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Passes the Bechdel test

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011. Directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and Joe Simon.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    24 women characters. 5 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 1 scene out of 216.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for Captain America: The First Avenger

The film

It is 1942, America has entered World War II, and sickly but determined Steve Rogers is frustrated at being rejected yet again for military service. Everything changes when Dr. Erskine recruits him for the secret Project Rebirth. Proving his extraordinary courage, wits and conscience, Rogers undergoes the experiment and his weak body is suddenly enhanced into the maximum human potential. When Dr. Erskine is then immediately assassinated by an agent of Nazi Germany's secret HYDRA research department (headed by Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull), Rogers is left as a unique man who is initially misused as a propaganda mascot; however, when his comrades need him, Rogers goes on a successful adventure that truly makes him Captain America, and his war against Schmidt begins.

Released
22 Jul 2011
Genres
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
6.9 / 10
Metascore
66 / 100
Awards
4 wins & 50 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Steve 222 lines, man
  2. Peggy Carter 89 lines, woman
  3. Colonel Phillips 80 lines, man
  4. Dr. Erskine 55 lines, man
  5. Johann Schmidt 53 lines, man
  6. Bucky 42 lines, man
  7. Howard Stark 39 lines, man
  8. Dr. Arnim Zola 35 lines, man
  9. Red Skull 21 lines, man
  10. Nick Fury 14 lines, man
Full cast, 98 people
  • Chris Evans as Captain America / Steve Rogers
  • Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
  • Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes
  • Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips
  • Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull
  • Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark
  • Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger
  • Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
  • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
  • Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola
  • Neal McDonough as Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan
  • Derek Luke as Gabe Jones
  • Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita
  • JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth
  • Bruno Ricci as Jacques Dernier
  • Lex Shrapnel as Gilmore Hodge
  • Michael Brandon as Senator Brandt
  • Martin Sherman as Brandt's Aide
  • Natalie Dormer as Pvt. Lorraine
  • Oscar Pearce as Search Team Leader
  • William Hope as SHIELD Lieutenant
  • Nicholas Pinnock as SHIELD Tech
  • Marek Oravec as Jan
  • David Bradley as Tower Keeper
  • Leander Deeny as Steve Rogers Double / Barman
  • Sam Hoare as Nervous Recruit
  • Simon Kunz as 4F Doctor
  • Kieran O'Connor as Loud Jerk
  • Jenna Coleman as Connie
  • Sophie Colquhoun as Bonnie
  • Doug Cockle as Young Doctor
  • Ben Batt as Enlistment Office MP
  • Mollie Fitzgerald as Stark Girl
  • Damon Driver as Sergeant Duffy
  • David McKail as Johann Schmidt's Artist
  • Amanda Walker as Antique Store Owner
  • Richard Freeman as SSR Doctor
  • Katherine Press as Project Rebirth Nurse
  • Sergio James as Kruger's Aide
  • Marcello Walton as Undercover Bum
  • Vincent Montuel as Undercover Bum
  • Fabrizio Santino as Kruger's Driver
  • Maxwell Newman as Boy at Dock
  • Anatole Taubman as Roeder
  • Jan Pohl as Hutter
  • Erich Redman as Schneider
  • Rosanna Hoult as The Star Spangled Singer
  • Naomi Slights as The Star Spangled Singer
  • Kirsty Mather as The Star Spangled Singer
  • Megan Sanderson as Kid in USO Audience
  • Darren Simpson as Kid in USO Audience
  • Fernanda Toker as Newsstand Mom
  • Laura Haddock as Autograph Seeker
  • James Payton as 'Adolph Hitler'
  • Ronan Raftery as Army Heckler
  • Nick Hendrix as Army Heckler
  • Luke Allen-Gale as Army Heckler
  • Jack Gordon as Army Heckler
  • Benjamin Uttley as HYDRA Guard / HYDRA Pilot
  • Kevin Millington as Stark's Engineer
  • Patrick Monckeberg as Manager Velt
  • Peter Stark as HYDRA Lieutenant
  • Amanda Righetti as SHIELD Agent
  • Jennifer Abbotts as USO Dancer
  • Michelle Antrobus as USO Dancer
  • Lucy Dean as USO Dancer
  • Erin Dusek as USO Dancer
  • Nicole Evans as USO Dancer
  • Lizzi Franklin as USO Dancer
  • Emma Harris as USO Dancer
  • Rachael Isherwood as USO Dancer
  • Danielle Kelly as USO Dancer
  • Nicole May as USO Dancer
  • Stevie-Jean McGuire as USO Dancer
  • Anna McNicholas as USO Dancer
  • Rosie Pethullis as USO Dancer
  • Jessica Powell as USO Dancer
  • Rai Quartley as USO Dancer
  • Sarah Riches as USO Dancer
  • Holly Rostron as USO Dancer
  • Caroline Royce as USO Dancer
  • Stephanie Jayne Thompson as USO Dancer
  • Lucie Waugh as USO Dancer
  • Billy Lozowski as USO Drummer
  • Gregory Paulett as USO Drummer
  • Adam Birch as USO Drummer
  • Adam Kent as USO Drummer
  • Wiliam Morris as USO Drummer
  • David Soall as USO Drummer
  • Paul Simmons as USO Drummer
  • Marc Wheeler as USO Drummer
  • Chris Diggle as USO Drummer
  • Michael Humphrey as USO Drummer
  • Stan Lee as General (uncredited)
  • Steve Leighton as Brooklyn Tour Guide (uncredited)
  • Nathan Robinson as Lab Tech
  • Paul Blackwell as Soldier
  • Spencer Garrett as Newsreel Announcer

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 216

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

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 5021
6 to 10040
11 to 15134
16 to 201064
21 to 25027
26 to 30012
31 to 35730
36 to 4097
41 to 45236
46 to 5004
51 to 5500
56 to 6012
61 to 6500
66 to 7001
71 to 75229
76 to 801351
81 to 85629
86 to 9027
91 to 9505
96 to 100010
101 to 10505
106 to 110013
111 to 11505
116 to 120016
121 to 125622
126 to 130847
131 to 1351431
136 to 14000
141 to 14500
146 to 150021
151 to 15504
156 to 160026
161 to 165922
166 to 170017
171 to 17512
176 to 18002
181 to 18522
186 to 19000
191 to 19504
196 to 2001324
201 to 20500
206 to 21003
211 to 215015
216 to 216023

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ANTIQUE STORE OWNER: Lovely weather this morning, isn’t it? PEGGY CARTER: Yes, but I always carry an umbrella. ANTIQUE STORE OWNER: I suppose you can’t be too careful. PEGGY CARTER: Best to be prepared for a shift in the wind.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 13 are women's.

106 lines from women, 713 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

24 women and 59 men in the cast. 5 women and 42 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 95 of 855. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 94 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 11% of the words (885), men 89% (6,822). Women have 13% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Joe Johnston (man)
Written by
Stephen McFeely (man), Christopher Markus (man)
Produced by
Kevin Feige (man)
Shot by
Shelly Johnson (man)
Edited by
Robert Dalva (man), Jeffrey Ford (man)
Music by
Alan Silvestri (man)
Production design by
Rick Heinrichs (man)
Costumes by
Anna B. Sheppard (woman)
Cast by
Sarah Halley Finn (woman), Randi Hiller (woman), Priscilla John (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    13 women, 129 men, 53 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    10 women, 21 men, 56 not listed

  • Art

    8 women, 34 men, 42 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    23 women, 8 men, 42 not listed

  • Camera

    3 women, 19 men, 35 not listed

  • Production

    10 women, 16 men, 5 not listed

  • Sound

    5 women, 18 men, 6 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 5 men, 12 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 29 on average. Men: 45 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Hayley Atwell 29

Men

Sebastian Stan 28, Chris Evans 30, Dominic Cooper 33, Richard Armitage 39, Toby Jones 44, Stanley Tucci 50, Hugo Weaving 51, Samuel L. Jackson 62, Tommy Lee Jones 64

Exhibit H: the money

It made 2.6 times what it cost.

Budget
$140 million
Box office
$371 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 216 scenes and 855 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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