Fails the Bechdel test
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
2012. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, written by Seth Grahame-Smith.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
At the age of 9, Abraham Lincoln witnesses his mother being killed by a vampire, Jack Barts. Some 10 years later, he unsuccessfully tries to eliminate Barts but in the process makes the acquaintance of Henry Sturgess who teaches him how to fight and what is required to kill a vampire. The quid pro quo is that Abe will kill only those vampires that Henry directs him to. Abe relocates to Springfield where he gets a job as a store clerk while he studies the law and kills vampires by night. He also meets and eventually marries the pretty Mary Todd. Many years later as President of the United States, he comes to realize that vampires are fighting with the Confederate forces. As a result he mounts his own campaign to defeat them.
- Released
- 22 Jun 2012
- Genres
- Action, Fantasy, Horror
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 5.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 42 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Abe 235 lines, man
- Henry 102 lines, man
- Speed 40 lines, man
- Mary 36 lines, woman
- Thomas 24 lines, man
- Young Abraham 23 lines, man
- Will 21 lines, man
- Barts 20 lines, man
- Adam 19 lines, man
- Nancy 17 lines
Full cast, 32 people
- Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln
- Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturgess
- Anthony Mackie as Will Johnson
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd Lincoln
- Rufus Sewell as Adam
- John Rothman as Jefferson Davis
- Marton Csokas as Jack Barts
- Alex Lombard as Gabrielle
- Jimmi Simpson as Joshua Speed
- Teri Wyble as Henry's Wife
- Cameron M. Brown as Willie Lincoln
- Frank Brennan as Jeb Nolan
- John Neisler as Rev. Charles Dresser
- Meade Patton as Nancy Lincoln's Doctor
- Alan Tudyk as Stephen A. Douglas
- Robin McLeavy as Nancy Hanks Lincoln
- Erin Wasson as Vadoma
- Jaqueline Fleming as Harriet Tubman
- Laura Cayouette as Vadoma Maid
- Joseph Mawle as Thomas Lincoln
- Curtis Harris as Young Will
- Bill Martin Williams as RR Pastor
- Aaron Toney as Will's Brother
- Lawrence Turner as Pharmacist
- Earl Maddox as Angry Resident
- Jake La Botz as Bull Run Private
- Dane Rhodes as Captain Slash
- Jillian Batherson as Dancer
- Chelsea Bruland as Dancer
- Kristin Daniel as Dancer
- Johnny Otto as Union Soldier (uncredited)
- Lux Haney-Jardine as Young Abraham Lincoln
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 113
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 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 18 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 42 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 35 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 33 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 26 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 35 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 21 |
| 28 to 30 | 6 | 17 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 30 |
| 34 to 36 | 3 | 5 |
| 37 to 39 | 9 | 13 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 3 |
| 43 to 45 | 3 | 3 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 5 |
| 49 to 51 | 3 | 5 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 10 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 to 60 | 3 | 13 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 14 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 16 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 18 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 9 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 26 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 10 |
| 79 to 81 | 1 | 6 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 7 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 16 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 18 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 4 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 8 |
| 112 to 113 | 1 | 9 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 7 are women's.
37 lines from women, 525 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
10 women and 20 men in the cast. 1 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 250 of 599.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 249 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 6% of the words (413), men 94% (6,546). Women have 7% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: 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
0
Two men
50
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 13% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Timur Bekmambetov (man)
- Written by
- Seth Grahame-Smith (man)
- From the novel by
- Seth Grahame-Smith (man)
- Produced by
- Tim Burton (man), Jim Lemley (man), Timur Bekmambetov (man)
- Shot by
- Caleb Deschanel (man)
- Edited by
- William Hoy (man)
- Music by
- Henry Jackman (man)
- Production design by
- François Audouy (man)
- Costumes by
- Varvara Avdyushko (woman), Carlo Poggioli (man)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 52 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 5 men
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 5 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 1 men
-
Sound
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 27 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Mary Elizabeth Winstead 27, Teri Wyble 27
Men
Benjamin Walker 29, Anthony Mackie 33, Dominic Cooper 34, Jimmi Simpson 36, Rufus Sewell 44, Marton Csokas 45, John Rothman 63
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $69 million
- Box office
- $117 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 113 scenes and 599 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
