Fails the Bechdel test

The Ladykillers

Name: The Ladykillers
Released: 2004

2004. Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen and William Rose.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 2 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

A remake of the 1955 comedy, the story revolves around a Southern professor who puts together a group of thieves to rob a casino. They rent a room in an old woman's house, but soon she discovers the plot and they must kill her, a task that is more difficult than it seems.

Released: 26 Mar 2004
Genres: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.2 / 10
Metascore: 56 / 100
Awards: 6 wins & 4 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Dorr 216 lines, man
Mrs. Munson 172 lines, woman
Pancake 130 lines, man
Gawain 84 lines, man
Sheriff Wyner 39 lines, man
Lump 37 lines, man
Director 19 lines, man
Preacher 18 lines, man
Weemack 15 lines, man
Gudge 12 lines, man

Full cast, 38 people

Tom Hanks as Professor G.H. Dorr
Irma P. Hall as Marva Munson
Marlon Wayans as Gawain MacSam
J.K. Simmons as Garth Pancake
Tzi Ma as The General
Ryan Hurst as Lump Hudson
Diane Delano as Mountain Girl
George Wallace as Sherriff Wyner
John McConnell as Deputy Sheriff
Jason Weaver as Weemack Funthes
Stephen Root as Fernand Gudge
Baadja-Lyne Odums as Rosalie Funthes
Walter K. Jordan as Elron
George Anthony Bell as Preacher
Greg Grunberg as TV Commercial Director
Hallie Singleton as Craft Service
Robert Baker as Quarterback
Blake Clark as Football Coach
Amad Jackson as Doughnut Gangster
Aldis Hodge as Doughnut Gangster
Freda Foh Shen as Doughnut Woman
Paula Martin as Gawain's Mama
Jeremy Suarez as Li'l Gawain
Te Te Benn as Gawain's Sister
Khalil East as Gawain's Brother
Jennifer Echols as Waffle Hut Waitress
Nita Norris as Tea Lady
Rappin' Granny as Tea Lady
Maryn Tasco as Tea Lady
Muriel Whitaker as Tea Lady
Jessie Bailey as Tea Lady
Louisa Abernathy as Church Voice (voice)
Mildred Dumas as Church Voice (voice)
Al Fann as Church Voice (voice)
Mi Mi Green-Fann as Church Voice (voice)
Maurice Watson as Othar
Bruce Campbell as Humane Society Worker (uncredited)
Michael Dotson as Angry Football Fan (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 140

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	21	22
7 to 9	6	0
10 to 12	3	3
13 to 15	15	18
16 to 18	7	18
19 to 21	1	54
22 to 24	2	6
25 to 27	0	15
28 to 30	12	3
31 to 33	6	39
34 to 36	0	0
37 to 39	17	19
40 to 42	2	58
43 to 45	9	12
46 to 48	14	0
49 to 51	1	12
52 to 54	5	25
55 to 57	2	9
58 to 60	4	18
61 to 63	3	4
64 to 66	0	29
67 to 69	0	0
70 to 72	0	0
73 to 75	0	16
76 to 78	0	9
79 to 81	0	7
82 to 84	0	3
85 to 87	0	9
88 to 90	0	1
91 to 93	0	1
94 to 96	0	2
97 to 99	0	0
100 to 102	3	6
103 to 105	6	14
106 to 108	20	27
109 to 111	11	27
112 to 114	4	38
115 to 117	0	0
118 to 120	0	5
121 to 123	2	11
124 to 126	0	0
127 to 129	0	0
130 to 132	0	0
133 to 135	2	28
136 to 138	19	17
139 to 140	4	0

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, 26 are women's.

201 lines from women, 585 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

16 women and 19 men in the cast. 2 women and 13 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 5 of 829. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 83 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 19% of the words (1,938), men 81% (8,521). Women have 26% 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

2 of the 16 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Joel Coen (man), Ethan Coen (man)
Written by: Joel Coen (man), Ethan Coen (man)
Produced by: Ethan Coen (man), Joel Coen (man), Tom Jacobson (man), Barry Josephson (man), Barry Sonnenfeld (man)
Shot by: Roger Deakins (man)
Edited by: Ethan Coen (man), Joel Coen (man)
Music by: Carter Burwell (man)
Production design by: Dennis Gassner (man)
Costumes by: Mary Zophres (woman)
Cast by: Ellen Chenoweth (woman)