Fails the Bechdel test

Gods and Monsters

Name: Gods and Monsters
Released: 1998

1998. Directed by Bill Condon, written by Christopher Bram and Bill Condon.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
8 women characters. 7 of them speak.
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

1957. Long having retired, James Whale, arguably most famous for directing Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) among some other 1930s horror classics, has burned his bridges with the Hollywood community in that they have abandoned him, the possible exception being his continuing friendship with former lover David Lewis. James had been openly gay even during his working period and is in declining health. Having been recently released from a hospital where he was recuperating from a stroke, he left with some permanent health issues, the aftermath of the stroke. Much against the disapproval of his loyal longtime housekeeper Hanna, his health does not prevent him from toying with the handsome young men who may wander into his midst in his continuing homosexual desires, although Hanna is as much, if not more concerned about any of those young men taking advantage of him in his elderly and fragile state. The young man who catches his eye among the most recent is Clayton Boone, who Hanna had hired to do garden work around the property. Clay, an ex-marine from the proverbial "wrong side of the tracks", has no idea who James was or is before he starts this job. James and Clay soon begin a friendship of sorts. Clay is also unaware of James' homosexual orientation before such is confirmed by Hanna, an issue which threatens his masculinity, especially in light of the cracks showing in his casual sexual relationship with a slightly older and wiser diner waitress named Betty. Clay has to reconcile that threat against being in the company of someone whom he considers an interesting and once famous man. The friendship and his state of health related to the stroke lead James to reflect in a bittersweet vein on key points of his life, most notably serving in WWI, and as a result reveals his ulterior motives through the actions he takes toward Clay.

Released: 04 Nov 1998
Genres: Biography, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
Metascore: 74 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 38 wins & 33 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Whale 406 lines, man
Clay 300 lines, man
Hanna 80 lines, woman
Kay 48 lines, man
Betty 31 lines, woman
Elsa Lanchester 21 lines, woman
David 19 lines, man
Dwight 15 lines, man
Harry 8 lines, man
Princess Margaret 8 lines, woman

Full cast, 36 people

Ian McKellen as James Whale
Brendan Fraser as Clayton Boone
Lynn Redgrave as Hanna
Lolita Davidovich as Betty
David Dukes as David Lewis
Kevin J. O'Connor as Harry
Mark Kiely as Dwight
Jack Plotnick as Edmund Kay
Rosalind Ayres as Elsa Lanchester
Jack Betts as Boris Karloff
Matt McKenzie as Colin Clive
Todd Babcock as Leonard Barnett
Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy as Princess Margaret
Brandon Kleyla as Young Whale
Pamela Salem as Sarah Whale
Michael O'Hagan as William Whale
David Millbern as Dr. Payne
Amir Aboulela as The Monster
Marlon Braccia as Elizabeth Taylor
Jesse Long as Assistant Director
Owen Masterson as Camera Assistant
Lisa Vastine as Librarian
Kent George as Whale at 25
Martin Ferrero as George Cukor
David Fabrizio as Photographer
Jesse James as Michael Boone
Lisa Darr as Dana Boone
Paul Michael Sandberg as Sound Man
Judson Mills as Young Man at Pool
Arthur Dignam as Ernest Thesiger (uncredited)
John Gatins as Kid Saylor (uncredited)
Curtis Harrington as Cukor Party Guest (uncredited)
Celeste Lecesne as Jack Pierce (uncredited)
Sarah Ann Morris as Daisy (uncredited)
Richard Pines as Bar Patron (uncredited)
Jennifer Tolkachev as Party Guest (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below.

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	0
4 to 6	0	0
7 to 9	2	15
10 to 12	2	18
13 to 15	3	2
16 to 18	2	18
19 to 21	1	4
22 to 24	4	70
25 to 27	4	10
28 to 30	4	61
31 to 33	0	12
34 to 36	6	51
37 to 39	12	31
40 to 42	1	4
43 to 45	9	15
46 to 48	15	18
49 to 51	6	8
52 to 54	3	21
55 to 57	0	5
58 to 60	1	1
61 to 63	23	32
64 to 66	0	44
67 to 69	0	51
70 to 72	0	9
73 to 75	0	0
76 to 78	1	28
79 to 81	0	27
82 to 84	4	10
85 to 87	3	4
88 to 90	0	6
91 to 93	21	94
94 to 96	0	8
97 to 99	0	4
100 to 102	0	59
103 to 105	0	16
106 to 108	0	58
109 to 111	0	0
112 to 114	12	7
115 to 117	9	11
118 to 120	1	16

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, 15 are women's.

149 lines from women, 848 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

8 women and 24 men in the cast. 7 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,001. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 165 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (1,656), men 84% (8,912). Women have 15% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Bill Condon (man)
Written by: Bill Condon (man)
From the novel by: Christopher Bram (man)
Produced by: Gregg Fienberg (man), Mark R. Harris (man), Paul Colichman (man)
Shot by: Stephen M. Katz (man)
Edited by: Virginia Katz (woman)
Music by: Carter Burwell (man)
Production design by: Richard Sherman (man)
Costumes by: Bruce Finlayson (man)
Cast by: Valorie Massalas (woman)