulette had her big scenes, she brought thick, juicy sandwiches for all the crew. They ate like kings when Paulette was in the spotlight. Nobody paid much attention to Joan Fontaine, so when she came to her big scene she took direction, was natural, and didn't overact. Not until she was acclaimed for her performance in Rebecca [1940] did she start doing the latter, and since then she's never stopped hamming."

Throughout production, producer Hunt Stromberg would regularly send Cukor memos offering his feedback on the daily rushes from The Women, which were usually very positive. "Today's rushes great," he wrote on May 9. "Norma's positively magnificent, completely natural and convincing." On May 10 he wrote, "I'm plumb crazy about today's rushes. Joan looks stunning, and scenes are a knockout in every respect."

Famous Quotes from THE WOMEN

"Heaven be praised, I'm on to my husband. I wouldn't trust him on Alcatraz."
-- Sylvia (Rosalind Russell), when discussing men with her married girlfriends.
"You're so resourceful, Darling, I ought to go to you for plots."
"You ought to go to someone."
--Nancy (Florence Nash) and Sylvia.

"Watercress. I'd just as soon eat my way across a front lawn."
-- Edith (Phyllis Povah), criticizing the lunch offerings at Mary's apartment.

"You have no idea how it stays on. I get it at Sydney's. You should go, Mary...Isn't that divine? (Showing her freshly painted nails to Mary). Jungle Red!"

"Looks as if you've been tearing someone's throat."
- -Sylvia and Nancy, at Mary's luncheon.

"Stephen is a man. He's been married for ten years."
"You mean he's tired of me?"
"Stephen is tired of himself. Tired of feeling the same things in himself. Time comes when a man has to feel something new. And he's got to feel young again, just because he's growing old. We women are so much more sensible. When we tire of ourselves, we change the way we do our hair, or hire a new cook, or decorate the house. I suppose a man could do over his office, but he never thinks of anything so simple. No, Dear. A man has only one escape from his old self. To see a different self in the mirror of some woman's eyes."
-- Mary's mother, Mrs. Morehead (Lucile Watson) and Mary (Norma Shearer)

"One more piece of motherly advice. Don't confide in your girlfriends. Do they think you know?"

"I don't know."
"Leave it that way. If you let them advise you, they'll see to it in the name of friendship you lose your husband and your home. I'm an old woman, my dear. I know my sex."
-- Mrs. Morehead and Mary

"Say, can you beat him? He almost stood me up for his wife!"
-- Crystal (Joan Crawford)

"May I suggest, if you're dressing to please Stephen, not that one. He doesn't like such obvious effects."
"Thanks for the tip. But when anything I wear doesn't please Stephen, I take it off."
-- Mary and Crystal

"How much did he settle on you?"
"I made Howard pay for what he wants. You made him pay for what he doesn't want."
-- Sylvia and Miriam (Paulette Goddard)

"Don't start calling me names, you Park Avenue playgirl! I know a lot more words than you do."
-- Miriam, to Sylvia

"L'amour! L'amour!"
-- The Countess De Lave (Mary Boland)

"I've had two years to grow claws, Mother. Jungle Red!"
-- Mary

"There's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society...outside of a kennel."
-- Crystal

"Mary Haines, haven't you any pride?"
"No pride at all. That's a luxury a woman in love can't afford."
-- Sylvia and Mary

Compiled by Andrea Passafiume