Passes the Bechdel test
Ed Wood
1994. Directed by Tim Burton, written by Rudolph Grey and Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 165. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Because of his eccentric habits and bafflingly strange films, director Edward D. Wood Jr. is a Hollywood outcast. Nevertheless, with the help of the formerly famous Bela Lugosi and a devoted cast and crew of show-business misfits who believe in Ed's off-kilter vision, the filmmaker is able to bring his oversize dreams to cinematic life. Despite a lack of critical or commercial success, Ed and his friends manage to create an oddly endearing series of extremely low-budget films.
- Released
- 07 Oct 1994
- Genres
- Biography, Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 27 wins & 33 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ed 527 lines, man
- Bela 152 lines, man
- Dolores 70 lines, woman
- Tor 54 lines, man
- Kathy 45 lines, woman
- Georgie 40 lines, man
- Criswell 38 lines, man
- Vampira 29 lines, woman
- Paul Marco 24 lines, man
- Reynolds 22 lines, man
Full cast, 111 people
- Johnny Depp as Ed Wood
- Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller
- Patricia Arquette as Kathy O'Hara
- Jeffrey Jones as Criswell
- G.D. Spradlin as Reverend Lemon
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles
- Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge
- Mike Starr as Georgie Weiss
- Max Casella as Paul Marco
- Brent Hinkley as Conrad Brooks
- Lisa Marie as Vampira
- Jim Myers as Tor Johnson
- Juliet Landau as Loretta King
- Clive Rosengren as Ed Reynolds
- Norman Alden as Cameraman Bill
- Leonard Termo as Makeup Man Harry
- Ned Bellamy as Dr. Tom Mason
- Danny Dayton as Soundman
- Ross Manarchy as Camera Assistant
- Bill Cusack as Tony McCoy
- Aaron Nelms as Teenage Kid
- Biff Yeager as Rude Boss
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Security Guard
- Carmen Filpi as Old Crusty Man
- Lisa Malkiewicz as Secretary #1
- Melora Walters as Secretary #2
- Conrad Brooks as Bartender
- Don Amendolia as Salesman
- Tommy Bertelsen as Tough Boy
- Reid Cruickshanks as Stage Guard
- Stanley DeSantis as Mr. Feldman
- Lionel Decker as Executive #1
- Edmund L. Shaff as Executive #2
- Gene LeBell as Ring Announcer
- Bobby Slayton as TV Show Host
- Gretchen Becker as TV Host's Assistant
- John Rice as Conservative Man
- Catherine Butterfield as Conservative Wife
- Mary Portser as Backer's Wife
- King Cotton as Hick Backer
- Don Hood as Southern Backer
- Frank Echols as Doorman
- Matthew Barry as Valet
- Ralph Monaco as Waiter
- Anthony Russell as Busboy
- Tommy Bush as Stage Manager
- Gregory Walcott as Potential Backer
- Charles C. Stevenson Jr. as Another Backer
- Rance Howard as Old Man McCoy
- Vasek Simek as Professor Strowski
- Alan Martin as Vampira's Assistant
- Salwa Ali as Vampira's Girlfriend
- Rodney Kizziah as Vampira's Friend
- Korla Pandit as Indian Musician
- Hannah Eckstein as Greta Johnson
- Luc De Schepper as Karl Johnson
- Vinny Argiro as TV Horror Show Director
- Patti Tippo as Nurse
- Ray Baker as Doctor
- Louis Lombardi as Rental House Manager
- Jim Boyce as Theatre Manager
- Ben Ryan Ganger as Angry Kid
- Ryan Holihan as Frantic Usher
- Marc Revivo as High School Punk
- Charlie Holliday as Tourist
- Adam Drescher as Photographer #1
- Ric Mancini as Photographer #2
- Daniel Riordan as Pilot / Strapping Young Man
- Mickey Cottrell as Hammy Alien
- Christopher George Simpson as Organist
- Robert Binford as Choir Member
- Herbert Boche as Choir Member
- Linda Rae Brienza as Choir Member
- Marlene Cook as Choir Member
- Sylvia Coussa as Choir Member
- Audrey Cuyler as Choir Member
- Joseph Golightly as Choir Member
- Carrie Starner Hummel as Choir Member
- Ramona Kemp-Blair as Choir Member
- Carolyn Kessinger as Choir Member
- Nancy Longyear as Choir Member
- Matthew Nelson as Choir Member
- Robert Nuffer as Choir Member
- William Michael Short as Choir Member
- Susan Eileen Simpson as Choir Member
- George F. Sterne as Choir Member
- Charles Alan Stephenson as Choir Member
- Cheri A. Williams as Choir Member
- Cynthia Ann Wilson as Choir Member
- Maurice LaMarche as Orson Welles (voice) (uncredited)
- Lena Banks as Sexy Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Ada Tai as Vampira's Friend (uncredited)
- Arlene Tai as Vampira's Friend (uncredited)
- Rayder Woods as Car Vandal (uncredited)
- Bill Blair as Carny (uncredited)
- Bill Anderson as Wrestling Referee (uncredited)
- Eugenie Bondurant as Dagmar (uncredited)
- Mike Breyer as Photographer (uncredited)
- Patrick Cranshaw as Editor on Studio Lot (uncredited)
- Ryal Haakenson as Wedding Guest / Theatre Goer (uncredited)
- Zachary Keats as Trick-or-Treating Kid (uncredited)
- Susan Knego as Girl in Theater Lobby (uncredited)
- Navya La Shay as Secretary (uncredited)
- Tanya Marten as Secretary (uncredited)
- Gorja Max as Bra Stuffing Transvestite (uncredited)
- Johnny Meyer as Kid At Movie Theater (uncredited)
- John Michael Quinn as Minister (uncredited)
- Jeff Shrewsbury as Theater Patron (uncredited)
- Richard Yett as Wrap Party Guest (uncredited)
- Jesse Lizarraga as Wrestling Opponent
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 165
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 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 to 8 | 5 | 25 |
| 9 to 12 | 6 | 26 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 29 |
| 17 to 20 | 8 | 26 |
| 21 to 24 | 1 | 42 |
| 25 to 28 | 9 | 28 |
| 29 to 32 | 3 | 54 |
| 33 to 36 | 5 | 28 |
| 37 to 40 | 1 | 42 |
| 41 to 44 | 1 | 25 |
| 45 to 48 | 2 | 25 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 18 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 9 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 35 |
| 61 to 64 | 6 | 29 |
| 65 to 68 | 13 | 36 |
| 69 to 72 | 10 | 48 |
| 73 to 76 | 6 | 37 |
| 77 to 80 | 13 | 29 |
| 81 to 84 | 0 | 18 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 45 |
| 89 to 92 | 8 | 11 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 20 |
| 97 to 100 | 8 | 12 |
| 101 to 104 | 0 | 24 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 20 |
| 109 to 112 | 7 | 11 |
| 113 to 116 | 5 | 12 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 16 |
| 121 to 124 | 10 | 19 |
| 125 to 128 | 6 | 7 |
| 129 to 132 | 2 | 11 |
| 133 to 136 | 6 | 23 |
| 137 to 140 | 2 | 6 |
| 141 to 144 | 2 | 35 |
| 145 to 148 | 17 | 37 |
| 149 to 152 | 1 | 20 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 25 |
| 157 to 160 | 1 | 41 |
| 161 to 164 | 3 | 6 |
| 165 to 165 | 0 | 1 |
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.
DOLORES: "Janet, the boss has been looking for you." LORETTA: "Thanks." DOLORES: Of course it was.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 15 are women's.
173 lines from women, 1015 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
16 women and 58 men in the cast. 9 women and 51 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,232.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 87 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 12% of the words (1,573), men 88% (11,495). Women have 15% 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
5
Two men
100
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tim Burton (man)
- Written by
- Larry Karaszewski (man), Scott Alexander (man)
- Produced by
- Tim Burton (man), Denise Di Novi (woman)
- Shot by
- Stefan Czapsky (man)
- Edited by
- Chris Lebenzon (man)
- Music by
- Howard Shore (man)
- Production design by
- Tom Duffield (man)
- Costumes by
- Colleen Atwood (woman)
- Cast by
- Victoria Thomas (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
8 women, 18 men, 8 not listed
-
Art
5 women, 10 men, 15 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 10 men, 13 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 16 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 7 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 7 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Patricia Arquette 26, Sarah Jessica Parker 29
Men
Max Casella 27, Johnny Depp 31, Vincent D'Onofrio 35, Bill Murray 44, Mike Starr 44, Jeffrey Jones 48, Martin Landau 66, G.D. Spradlin 74
Exhibit H: the money
It made 33% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $18 million
- Box office
- $5.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 165 scenes and 1,232 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
