Fails the Bechdel test
Cobb
1994. Directed by Ron Shelton, written by Al Stump and Ron Shelton.
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
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words. However, when Stump spends time with Cobb, interviewing him and beginning to write, he realizes that the general public opinion is largely correct. In Stump's presence, Cobb is angry, violent, racist, misogynistic, and incorrigibly abusive to everyone around him. Torn between printing the truth by plumbing the depths of Cobb's dark soul and grim childhood, and succumbing to Cobb's pressure for a whitewash of his character and a simple baseball tale of his greatness, Stump writes two different books. One book is for Cobb, the other for the public.
- Released
- 02 Dec 1994
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Sport
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Cobb 383 lines, man
- Stump 353 lines, man
- Ramona 55 lines, woman
- Willie 20 lines, man
- Frank 15 lines
- Bill 11 lines, man
- Lucille 11 lines
- Film Narrator 10 lines
- Man With Briefcase 8 lines, man
- Mud 8 lines
Full cast, 20 people
- Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb
- Robert Wuhl as Al Stump
- Lolita Davidovich as Ramona
- Ned Bellamy as Ray
- Scott Burkholder as Jimmy
- Allan Malamud as Mud
- Bill Caplan as Bill
- Jeff Fellenzer as Sportswriter
- Doug Krikorian as Sportswriter
- Gavin Smith as Sportsman's Lounge Bartender
- Lou Myers as Willie
- William Utay as Jameson
- J. Kenneth Campbell as William Herschel Cobb
- Rhoda Griffis as Amanda Chitwood Cobb
- Tyler Logan Cobb as Young Ty
- Steven Brown as Husband at Motel
- Roger Clemens as Opposing pitcher
- Bradley Whitford as Process Server
- Jimmy Buffett as The Armless Guy
- Brian Patrick Mulligan as Charlie Chaplin
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 120
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 | 13 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 26 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 6 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 46 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 50 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 9 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 4 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 31 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 2 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 26 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 25 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 3 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 47 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 23 |
| 52 to 54 | 3 | 15 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 22 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 3 |
| 61 to 63 | 7 | 47 |
| 64 to 66 | 39 | 47 |
| 67 to 69 | 4 | 14 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 28 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 11 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 7 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 4 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 4 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 42 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 33 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 8 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 6 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 15 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 41 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 5 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 57 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 11 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 29 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 9 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 17 |
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.
56 lines from women, 797 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
2 women and 12 men in the cast. 1 women and 4 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 372 of 978.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 374 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 4% of the words (487), men 96% (11,204). 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
59
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 7 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ron Shelton (man)
- Written by
- Ron Shelton (man)
- Produced by
- David V. Lester (man)
- Shot by
- Russell Boyd (man)
- Edited by
- Kimberly Ray (woman), Paul Seydor (man)
- Music by
- Elliot Goldenthal (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men
-
Other crew
1 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 1 men
-
Production
0 women, 2 men
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Sound
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lolita Davidovich 33
Men
Scott Burkholder 36, Ned Bellamy 37, Gavin Smith 39, Robert Wuhl 43, Tommy Lee Jones 48
Exhibit G: the money
It made 4% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $25.5 million
- Box office
- $1 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 120 scenes and 978 lines of dialogue. How the test works
