Fails the Bechdel test

L.A. Confidential

Name: L.A. Confidential
Released: 1997

1997. Directed by Curtis Hanson, written by James Ellroy and Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
22 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

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

The film

1950s' Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir-ish tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style: Ed Exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out; Bud White, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control; and Jack Vincennes, always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.

Released: 19 Sep 1997
Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rated: R
IMDb: 8.2 / 10
Metascore: 91 / 100
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. 91 wins & 86 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Exley 232 lines, man
Bud 175 lines, man
Jack 110 lines, man
Dudley 105 lines, man
Lynn 77 lines, woman
Hudgeons 58 lines, man
Patchett 26 lines, man
Chief 20 lines
Mrs. Lefferts 20 lines, woman
Pinker 20 lines, man

Full cast, 95 people

Kevin Spacey as Jack Vincennes
Russell Crowe as Wendell 'Bud' White
Guy Pearce as Edmund 'Ed' Exley
James Cromwell as Dudley Smith
Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens
David Strathairn as Pierce Patchett
Ron Rifkin as D.A. Ellis Loew
Graham Beckel as Dick Stensland
Amber Smith as Susan Lefferts
John Mahon as Police Chief
Paul Guilfoyle as Mickey Cohen
Matt McCoy as 'Badge of Honor' Star Brett Chase
Paolo Seganti as Johnny Stompanato
Simon Baker as Matt Reynolds
Elisabeth Granli as Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Sandra Taylor as Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Steve Rankin as Officer Arresting Mickey Cohen
Allan Graf as Wife Beater
Precious Chong as Wife
Symba as Jack's Dancing Partner
Bob Clendenin as Reporter at Hollywood Station
Lennie Loftin as Photographer at Hollywood Station
Will Zahrn as Liquor Store Owner
Darrell Sandeen as Buzz Meeks
Michael Warwick as Sid's Assistant
Shawnee Free Jones as Tammy Jordan
Matthew Allen Bretz as Officer Escorting Mexicans
Thomas Rosales Jr. as First Mexican
Shane Dixon as Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Norman Howell as Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Brian Lally as Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Don Pulford as Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Chris Short as Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Tomas Arana as Breuning - Dudley's Guy
Michael McCleery as Carlisle - Dudley's Guy
George Yager as Gangster at Victory Motel
Jack Conley as Vice Captain
Ginger Slaughter as Secretary in Vice
Jack Knight as Detective at Detective Bureau
John H. Evans as Patrolman at Nite Owl Cafe
Gene Wolande as Forensic Chief
Brian Bossetta as Forensic Officer
Michael Chieffo as Coroner
Gwenda Deacon as Mrs. Lefferts
T.J. Kennedy as Bud's Rejected Partner
Ingo Neuhaus as Jack's Rejected Partner
Robert Harrison as Pierce Patchett’s Bodyguard
Jim Metzler as City Councilman
Robert Barry Fleming as Boxer
Jeremiah Birkett as Ray Collins - Nite Owl Suspect
Salim Grant as Louis Fontaine - Nite Owl Suspect
Karr Washington as Ty Jones - Nite Owl Suspect
Noel Evangelisti as Stenographer
Marisol Padilla Sánchez as Inez Soto - Rape Victim
Jeff Sanders as Sylvester Fitch
Steven Lambert as Roland Navarette
Jordan Marder as Officer at Detective Bureau
Gregory White as Mayor
April Breneman as Look-Alike Dancer
Lisa Worthy as Look-Alike Dancer
Beverly Sharpe as Witness on Badge of Honor
Colin Mitchell as Reporter at Hospital
John Slade as Photographer at Hospital
Brenda Bakke as Lana Turner
Kevin Maloney as Frolic Room Bartender
Patrice Walters as Police File Clerk
Rebecca Klingler as Police File Clerk
Irene Roseen as D.A. Ellis Loew's Secretary
Scott Eberlein as West Hollywood Sheriff's Deputy
David St. James as Detective at Hush-Hush Office
Bodie Newcomb as Officer at Hush-Hush Office
Jeff Austin as Detective
Robert Foster as Detective
Kevin Patrick Kelly as Detective
Henry Marder as Detective
Monty McKee as Detective
Henry Meyers as Detective
Michael Ossmann as Detective
Dick Stilwell as Detective
Jess Thomas as Detective
Robert Thompson as Detective
Jody Wood as Detective
Jimmy Ortega as Second Mexican (uncredited)
Nectar Rose as Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)
Rocco Salata as Uniformed Patrol Officer (uncredited)
Dell Yount as Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Scott McKinley as Cop (uncredited)
Gilbert Rosales as Third Mexican (uncredited)
J.P. Romano as Deuce Perkins (uncredited)
Chris Palermo as Anthony Trombino (uncredited)
April Audia as Mayor's Wife (uncredited)
Priscilla Cory as Brunette Police Woman (uncredited)
Fred Lerner as Dudley's Guy with Shotgun (uncredited)
Anne Zogby as Movie Star (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 174

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	0	3
5 to 8	0	5
9 to 12	0	3
13 to 16	0	10
17 to 20	5	21
21 to 24	0	8
25 to 28	8	26
29 to 32	3	36
33 to 36	0	30
37 to 40	1	44
41 to 44	0	5
45 to 48	0	22
49 to 52	0	20
53 to 56	0	5
57 to 60	0	20
61 to 64	5	14
65 to 68	0	43
69 to 72	27	41
73 to 76	0	80
77 to 80	0	12
81 to 84	0	1
85 to 88	0	3
89 to 92	0	2
93 to 96	0	0
97 to 100	0	49
101 to 104	4	1
105 to 108	2	14
109 to 112	6	11
113 to 116	10	32
117 to 120	6	11
121 to 124	0	47
125 to 128	0	20
129 to 132	0	21
133 to 136	7	11
137 to 140	13	28
141 to 144	0	15
145 to 148	3	29
149 to 152	6	49
153 to 156	5	35
157 to 160	0	13
161 to 164	0	17
165 to 168	0	1
169 to 172	0	3
173 to 174	4	8

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, 12 are women's.

115 lines from women, 869 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

22 women and 59 men in the cast. 6 women and 26 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 29 of 1,046. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 154 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 (1,255), men 89% (9,715). Women have 12% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Curtis Hanson (man)
Written by: Brian Helgeland (man), Curtis Hanson (man)
From the novel by: James Ellroy (man)
Produced by: Curtis Hanson (man), Michael G. Nathanson (man), Arnon Milchan (man)
Shot by: Dante Spinotti (man)
Edited by: Peter Honess (man)
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith (man)
Production design by: Jeannine Oppewall (woman)
Costumes by: Ruth Myers (woman)
Cast by: Mali Finn (woman)