Fails the Bechdel test
The Green Mile
1999. Directed by Frank Darabont, written by Stephen King and Frank Darabont.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
10 women characters. 6 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
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Based on Stephen King's 1996 novel of the same name. Stars Tom Hanks as a death row corrections officer during the U.S. Great Depression who witnesses supernatural events that occur after an enigmatic inmate (Michael Clarke Duncan) is brought to his facility.
- Released
- 10 Dec 1999
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Fantasy
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 61 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 4 Oscars. 15 wins & 37 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Paul 326 lines, man
- Coffey 98 lines, man
- Brutal 96 lines, man
- Percy 63 lines, man
- Jan 41 lines, woman
- Del 40 lines, man
- Hal 40 lines, man
- Billy 33 lines, man
- Harry 29 lines, man
- Elaine 25 lines, woman
Full cast, 44 people
- Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb
- David Morse as Brutus 'Brutal' Howell
- Bonnie Hunt as Jan Edgecomb
- Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey
- James Cromwell as Warden Hal Moores
- Michael Jeter as Eduard Delacroix
- Graham Greene as Arlen Bitterbuck
- Doug Hutchison as Percy Wetmore
- Sam Rockwell as 'Wild Bill' Wharton
- Barry Pepper as Dean Stanton
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Harry Terwilliger
- Patricia Clarkson as Melinda Moores
- Harry Dean Stanton as Toot-Toot
- Dabbs Greer as Old Paul Edgecomb
- Eve Brent as Elaine Connelly
- William Sadler as Klaus Detterick
- Mack Miles as Orderly Hector
- Rai Tasco as Man in Nursing Home
- Edrie Warner as Lady in Nursing Home
- Paula Malcomson as Marjorie Detterick
- Christopher Joel Ives as Howie Detterick
- Evanne Drucker as Kathe Detterick
- Bailey Drucker as Cora Detterick
- Brian Libby as Sheriff McGee
- Brent Briscoe as Bill Dodge
- Bill McKinney as Jack Van Hay
- Gary Sinise as Burt Hammersmith
- Rachel Singer as Cynthia Hammersmith
- Scotty Leavenworth as Hammersmith's Son
- Katelyn Leavenworth as Hammersmith's Daughter
- Bill Gratton as Earl the Plumber
- Dee Croxton as Woman at Del's Execution
- Rebecca Klingler as Wife at Del's Execution
- Gary Imhoff as Husband at Del's Execution
- Van Epperson as Police Officer
- David E. Browning as Reverend at Funeral
- Tommy Barnes as Tower Guard (uncredited)
- Wes Hall as Prisoner (uncredited)
- Phil Hawn as Police Photographer (uncredited)
- Judy Herrera as Bitterbuck's Daughter (uncredited)
- Gower Mills as Inmate (uncredited)
- Garth Shaw as Inmate (uncredited)
- Jared Stovall as Inmate (uncredited)
- Todd Thompson as Prison Guard (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 110
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 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 to 12 | 10 | 21 |
| 13 to 15 | 3 | 6 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 53 |
| 19 to 21 | 2 | 4 |
| 22 to 24 | 8 | 43 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 53 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 43 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 36 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 8 |
| 40 to 42 | 2 | 9 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 38 |
| 46 to 48 | 5 | 3 |
| 49 to 51 | 2 | 3 |
| 52 to 54 | 3 | 37 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 38 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 15 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 65 |
| 64 to 66 | 2 | 62 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 8 |
| 73 to 75 | 4 | 28 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 30 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 21 |
| 82 to 84 | 2 | 33 |
| 85 to 87 | 14 | 21 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 44 |
| 91 to 93 | 17 | 20 |
| 94 to 96 | 5 | 45 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 2 | 5 |
| 103 to 105 | 13 | 25 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 6 |
| 109 to 110 | 0 | 3 |
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, 10 are women's.
97 lines from women, 831 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
10 women and 29 men in the cast. 6 women and 16 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 17 of 937.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 145 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 10% of the words (1,082), men 90% (9,999).
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
0
Two men
68
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Frank Darabont (man)
- Written by
- Frank Darabont (man)
- From the novel by
- Stephen King (man)
- Produced by
- Frank Darabont (man), David Valdes (man)
- Shot by
- David Tattersall (man)
- Edited by
- Richard Francis-Bruce (man)
- Music by
- Thomas Newman (man)
- Production design by
- Terence Marsh (man)
- Costumes by
- Karyn Wagner (woman)
- Cast by
- Mali Finn (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 6 men
-
Sound
0 women, 8 men
-
Production
2 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 5 men
-
Art
1 women, 4 men
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Bonnie Hunt 38
Men
Barry Pepper 29, Sam Rockwell 31, Doug Hutchison 39, Michael Clarke Duncan 42, Tom Hanks 43, David Morse 46, Michael Jeter 47, Graham Greene 47, James Cromwell 59
Exhibit G: the money
It made 4.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $60 million
- Box office
- $287 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 110 scenes and 937 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
