Passes the Bechdel test

Stagecoach

Name: Stagecoach
Released: 1939

1939. Directed by John Ford, written by Ernest Haycox and Dudley Nichols and Ben Hecht.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
10 women characters. 5 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 1.
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

A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that Geronimo is on the warpath in the area. The passengers on the coach include a drunken doctor, two women, a bank manager who has taken off with his client's money, and the famous Ringo Kid, among others.

Released: 03 Mar 1939
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Western
Rated: Approved
IMDb: 7.8 / 10
Metascore: 93 / 100
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. 10 wins & 5 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Curly 115 lines, man
Doc 110 lines, man
Buck 91 lines, man
Ringo 84 lines, man
Gatewood 70 lines, man
Dallas 62 lines, woman
Hatfield 41 lines, man
Lucy 35 lines, woman
Peacock 33 lines, man
Chris 27 lines, man

Full cast, 68 people

Claire Trevor as Dallas
John Wayne as The Ringo Kid
George Bancroft as Marshal Curly Wilcox
Andy Devine as Buck
Thomas Mitchell as Doc Josiah Boone
John Carradine as Hatfield
Donald Meek as Samuel Peacock
Berton Churchill as Ellsworth H. Gatewood
Louise Platt as Lucy Mallory
Tim Holt as Lt. Blanchard
Tom Tyler as Luke Plummer
Chief John Big Tree as Indian Scout (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt as Cavalry Scout / Indian Attacking Stagecoach (uncredited)
Francis Ford as Sgt. Billy Pickett (uncredited)
William Hopper as Sergeant (uncredited)
Chris-Pin Martin as Chris (uncredited)
Paul McVey as Pony Express Agent (uncredited)
Jack Pennick as Bartender in Tonto (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook as Telegraph Operator (uncredited)
Whitehorse as Indian Chief (uncredited)
Hank Worden as Cavalryman (uncredited)
Dorothy Appleby as Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
Ted Billings as Bit Part (uncredited)
Wiggie Blowne as Bit Part (uncredited)
Danny Borzage as Bit Part (uncredited)
Ed Brady as Lordsburg Saloon Owner (uncredited)
Fritzi Brunette as Bit Part (uncredited)
Nora Cecil as Boone's Landlady (uncredited)
Steve Clemente as Bit (uncredited)
Bill Cody as Rancher (uncredited)
Jack Curtis as Bartender (uncredited)
Marga Ann Deighton as Mrs. Pickett (uncredited)
Tex Driscoll as Bit Part (uncredited)
Johnny Eckert as Small Role (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum as Deputy Frank (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler as Mrs. Gatewood (uncredited)
Helen Gibson as Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
Robert Homans as Ed the Editor (uncredited)
Si Jenks as Bartender (uncredited)
Cornelius Keefe as Capt. Whitney (uncredited)
Florence Lake as Nancy Whitney (uncredited)
Al Lee as Small Role (uncredited)
Duke R. Lee as Lordsburg Sheriff (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch as Lordsburg Express Agent (uncredited)
James Pier Mason as Tonto Express Agent Jim (uncredited)
Louis Mason as Tonto Sheriff (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick as Ogler (uncredited)
J.P. McGowan as Bit Part (uncredited)
Walter McGrail as Capt. Sickel (uncredited)
Jack Mohr as Small Role (uncredited)
Kent Odell as Billy Pickett Jr. (uncredited)
Artie Ortego as Lordsburg Bar Patron (uncredited)
Vester Pegg as Hank Plummer (uncredited)
Chris Phillips as Small Role (uncredited)
Joe Rickson as Ike Plummer (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt as Rancher (uncredited)
Mickey Simpson as Bit Part (uncredited)
Chuck Stubbs as Bit Part (uncredited)
Leonard Trainor as Townsman (uncredited)
Bryant Washburn as Capt. Simmons (uncredited)
Elvira Ríos as Yakima (uncredited)
Frank Baker as Bit Part (uncredited)
Patricia Doyle as Bit Part (uncredited)
Olin Francis as Lordsburg Townsman (uncredited)
Don Hawks as Small Role (uncredited)
George Huggins as Barfly (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon as Townswoman (uncredited)
Blackjack Ward as Townsman (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.

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.

LUCY: Why, thank you. Goodbye! NANCY: Goodbye!

DALLAS: Wouldn't you like me to sit beside you? You could lean on my shoulder. You look so tired. LUCY: No, thank you.

DALLAS: Mrs. Mallory, I'm awfully sorry. If there's anything I can... LUCY: I'm all right. Thank you.

LUCY: She didn't go to bed, Doctor. LUCY: I'm afraid she sat up all night, while I slept. DALLAS: Oh, I slept in the chair a lot. DALLAS: Well, it was nice to stay awake and hold the baby.

LUCY: Dallas. LUCY: If there's ever anything I can do for... DALLAS: I know.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 17 are women's.

126 lines from women, 634 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

10 women and 49 men in the cast. 5 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 26 of 779. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 108 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 17% of the words (1,087), men 83% (5,257).

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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

1 of the 9 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 7% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: John Ford (man)
Written by: Dudley Nichols (man)
Produced by: John Ford (man)
Shot by: Bert Glennon (man)
Edited by: Otho Lovering (man), Dorothy Spencer (woman), Walter Reynolds (gender not listed)
Music by: Gerard Carbonara (man)
Costumes by: Walter Plunkett (man)