Passes the Bechdel test
Frances
1982. Directed by Graeme Clifford, written by Eric Bergren and Christopher De Vore and Nicholas Kazan.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
21 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 145. -
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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
Frances Farmer, a precocious Seattle teenager, takes unpopular social and political positions, to the mixed reactions of her parents. Frances becomes an actress and has some strong success in New York, but her refusal to bend her convictions and her outspoken (but sometimes naive) political expressiveness cause her difficulties, especially after she accepts a Hollywood contract. Torn between new-found success and intense feelings that she does not deserve the riches and fame she gains from the phoniness of Hollywood, Frances butts heads with studio executives and with her own mother, who revels in Frances's fame but provides Frances no emotional support. When drunken fights and arrests derail her career, Frances is sent to a psychiatric hospital with the acquiescence of her mother. What follows is a nightmare of poor treatment and psychological trauma, augmented by the increasing determination of Frances's mother to control her daughter's life.
- Released
- 11 Mar 1983
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 48 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 2 wins & 10 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Frances 463 lines, woman
- Harry 147 lines, man
- Lillian 93 lines, woman
- Ernest 36 lines, man
- Symington 31 lines, man
- Dick 20 lines, man
- Bebe 17 lines, man
- Clurman 17 lines, man
- Odets 15 lines, man
- Young Man 15 lines, man
Full cast, 91 people
- Jessica Lange as Frances Farmer
- Sam Shepard as Harry York
- Kim Stanley as Lillian Farmer
- Bart Burns as Ernest Farmer
- Christopher Pennock as Dick Steele
- James Karen as Juge Hillier
- Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Médecin spécialiste de la lobotomie
- Sarah Cunningham as Alma Styles
- Allan Rich as Mr. Bebe
- Woodrow Parfrey as Docteur Doyle
- Jack Riley as Bob Barnes
- Darrell Larson as Louella's Spy
- Jordan Charney as Harold Clurman
- John Randolph as Kindly Judge
- Keone Young as Docteur chinois
- Bonnie Bartlett as Styliste de studio
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Clifford Odets
- Lane Smith as Docteur Symington
- Jonathan Banks as Hitchhiker
- James Brodhead as Desk Sergeant
- Jane Jenkins as Dame à l'hôtel Roosevelt
- Daniel Chodos as Réalisateur de « No Escape »
- Rod Colbin as Juge de condamnation
- Donald Craig as Ralph Edwards
- Lee de Broux as Réalisateur de « Flowing Gold »
- Jack Fitzgerald as Clapper Man
- Nancy Foy as Fille autographe
- Anne Haney as Coiffeur
- Richard L. Hawkins as Clochard dans la rue
- Patricia Larson as Mrs. Hillier
- Albert Lord as "Flowing Gold" A.D.
- Vincent Lucchesi as Arresting Sergeant
- Jack Manning as Studio Photographer
- Rod Pilloud as Martoni Kaminski
- Larry Pines as Man on Phone / Bookie Joint
- David Schroeder as Studio Lawyer
- Helen Schustack as Wardrobe Mistress
- Sandra Seacat as Drama Teacher
- Charles Seaverns as Real Estate Man
- Karin Strandjord as Connie
- Vern Taylor as Studio Executive
- Andrew Winner as Firechief
- Biff Yeager as Motorcycle Cop
- Alexander Zale as Man in Screening Room
- Paul Fleming as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- M.C. Gainey as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- Roger Galloway as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- Matthew Goldsby as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- Paul Keith as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- F. William Parker as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- Charles Shull as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer
- Teda Bracci as Mental Patient
- Jan Burrell as Mental Patient
- Flo Di Re as Mental Patient
- Dodds Frank as Mental Patient
- Patricia Gaul as Mental Patient
- Robin Ginsburg as Mental Patient
- Pamela Gordon as Mental Patient
- Anjelica Huston as Mental Patient
- Ola Kauffman as Mental Patient
- Donna Lamana as Mental Patient
- Sharmagne Leland-St. John as Mental Patient
- Jane Lillig as Mental Patient
- Alexandra Melchi as Mental Patient
- Patricia Post as Mental Patient
- Zelda Rubinstein as Mental Patient
- Nina Schneider as Mental Patient
- Marlene Silvers as Mental Patient
- Vicki Williams as Mental Patient
- Susan Wolf as Mental Patient
- Tom Amundsen as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Anne Haslett as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Barry Jamesby as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Leonard Lookabaugh as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Oceana Marr as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Vahan Moosekian as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Tom Pletts as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Eileen T'Kaye as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Lila Waters as Doctor / Nurse / Orderly
- Charles Prior as Soldier
- Carl Kraines as Soldier
- Kevin Costner as Luther (uncredited)
- Dennis Crosswhite as Orderly (uncredited)
- David Eisen as Photographer (uncredited)
- Ted King as Doctor (uncredited)
- Casey MacGill as Singer (uncredited)
- Michael Mallory as Seattle Reporter (uncredited)
- Rick May as Policeman (uncredited)
- Allen Nause as Reporter / Publicist / Photographer (uncredited)
- Jayne Taini as Nurse (uncredited)
- Jamie Johnston as Mental Patient
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 145
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 | 8 | 1 |
| 5 to 8 | 25 | 29 |
| 9 to 12 | 24 | 17 |
| 13 to 16 | 7 | 2 |
| 17 to 20 | 37 | 18 |
| 21 to 24 | 7 | 9 |
| 25 to 28 | 3 | 10 |
| 29 to 32 | 23 | 18 |
| 33 to 36 | 11 | 10 |
| 37 to 40 | 8 | 9 |
| 41 to 44 | 27 | 18 |
| 45 to 48 | 22 | 17 |
| 49 to 52 | 9 | 12 |
| 53 to 56 | 8 | 11 |
| 57 to 60 | 19 | 28 |
| 61 to 64 | 15 | 17 |
| 65 to 68 | 2 | 2 |
| 69 to 72 | 17 | 7 |
| 73 to 76 | 8 | 13 |
| 77 to 80 | 22 | 23 |
| 81 to 84 | 12 | 3 |
| 85 to 88 | 13 | 3 |
| 89 to 92 | 19 | 6 |
| 93 to 96 | 30 | 19 |
| 97 to 100 | 30 | 13 |
| 101 to 104 | 23 | 18 |
| 105 to 108 | 23 | 13 |
| 109 to 112 | 26 | 12 |
| 113 to 116 | 35 | 8 |
| 117 to 120 | 1 | 4 |
| 121 to 124 | 8 | 6 |
| 125 to 128 | 11 | 9 |
| 129 to 132 | 11 | 2 |
| 133 to 136 | 17 | 17 |
| 137 to 140 | 14 | 6 |
| 141 to 144 | 10 | 12 |
| 145 to 145 | 15 | 12 |
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.
FRANCES: It's okay. LILLIAN: Smile, little sister, smile.
CONNIE: Frances! FRANCES: God, who's here? CONNIE: The usual vermin, I'm afraid. FRANCES: Get me a drink.
FRANCES: Connie, can I use the upstairs bathroom? CONNIE: Sure.
LILLIAN: I'll be back real soon, little sister. You be a good girl. FRANCES: Mama! FRANCES: ...I want to go home, Mama. LILLIAN: You'll see, little sister. Everything will be fine. The doctors know best.
LILLIAN: You have no right! LILLIAN: Tell them who I am! Tell them who I am! FRANCES: Are you crazy? Unhand that woman! That's Amelia Earhart!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 58 are women's.
600 lines from women, 434 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
21 women and 41 men in the cast. 5 women and 30 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 1,120.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 11 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 (6,726), men 43% (4,988). Women have 58% 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
23
Two men
8
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 37% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Graeme Clifford (man)
- Written by
- Eric Bergren (man), Christopher De Vore (man), Nicholas Kazan (man)
- Produced by
- Jonathan Sanger (man)
- Shot by
- László Kovács (man)
- Edited by
- John Wright (man)
- Music by
- John Barry (man)
- Production design by
- Richard Sylbert (man)
- Costumes by
- Patricia Norris (woman)
- Cast by
- Nancy Foy (woman), Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman), Elisabeth Leustig (woman), Pat Orseth (gender not listed)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
7 women, 3 men, 7 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 11 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 4 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Editing
3 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 51 on average. Men: 54 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jessica Lange 33, Kim Stanley 57, Sarah Cunningham 64
Men
Sam Shepard 39, Christopher Pennock 39, Allan Rich 56, James Karen 59, Gerald S. O'Loughlin 60, Woodrow Parfrey 60, Bart Burns 64
Exhibit H: the money
It made 63% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $8 million
- Box office
- $5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 145 scenes and 1,120 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
