Passes the Bechdel test
Scrooged
1988. Directed by Richard Donner, written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue and Charles Dickens.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
27 women characters. 13 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 126. -
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.
The film
Francis Xavier Cross is a cynical, mean spirited television executive, he treats his loyal assistant with contempt. He just sacked a member of staff on Christmas Eve for simply disagreeing with him, and he's alienated himself from his brother who still insists on inviting Frank to Christmas dinner despite him refusing to go every year. However, Frank is forced to learn the true meaning of Christmas when he's visited by three ghosts.
- Released
- 23 Nov 1988
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 38 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 win & 5 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Frank 269 lines, man
- Grace 42 lines, woman
- Claire 36 lines, woman
- Youngclaire 27 lines
- Cabbie 25 lines, man
- Lew 25 lines, man
- Youngfrank 24 lines
- Brice 19 lines, man
- Eliot 17 lines, man
- Fairy 15 lines, man
Full cast, 93 people
- Bill Murray as Francis Cross
- Karen Allen as Claire Phillips
- John Forsythe as Lew Hayward
- John Glover as Bryce Cummings
- Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk
- Robert Mitchum as Preston Rhinelander
- David Johansen as Ghost of Christmas Past
- Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present
- Nicholas Phillips as Calvin Cooley
- Michael J. Pollard as Herman
- Alfre Woodard as Grace Cooley
- Mabel King as Gramma
- John Murray as James Cross
- Jamie Farr as Jacob Marley
- Robert Goulet as Self
- Buddy Hackett as Self
- John Houseman as Self
- Lee Majors as Self
- Pat McCormick as Ghost of Christmas Present (TV)
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Earl Cross
- Mary Lou Retton as Self
- Al 'Red Dog' Weber as Santa Claus
- Jean Speegle Howard as Mrs. Claus
- June Chandler as June Cleaver
- Michael Eidam as Wally Cleaver
- Mary Ellen Trainor as Ted
- Bruce Jarchow as Wayne
- Sanford Jensen as Executive
- Jeffrey Joseph as Executive
- Peter Bromilow as Archbishop
- Bill Marcus as IBC Guard
- Cal Gibson as IBC Guard
- Damon Hines as Steven Cooley
- Tamika McCollum as Shasta Cooley
- Koren McCollum as Randee Cooley
- Reina King as Lanell Cooley
- Paul Tuerpe as Stage Manager
- Lester Wilson as Choreographer
- Ron Strang as Art Director
- Kate McGregor-Stewart as Lady Censor
- Jack McGee as Carpenter
- Bill Hart as Carpenter
- Kathy Kinney as IBC Nurse
- Ralph Gervais as Mouse Wrangler
- Alvin Hammer as Foreman
- Tony Steedman as Headwaiter
- Lisa Mende as Doris Cross
- Ryan Todd as Frank as Child
- Rebeca Arthur as Tina
- Selma Archerd as Mrs. Claus at Party
- Jay Byron as Man #2 at Party
- Harvey Fisher as Party Guest
- C. Ransom Walrod as Party Animal
- James R. Miller as Security Guard at Party
- Jennie Lew Tugend as Foo-Ling
- Roy Brocksmith as Mike the Mailman
- Shawn Michaels as Stage Manager - "Frisbee"
- Stella Hall as Lew Hayward's Secretary
- Sachi Parker as Belle
- Delores Hall as Hazel
- Anne Ramsey as Woman in Shelter
- Logan Ramsey as Man in Shelter
- Sydna Scott as Woman #2 in Shelter
- Wendie Malick as Wendie Cross
- Joel Murray as Guest
- Mitch Glazer as Guest
- Susan Isaacs as Guest
- Lauri Kempson as Guest
- Chaz Conner as Ghost of Christmas Future (TV)
- Miro Polo as Mary Lou's Coach
- Ralph Bruneau as Nephew
- Maria Riva as Mrs. Rhinelander
- James Kindelon as Butler
- Raphael Harris as Older Calvin
- Wayne A. Finkelman as Orderly
- Susan Barnes as Harpy
- Lynne Randall as Harpy
- Gilles Savard as Waiter
- Michael O'Donoghue as Priest
- Dick McGarvin as Announcer
- Tom Doak as Video Tape Director
- Sam Drummy as Cameraman on Crane
- Winfred Tennison as Marvin
- Steve Kahan as Technician
- Norman D. Wilson as Technician
- Henry Brown as Technician
- Jeanine Jackson as Technician
- Amy Hill as Technician
- Miles Davis as Street Musician
- Larry Carlton as Street Musician
- David Sanborn as Street Musician
- Paul Shaffer as Street Musician
- Dick Blasucci as Executive
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 16% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 126
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 | 3 |
| 4 to 6 | 2 | 17 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 11 | 18 |
| 16 to 18 | 9 | 28 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 to 27 | 18 | 0 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 7 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 15 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 6 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 18 |
| 40 to 42 | 7 | 16 |
| 43 to 45 | 33 | 76 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 6 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 4 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 15 |
| 55 to 57 | 2 | 18 |
| 58 to 60 | 1 | 8 |
| 61 to 63 | 3 | 3 |
| 64 to 66 | 2 | 31 |
| 67 to 69 | 1 | 5 |
| 70 to 72 | 17 | 37 |
| 73 to 75 | 8 | 31 |
| 76 to 78 | 6 | 21 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 9 |
| 82 to 84 | 1 | 6 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 2 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 15 |
| 91 to 93 | 3 | 8 |
| 94 to 96 | 2 | 5 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 3 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 2 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 18 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 3 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 4 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 8 |
| 115 to 117 | 1 | 2 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 4 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 1 |
| 124 to 126 | 1 | 8 |
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.
GRACE: Yeah, but still ... LANELL: Some day we got to get a real tree.
HAZEL: We got a problem. Do you know where the fuse box is? CLAIRE: Uh ...yeah. Right now?
HAZEL: And you better call the A&P about the turkeys. CLAIRE: They're not here yet? Wait a minute. I'll be right back.
LANELL: Oh ·mom, you didn't have to come gee me. I can - GRACE: I'm. not having you ri~e that subway alone at night. You almost ready? SHASTA: Get away! You don't.know how to do it!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.
133 lines from women, 494 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
27 women and 51 men in the cast. 13 women and 22 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 24 of 745.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 63 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 (1,099), men 84% (5,617). Women have 21% 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
6
Two men
53
Exhibit F: behind the camera
None of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Richard Donner (man)
- Written by
- Mitch Glazer (man), Michael O'Donoghue (man)
- From the novel by
- Charles Dickens (man)
- Produced by
- Richard Donner (man), Art Linson (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Chapman (man)
- Edited by
- Fredric Steinkamp (man), William Steinkamp (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- J. Michael Riva (man)
- Cast by
- David Rubin (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
4 women, 12 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 7 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Carol Kane 36, Karen Allen 37
Men
Bobcat Goldthwait 26, Bill Murray 38, David Johansen 38, John Glover 44, Michael J. Pollard 49, John Forsythe 70, Robert Mitchum 71
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $32 million
- Box office
- $60.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 126 scenes and 745 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
