Passes the Bechdel test

48 Hrs.

Name: 48 Hrs.
Released: 1982

1982. Directed by Walter Hill, written by Roger Spottiswoode and Walter Hill and Larry Gross.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 11 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 60.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

Oddball cop and tough guy, Jack Cates is the only survivor of a cop shooting and in hunting down the murderer collects Reggie Hammond from jail for 48 hours. Hammond is oddly motivated to help. The killer is searching for his stash of cash. Cates and Hammond who have the Black-white, cop-crook thing to work out make surprisingly good partners as they navigate through the city looking for their suspect.

Released: 08 Dec 1982
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.9 / 10
Metascore: 71 / 100
Awards: 3 wins & 2 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Cates 326 lines, man
Hammond 226 lines, man
Elaine 71 lines, woman
Ganz 60 lines, man
Luther 25 lines, man
Haden 24 lines, man
Kehoe 21 lines, man
Billy 18 lines, man
Candy 14 lines, woman
Casey 12 lines, woman

Full cast, 55 people

Nick Nolte as Jack Cates
Eddie Murphy as Reggie Hammond
Annette O'Toole as Elaine
Frank McRae as Haden
James Remar as Albert Ganz
David Patrick Kelly as Luther
Sonny Landham as Billy Bear
Brion James as Ben Kehoe
Kerry Sherman as Rosalie, Hostage Girl
Jonathan Banks as Algren
James Keane as Vanzant
Tara King as Frizzy, Hotel Desk Clerk
Greta Blackburn as Lisa, Blonde Hooker
Margot Rose as Casey
Denise Crosby as Sally
Olivia Brown as Candy
Todd Allen as Young Cop
Bill Dearth as Thin Cop
Ned Dowd as Big Cop
Jim Haynie as Old Cop
Jack Thibeau as Detective
Jon St. Elwood as Plainclothes Man
Clare Torao as Ruth
Sandy Martin as Policewoman
Matt Landers as Bob
Peter Jason as Cowboy Bartender
Bill Cross as First Cop
Chris Mulkey as Second Cop
Marcelino Sánchez as Parking Lot Attendant
Bennie E. Dobbins as Road Gang Guard
Walter Scott as Road Gang Guard
W.T. Zacha as Road Gang Guard
Loyd Catlett as Prison Guard
B.G. Fisher as Prison Guard
Reid Cruickshanks as Prison Guard
R. D. Call as Duty Sergeant
Brenda Venus as Hooker
Gloria Gifford as Hooker
Nick Dimitri as Torchy's Patron
John Dennis Johnston as Torchy's Patron
Rock A. Walker as Torchy's Patron
Dave Moordigian as Gas Station Attendant
John Wesley as Security Guard
Gary Pettinger as Cop with Gun
Marquerita Wallace as Bar Girl
Angela Robinson Witherspoon as Bar Girl
Jack Lightsy as Bartender
John Hauk as Henry Wong
Bob Yanez as Interrogator
Clint Smith as Leroy
Luis Contreras as Gang Member
Suzanne M. Regard as Cowgirl Dancer
Ola Ray as Vroman's Dancer
Bjaye Turner as Vroman's Dancer
Begonya Plaza as Indian Hooker

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 60

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 2	0	11
3 to 4	13	15
5 to 6	0	9
7 to 8	0	12
9 to 10	13	13
11 to 12	2	2
13 to 14	0	17
15 to 16	41	160
17 to 18	0	29
19 to 20	0	9
21 to 22	6	51
23 to 24	0	17
25 to 26	0	61
27 to 28	12	28
29 to 30	0	76
31 to 32	0	13
33 to 34	0	4
35 to 36	0	6
37 to 38	0	43
39 to 40	20	67
41 to 42	1	26
43 to 44	0	7
45 to 46	26	46
47 to 48	1	4
49 to 50	0	0
51 to 52	0	0
53 to 54	0	0
55 to 56	0	0
57 to 58	5	25
59 to 60	2	17

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

LISA: Alright, I'm coming...hold on. LISA: Just a second. MEXICAN GIRL: Que paso? Que esta pasando? No entiendo...

CASEY: You assholes better be real. SALLY: Just wait a Goddamn second here, let's see your badge...

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 16 are women's.

142 lines from women, 768 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

16 women and 39 men in the cast. 11 women and 22 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 18 of 934. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 180 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 15% of the words (1,558), men 85% (8,586). Women have 16% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 11% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Walter Hill (man)
Written by: Steven E. de Souza (man), Roger Spottiswoode (man), Larry Gross (man), Walter Hill (man)
Produced by: Lawrence Gordon (man), Joel Silver (man)
Shot by: Ric Waite (man)
Edited by: Billy Weber (man), Mark Warner (man), Freeman A. Davies (man)
Music by: James Horner (man)
Production design by: John Vallone (man)
Costumes by: Marilyn Vance (woman)
Cast by: Judith Holstra (woman)