Passes the Bechdel test
Candyman
1992. Directed by Bernard Rose, written by Clive Barker and Bernard Rose.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
20 women characters. 13 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 113. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Helen Lyle is a student who decides to write a thesis about local legends and myths. She visits a part of the town, where she learns about the legend of the Candyman, a one-armed man who appears when you say his name five times, in front of a mirror. Of course, Helen doesn't believe all this stuff, but the people of the area are really afraid. When she ignores their warnings and begins her investigation in the places that he is rumored to appear, a series of horrible murders begins. Could the legend be true?
- Released
- 16 Oct 1992
- Genres
- Horror, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 61 / 100
- Awards
- 5 wins & 10 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Helen 218 lines, woman
- Candyman 49 lines, man
- Bernadette 44 lines, woman
- Trevor 41 lines, man
- Anne-Marie 22 lines, woman
- Jake 22 lines, man
- Frank 14 lines, man
- Purcell 14 lines, man
- Henrietta 13 lines, woman
- Billy 11 lines, man
Full cast, 40 people
- Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle
- Tony Todd as Candyman
- Xander Berkeley as Trevor Lyle
- Kasi Lemmons as Bernadette Walsh
- Vanessa Williams as Anne-Marie McCoy
- DeJuan Guy as Jake
- Michael Culkin as Purcell
- Stanley DeSantis as Dr. Burke
- Gilbert Lewis as Detective Frank Valento
- Marianna Elliott as Clara
- Ted Raimi as Billy
- Ria Pavia as Monica
- Mark Daniels as Student
- Lisa Ann Poggi as Diane
- Adam Philipson as Danny
- Eric Edwards as Harold
- Carolyn Lowery as Stacey
- Barbara Alston as Henrietta Mosely
- Sarina C. Grant as Kitty Culver
- Latesha Martin as Baby Anthony
- Lanesha Martin as Baby Anthony
- Bernard Rose as Archie Walsh
- Glenda Starr Kelly as Crying Mother
- Kenneth A. Brown as Castrated Boy
- Caesar Brown as Tough Guy
- Terrence Riggins as Gang Leader
- Rusty Schwimmer as Policewoman
- Baxter Harris as Detective
- John Rensenhouse as Attorney
- Mika Quintard as T.V. Reporter
- Doug MacHugh as 1st Orderly
- Carol Harris as 2nd Orderly
- Diane Peterson as Nurse
- Michael Laren as Priest
- Antoinette Rogers as Neighbor (uncredited)
- Caron Strong as Nurse (uncredited)
- Fred Sanders as Cop (uncredited)
- Laura Bennecke as College Student (uncredited)
- Michelle Blackwell as Cousin Regina (uncredited)
- Ray Etheridge 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. 7% 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 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 7 to 9 | 9 | 2 |
| 10 to 12 | 19 | 15 |
| 13 to 15 | 36 | 0 |
| 16 to 18 | 18 | 0 |
| 19 to 21 | 13 | 3 |
| 22 to 24 | 10 | 0 |
| 25 to 27 | 21 | 0 |
| 28 to 30 | 16 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 25 | 16 |
| 34 to 36 | 13 | 12 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 3 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 3 |
| 43 to 45 | 4 | 3 |
| 46 to 48 | 5 | 5 |
| 49 to 51 | 8 | 11 |
| 52 to 54 | 15 | 8 |
| 55 to 57 | 7 | 3 |
| 58 to 60 | 12 | 6 |
| 61 to 63 | 1 | 1 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 69 | 10 | 9 |
| 70 to 72 | 6 | 9 |
| 73 to 75 | 1 | 0 |
| 76 to 78 | 3 | 0 |
| 79 to 81 | 13 | 4 |
| 82 to 84 | 14 | 9 |
| 85 to 87 | 19 | 1 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 0 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 to 96 | 12 | 10 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 7 | 12 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 0 |
| 106 to 108 | 1 | 1 |
| 109 to 111 | 7 | 10 |
| 112 to 113 | 1 | 0 |
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.
HELEN: Oh... sorry. BERNADETTE: It's okay. We're pretty much done. So ... where did you hear this story?
BERNADETTE: I don't like this. This is not one of your fairy tales. Somebody really died. It makes me .uncomfortable ... HELEN: That's not the half of it. HELEN: That's Cabrini Green, not that you'd recognize it now. BERNADETTE: No kidding. I won't even drive past it. I heard a kid got shot there just the other day.
HELEN: What's with the arsenal? We're only going eight blocks. BERNADETTE: You're the one who got us dressed up like cops. HELEN: I said dress smartly. BERNADETTE: Take a left at the lights •..
BERNADETTE: Umn ... I think ... HELEN: Let's stop and ask. BERNADETTE: No •.. no need •.. go straight. HELEN: Buildi~g ~z" ... this is it.
HELEN: Hello ..• I'm sorry if I - HELEN: Here it is .•. BERNADETTE: Someone could b~ in there. HELEN: Hello ...
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 67 are women's.
337 lines from women, 169 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
20 women and 20 men in the cast. 13 women and 9 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 7 of 542.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 8 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 57% of the words (3,011), men 43% (2,273). Women have 67% 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
19
Two men
3
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 43% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Bernard Rose (man)
- Written by
- Bernard Rose (man)
- Produced by
- Steve Golin (man), Alan Poul (man), Sigurjón Sighvatsson (man)
- Shot by
- Anthony B. Richmond (man)
- Edited by
- Dan Rae (gender not listed)
- Music by
- Philip Glass (man)
- Production design by
- Jane Ann Stewart (woman)
- Costumes by
- Leonard Pollack (man)
- Cast by
- Jane Alderman (woman), Jason La Padura (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
6 women, 10 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
5 women, 2 men, 15 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men, 9 not listed
-
Production
9 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 0 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 35 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Vanessa Williams 29, Virginia Madsen 31, Kasi Lemmons 33
Men
DeJuan Guy 11, Xander Berkeley 36, Tony Todd 37, Michael Culkin 38, Stanley DeSantis 39, Gilbert Lewis 51
Exhibit H: the money
It made 4.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $6 million
- Box office
- $25.8 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 113 scenes and 542 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
