UKH

Lawrence of Arabia is often quite wrongly described as a film with either no women in it at all, or no speaking roles for women. A woman speaks in the opening scene, and a load of female nurses turn up in Aqaba.

Reservoir Dogs has, I believe, just one woman who does not speak (she gets carjacked and shoots someone)

We thought maybe The Shawshank Redemption might have no speaking roles for women, just a flashback to Andy's wife, but there are 2 or 3 women later in the film, who speak.

Glengarry Glen Ross surprisingly has some women.


All I can think of at the moment is Sleuth and King Rat.

You'd be surprised how many war and prison films manage to squeeze a few token women in, even if means clumsily shoe-horning a flashback in there. Even Papillon has a nun, and there's an actress credited in The Wooden Horse...

Maybe The Great Escape?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I'm sure the war movie with Jamie bell(i think) stuck in a bunker being spooked out of their minds had no women. Was Charlie Boorman in that too?

In reply to Blue Straggler: Anything by Harold Lloyd!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

A Grand Day Out and possibly The Wrong Trousers?

In reply to Blue Straggler: How about The Odd Couple, or Twelve Angry Men?

T.

In reply to PeterM:

Looks like you're right
I think the main reason that I said "you'd be surprised how many war films have a random woman in" was that I had glibly assumed the Korean film "Brotherhood" would fit the bill, but a check of the credits list on imdb.com reminded me that, yes, there were actually a few (I don't remember those bits)

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

No (epic fail!) and yes! I'd misremembered seeing a random female clerk outside the jury room in Twelve Angry Men, nothing in the credits though. Might have to watch it again to check

In reply to Blue Straggler: Since I've only seen each of them once and that was some (ten-ish) years ago, I think that's pretty damn good on my part and no mistake.

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Well done.

Oh just to clarify, I'm after mainstream films (I'll include The Bunker as mainstream) - there are numerous "arty" efforts, e.g. filmed one-man theatre pieces such as Moby Dick, Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, Give 'Em Hell Harry, and more-than-one-man like Waiting for Godot, but that's all kind of cheating...

In reply to Blue Straggler:
There was one about the Foreign Legion, came out a few years ago: not much talking in it at all, and I can't remember any women in it.... Beau Travail, I think it was called.
Did that Sean Connery film set in the army (The Hill?) have any women in it?
Must be quite a few films with no women in at all, let alone speaking. Will see what I can remember.

In reply to practicalcat:
ah! Just seen your post discounting arty films. That's Beau Travail disqualified!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

What about submarine genre films? Surely a realtively good chance of one of those being female-free?

In reply to practicalcat:

Yep, The Hill works.

I think we might let Beau Travail through. Yes, it's French and modern b&w and a bit, um, "niche appeal" AFAIK (not seen it) but I don't want to discount something just cos it's foreign. Is it any good? I've had it on tape for YEARS but never got round to watching it. I like Denis Lavant and Gregoire Colin

In reply to PeterM:
I thought that, too: it's amazing how many of them have a flash back to a mother/wife/lover/some other lass back home...

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Only saw it the once, back in 1999. Seem to remember thinking 'hmm, that was interesting,' rather than 'wow! what a classic!' Just checked the cast list and it does have some women in it, but there's a good chance they didn't speak because most of the rest of the cast didn't.

In reply to PeterM: Das Boot had females in the bsae nightclubs

In reply to practicalcat:

For a second I thought Full Metal Jacket - but 2 hookers and a female sniper scuppered that, although their appearances were brief

In reply to PeterM:

Run Silent, Run Deep - NO
The Enemy Below - YES
Das Boot - NO
Crimson Tide - NO
The Hunt for Red October - NO

so a 20% success rate from that sample...

In reply to PeterM:

The female sniper's actual appearance is brief, but she's a major part of the plot so it kind of seems that she's in it for longer - in my recollection

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I must say I'm surprised at that, although I suppose I really shouldn't be.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Planet of the Apes perhaps?

OK so there's lots of females talking but they're all apes - the human women are all mute I think.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Dr Strangelove? Don't think it has no womenfolk in it.

In reply to practicalcat:

I was very vague in the OP wasn't I. Kind of looking for both "no women speak" and "no women seen", so either criterion is fine. The woman in Reservoir Dogs doesn't speak, she might scream briefly though. Noisy cow!

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Eowyn is (I think?) the only human female character in The Lord of the Rings, and she does not appear in the first film. Of course, there are a few elves and hobbits (in fact if I remember rightly Arwen has one human grandparent).

In reply to Blue Straggler:

No you're spot on. Her involvement in the plot is considerable, but her physical appearnce in the film is brief. There must be other mainstream films that meet your criteria surely?

In reply to Owen W-G:

Doesn't the Soviet leader have a busty blonde secretary? "Miss Foreign Affairs" or some such? And there's a woman somewhere else (sitting around at the UK air base?)

In reply to thomm:
If you're going to stretch it THAT far, I could argue that the films were shot back to back and thus count as one single entity

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Oops just the one woman, it's the American General's mistress - but the same actress appears in a shot of a Playboy centre-spread (hence my Miss Foreign Affairs confusion)

In reply to Blue Straggler: I could be mistaken but i don't remember any female roles in Platoon.

Edit: just IMDB'd it there were female vietnamese in it.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Trespass definitely doesn't. No female characters or dialogue

In reply to Pursued by a bear:
As BS said, nope.

The Odd Couple has those Pigeon sisters.

In reply to AlasdairM:

Yes, I mentioned that one last night to a friend (this thread arose from a conversation about the same subject).

Trespass is ace.
"this ain't no punk-ass GANG. Ahh'm a businessman - these are maah associates"

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Predator?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

She's very memorable, actually

In reply to PeterM:

No, there's quite a major speaking role in the village scene at the start, they even got an almost-famous actress in it, Elpidia Carillo (she'd been in Salvador)

In reply to Blue Straggler:

OK. I quit This is a lot harder than it first appeared.

In reply to PeterM:


And doesn't one of the females have one of the most memorable lines in the film?

In reply to PeterM:

No no keep them coming! I did warn you all though in the OP:
"You'd be surprised how many war and prison films manage to squeeze a few token women in"

The one in Predator is the one who tells them there's a lizard-like creature out there doing the killing

In reply to es:

2 doll-AR?

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Master and Commander. There is a woman in the film but from memory she doesn't say anything.

In reply to StevePr:

Good call! I would have got around to that but when I got onto "wooden sailing ship films" I kept tripping over topless Tahitian ladies in "The Bounty", which slowed me down...

as nominated on my prison films thread
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049902/fullcredits#cast

Hell in the Pacific! How could I forget?! Oh...because it's either overrated or just sadly dated...was a bit disappointed with it.

Never saw it but thought Tigerland might fit. NO.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Swimming to Cambodia.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

The Hide, though that's a bit of an easy one as there are only two people involved.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305816/

The closest to a female role is the photo of Roy's ex-wife

In reply to winhill:

Arty one-man theatre show, though...

In reply to jonny taylor:

That's fair game, I named one film that has only two people involved (though to know that it's only two, will spoil a major twist of the story, so let's not name it)

In reply to Blue Straggler:

silent runnings

but one of he robots has female voice does that count?

and dark star defo has no women characters even but cant recall if main computer has female voice?

In reply to Blue Straggler: Any films with no mens speaking parts?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

The Thing.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Lord of the flies? Been a long time since I've seen it though....

In reply to PeterM: The Thing?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Withnail & I almost qualifies with just the words 'Up yours Grandad', 'I don't care you come from' and 'we're closed' spoken by women.

In reply to Queequeg:

That one came up in the same ongoing conversation. Sadly, "almost" means "doesn't" - we're being strict!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I don't recall any women speaking in the Fritz Lang version of Metropolis

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Deep Throat?

In reply to Chris F:
listen to the computer...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

OK in fairness that is a computer with a voice provided by an actress, rather than a female role in the film

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Escape from Alcatraz?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

"Attack" - Lee Marvin and Jack Palance at their best and I can't recall any women in it.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Apocalypse Now? Dark Star?

In reply to Queequeg:

I thought of Apocalypse Now, and the only women who appear are the Playmates - I can't remember whether they have speaking parts. There is also the voice of the mother of one of the soldiers on the boat. (This only refers to the original cut - the redux has loads of women, relatively speaking.)

In reply to Queequeg:

Apocalypse Now - I'm pretty sure the Playboy bunnies/dancers talk, and there is a female at the plantation house.

In reply to PeterM & Tony:

How could I forget the Playboy bunnies!





The Mission?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Indeed. Throw me a frikkin bone!

In reply to tony:

No sale! Bunnies speak as does boat lady.
Extended cut features more of the bunnies plus the long dialogue with the French lady.

In reply to Blue Straggler:
In "The Man Who Would Be King", does Roxanne actually speak or just stand around and smoulder?

In reply to Queequeg:
>

If you miss the major scene at the beginning that is the entire premise for DeNiro's exile, then yes. But if you see that scene then you get about ten minutes of young Cherie Lunghi swanning around in a nice white dress

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Fairynuff - while since I've seen it!

In reply to tom valentine:

Hmm. Not sure. A good example to befuddle me. I like that film.

I think in Apocalypse now a woman throws an handgranade into the chopper. I can't recall if she's saying anything though.

I can't recall seeing any women in the First Blood.

In reply to Patrik:

There is various chitter chatter amongst girls and women as they evacuate the school etc while Robert Duvall blasts Wagner and heavy artillery at the little village

In reply to Patrik:

Isn't there one very early on when Rambo tries to visit a fellow veteran? She gives him short shrift and sends him on his way.

Yes, you are right. She explains his vienam buddy has died of cancer.

In reply to Patrik:

Thanks. So much for imdb, I looked there and unless I missed something, they seem only to credit "Woman on street".

In reply to Queequeg: There's even a love interest in the Mission.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Platoon?

Isn't there that scene where they burn the village...

In reply to Queequeg:
Platoon?
Seem to recall a few women - as Patrik mentions, there's a village scene, and I dimly recall an offscreen rape and suggested gang-rape, where we see the victim afterward

(I know it was mentioned earlier in the thread, I was busy)

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Misogynist and Misogynist 2 - He's back and he still doesn't like them!

Women only films?
Famously 'The Women' by George Cukor. Even the pet dog and the horse were apparently female. Inferior remake recently. The black and white one is a corker.

Wages of Fear I think is a men-only? Unless there are bar-girls in the opening scene.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Stepford Wives?

In reply to hedgepig:

I have a feeling that there are quite a few more all-female major/mainstream films than all-male ones

Nowhere near. Yves Montand has a girlfriend (a bar girl) and she has quite a lot of lines. There are women around the bar and the town throughout, too.

In reply to Fredt:

Is that a joke?
Most of the dialogue and action belongs to the ladies.

In reply to Blue Straggler: Of mice and men. Curly's wife is the only female character and in the book at least she never speaks.

In reply to londonrocks:

I haven't seen the Burgess Meredith adaptation but the 1990s one directed by and starring Gary Sinise, with John Malkovich as Lenny, definitely has some spoken dialogue for Curly's wife (played by Sherilyn Fenn).
It's such a long time since I actually read it, but I'm sure you're right - I guess the scenes between her and Lenny and told in narrative or in the third person?

In reply to Blue Straggler: Silent running perhaps....and the space movie were the onboard computer "dave" tries to kill everyone....and that continual sissing sound right through the whole film.

In reply to londonrocks:

Very good suggestion, by the way!
I just did a little research which suggests that in 4 major adaptations (1939, 1968 for television, 1977 for television, and the aforementioned 1992 version), Curly's wife speaks onscreen. Probably a quirk of having to adapt that scene and actually show it with her and Lennie.

In reply to moonraker:

I was waiting for someone to mention 2001. There are certainly women on screen in the early parts (famously a stewardess in the spaceplane taking Floyd to the space station). I don't remember whether a woman speaks. Floyd makes a phone call to his family, I don't remember whether his wife speaks. Also later aren't there some video messages for Frank and/or Dave for their birthdays? Possibly with wives speaking?
Not seen Silent Running but you are probably onto something there

In reply to Blue Straggler: The very old movie about an early eden project out in space - by the way - what you doing up so late????

In reply to Blue Straggler:

2001 is a very good choice. When Floyd rings his family he speaks to his daughter (who was actually played by Stanley's youngest daughter, Vivian, then aged about 7), and I think she says one or two words.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Modern Times. From my memory the only character who has spoken was the factory boss.

In reply to Blue Straggler: Formula 17, directed by two women but stars nae women what so ever....low budget far east gay movie. Haven't watched it my self like.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Touching the Void

In reply to jamestheyip:

Joe mentions the brown girl in the ring but we do not get to see her except in our imagination. The ladies from Boney M make a brief audio but not visual appearance. There are no hospital scenes at the end with possible nurses. The donkeys were possibly female. The Hollywood dramatised remake will no doubt feature lots of women speaking and otherwise.

In reply to Blue Straggler:
She does more than speak a few words. Fenn's role in the film is much greater than Curly's wife's part in the book - obviously an attempt to sex it up a bit ( which she does rather well.....)

In reply to Blue Straggler: What about "Dark Star"? But maybe the big alien beachball is female.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: My memory suggests that the Russian scientist played by Leonard Rossiter spills a drink over Joan Collins, but I think I've confused it with the Cinzano adverts . . .

In reply to Blue Straggler: In 'Paths of Glory' the only women at the end of the film (Kubrick's wife to be) sings, but does not speak.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Is that a joke? - they're not ladies are they?

In reply to Blue Straggler: The Long And The Short And The Tall

ok it's a play but the film version's quite good and aint no ladeez in it

In reply to Paul Atkinson:

Very good! I love that film and its shamelessness in not even trying to disguise its stage origins.

In reply to Rob Davies:

Was trying to rememebr that name.


Does March of the Penguins count?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I think Curly's wife speaks in the book as well - though it is a long time since I read it.

What about "Hell in the Pacific" with Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune?

In reply to Patrik:
Nominated by me, 3 Nov!

oops. I thought of it after mentioning Rambo, however it took me a while to find the name of the film.

In reply to Patrik:

Sorry, I wasn't having a pop at you for not having read every post in a long thread! (though you can use your browser's "find" option I guess)

Did you think it was a good film? As I said, I felt it was disappointing, but maybe it was simply dated, and a film can't help that.

I remember seeing it years ago. I thought it was an original idea for a "war film" at the time when many of the epic WWII were made. I wouldn't be all that surprised if there was some sort of a modern remake some day.

In reply to Patrik:

Enemy Mine, early 80s film, starts with a similar premise. Daft sci-fi hokum, human and alien crash land on a planet and have to learn to work together for survival. Changes a bit toward the end though. Dennis Quaid as the human, and Louis Gossett Jr as the lizard-like alien.

I see, the was a remake of it already, of sorts.

I would have also said "Life and times of Grizzly Adams", however upon looking at the imdb.com, there are some female characters (not sure if they speak in the film). Not sure if this film was mentioned already.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I thought there was a female pilot in the battle at the beginning of the film who spoke.

How about Fantasia and The Snowman?

In reply to EddInaBox:
Yes, there's some banter amongst the male human pilots about one of the attractive blondes, I think she pitches in with something to say about all that! It's about 20 years since I saw the film. However, I wasn't nominating it - just citing it as a sort of remake of Hell in the Pacific. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

I wonder if The Big Red One and Attack! (both Second World War desert films) fit the bill? I've seen neither. Or Gallipoli?

In reply to EddInaBox:

indeed I had checked the cast list of Enemy Mine the first time I mentioned it, but omitted to say so. There's two women credited in the cast, a medic and a character called "Morse", the latter of whom is high up in the credits. I believe she is part of the radio communications in the opening battle. Anyway. Via the joys of the imdb.com messageboard I found this little gem, well worth a look - it made me laugh anyway
youtube.com/watch?v=gCwBKvoCn2w&

In reply to Blue Straggler: Just occurred to me: "The Name of the Rose". I know there's "The girl" credited, but I don't remember her speaking.

In reply to Robert Dickson:


oooh. I actually haven't seen the whole film, just snippets here and here (I have a slight aversion to Connery), but you might be right on the money there. And that was a major film

In reply to Blue Straggler:

(wrt Dr Strangelove) - maybe she never actually speaks

In reply to Blue Straggler: Kelly's Heros?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

"Blackhawk down", I think, has no speaking parts for women. There are some women in it (Somalian women in the street and in a house) but I don't think they are speaking parts.

Reservoir dogs has a waitress in it in the restaurant scene, I think she has a small speaking part.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I'm pretty sure she does. There's a scene in the bedroom.

In reply to Bob Hughes:

I thought she did too. Not sure why I posted that recent post. I'll have to check it

In reply to Ricky Martin:

I've never seen it but you are probably right.

In reply to teflonpete:

Good call on Black Hawk Down.
I'll check that opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. Do we even see the waitress' face?!

Speaking of waitresses, I wonder if "My Dinner With Andre" has any of them speak (I've been waiting for someone else to mention the film, but I don't think anyone has yet...)

I thought there was a scene with a woman (not sure if she's speaking) when Donald Sutherland is introduced. I haven't seen this film for a few years.

In reply to lynx3555: ...but you seem to know an awful lot about it !!
Me thinks he doth protest too much...