Fails the Bechdel test
Beverly Hills Cop
1984. Directed by Martin Brest, written by Daniel Petrie Jr. and Danilo Bach.
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
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.
The film
Following the murder of his childhood friend, streetwise Detroit detective Axel Foley takes matters into his own hands and heads to the glamorous streets of Beverly Hills. But as he tries to crack the case with unconventional tactics, Foley soon locks horns with Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil, who wants him out of town. Now, having the odds stacked against him, Axel must join forces with Detectives John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to delve deeper into the crime world of Beverly Hills. However, this is a white-knuckle race against the clock. And the question remains. Will Foley's complete disregard for proper procedure bear fruit, or will his rule-bending methods land him in even deeper trouble?
- Released
- 05 Dec 1984
- Genres
- Action, Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 7 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Axel 336 lines, man
- Jeannette 72 lines, woman
- Rosewood 43 lines, man
- Maitland 35 lines, man
- Mikey 34 lines, man
- Sgt. Taggart 30 lines, man
- Taggart 27 lines, man
- Jeffrey 18 lines, man
- Lt. Bogomil 15 lines, man
- Bogomil 14 lines, man
Full cast, 59 people
- Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley
- Judge Reinhold as Det. Billy Rosewood
- John Ashton as Sgt. Taggart
- Lisa Eilbacher as Jenny Summers
- Ronny Cox as Lt. Bogomil
- Steven Berkoff as Victor Maitland
- James Russo as Mikey Tandino
- Jonathan Banks as Zack
- Stephen Elliott as Chief Hubbard
- Gilbert R. Hill as Inspector Todd
- Art Kimbro as Det. Foster
- Joel Bailey as Det. McCabe
- Bronson Pinchot as Serge
- Paul Reiser as Jeffrey
- Michael Champion as Casey
- Frank Pesce as Cigarette Buyer
- Gene Borkan as Truck Driver
- Michael Gregory as Hotel Manager
- Alice Cadogan as Hotel Clerk
- Philip Levien as Donny
- Karen Mayo-Chandler as Maitland Receptionist
- Gerald Berns as Beverly Hills Cop #1
- William Wallace as Beverly Hills Cop #2
- Israel Juarbe as Room Service Waiter
- Randy Vasquez as Bell Hop
- Damon Wayans as Banana Man
- Chuck Adamson as Crate Opener #1
- Chip Heller as Crate Opener #2
- Rick Overton as Bonded Warehouse Night Supervisor
- Rex Ryon as Bonded Warehouse Security Guard
- Mike Pniewski as Bonded Warehouse Clerk #1
- Douglas Warhit as Bonded Warehouse Clerk #2
- Paul Drake as Holdup Man #1
- Tom Everett as Holdup Man #2
- Sally Kishbaugh as Waitress
- Barry Shade as Valet
- Jack Heller as Harrow Club Maitre D'
- Michael Harrington as Harrow Club Arresting Officer
- David Wells as Dispatcher
- Scott Murphy as Det. Owenby
- Dennis Madden as 1st Detroit Cop
- John Achorn as 2nd Detroit Cop
- John Pettis as 3rd Detroit Cop
- Nicholas Shields as Detroit Station Cop #1
- Carl Weintraub as Detroit Station Cop #2
- Anthony De Fonte as Detroit Station Cop #3
- Darwyn Carson as Barmaid
- Mark E. Corry as Pool Player
- Thomas J. Hageboeck as Maitland Body Guard
- David Patrick Kelly as Luther (uncredited)
- Donald Chaffin as Detective (uncredited)
- Martin Brest as Beverly Palms Hotel Checkout Clerk (uncredited)
- Danny Nero as Hotel Front Desk Receptionist (uncredited)
- Bob Davis as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Peter Eastman as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Farrell Mayer as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Earl Jolly Brown as Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Paul LeClair as Worker (uncredited)
- Dan Cotter as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 118
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 16 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 52 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 103 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 11 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 to 24 | 19 | 48 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 28 |
| 28 to 30 | 5 | 31 |
| 31 to 33 | 13 | 14 |
| 34 to 36 | 1 | 10 |
| 37 to 39 | 1 | 4 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 4 | 17 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 5 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 23 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 6 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 14 |
| 58 to 60 | 1 | 42 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 2 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 13 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 6 |
| 70 to 72 | 19 | 86 |
| 73 to 75 | 3 | 7 |
| 76 to 78 | 2 | 23 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 16 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 1 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 4 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 2 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 0 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 0 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 0 |
| 115 to 117 | 2 | 51 |
| 118 to 118 | 0 | 14 |
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, 10 are women's.
73 lines from women, 679 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
5 women and 52 men in the cast. 1 women and 40 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 226 of 823.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 225 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 7% of the words (751), men 93% (9,443). Women have 10% 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
52
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Martin Brest (man)
- Written by
- Daniel Petrie Jr. (man)
- Story by
- Danilo Bach (man), Daniel Petrie Jr. (man)
- Produced by
- Jerry Bruckheimer (man), Don Simpson (man)
- Shot by
- Bruce Surtees (man)
- Edited by
- Arthur Coburn (man), Billy Weber (man)
- Music by
- Harold Faltermeyer (man), Keith Forsey (man)
- Production design by
- Angelo P. Graham (man)
- Costumes by
- Tom Bronson (man)
- Cast by
- Margery Simkin (woman), Rhonda Young (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 26 men, 7 not listed
-
Sound
4 women, 12 men, 7 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 6 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 6 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lisa Eilbacher 28
Men
Eddie Murphy 23, Judge Reinhold 27, James Russo 31, John Ashton 36, Jonathan Banks 37, Ronny Cox 46, Steven Berkoff 47, Gilbert R. Hill 53, Stephen Elliott 66
Exhibit G: the money
It made 22.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $14 million
- Box office
- $316 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 118 scenes and 823 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
