Fails the Bechdel test
The Lost Weekend
1945. Directed by Billy Wilder, written by Charles R. Jackson and Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
12 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 2 out of 3.
The film
Don Birnam, long-time alcoholic, has been "on the wagon" for ten days and seems to be over the worst; but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother Wick and girlfriend Helen, he begins a four-day bender. In flashbacks we see past events, all gone wrong because of the bottle. But this bout looks like being his last...one way or the other.
- Released
- 01 Jan 1946
- Genres
- Drama, Film-Noir
- Rated
- Approved
- IMDb
- 7.8 / 10
- Awards
- Won 4 Oscars. 18 wins & 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Don 399 lines, man
- Helen 191 lines, woman
- Wick 101 lines, man
- Nat 76 lines, man
- Gloria 47 lines, woman
- Bim 33 lines, man
- Mrs. Deveridge 19 lines, woman
- Attendant 17 lines
- Albany 11 lines, man
- Mrs. Foley 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 60 people
- Ray Milland as Don Birnam
- Jane Wyman as Helen St. James
- Phillip Terry as Wick Birnam
- Howard Da Silva as Nat the Bartender
- Doris Dowling as Gloria
- Frank Faylen as 'Bim' Nolan
- Mary Young as Mrs. Deveridge
- Anita Sharp-Bolster as Mrs. Foley
- Lilian Fontaine as Mrs. Charles St. James
- Frank Orth as Opera Cloak Room Attendant
- Lewis L. Russell as Charles St. James
- Andy Andrews as Alcoholic (uncredited)
- Walter Baldwin as Man from Albany (uncredited)
- Harry Barris as Pianist at Harry & Joe's (uncredited)
- Jess Lee Brooks as (uncredited)
- Jack Rube Clifford as Guard (uncredited)
- David Clyde as Dave (uncredited)
- James Conaty as Man in Nightclub Washroom (uncredited)
- Willa Pearl Curtis as Mrs. Wertheim's Assistant (uncredited)
- John Deauville as Cloakroom Attendant (uncredited)
- Helen Dickson as Mrs. Frink (uncredited)
- Franklyn Farnum as Concert Attendee (uncredited)
- Byron Foulger as Shopkeeper (uncredited)
- Jayne Hazard as M. (uncredited)
- Ted Hecht as Man with Bandaged Ear (uncredited)
- Ernest Hilliard as Headwaiter (uncredited)
- Earle Hyman as Smoking Man (uncredited)
- Jerry James as Male Nurse (uncredited)
- Stan Johnson as Nurse (uncredited)
- Jack W. Johnston as Nightclub Guest (uncredited)
- Karl 'Karchy' Kosiczky as Baby (uncredited)
- Eddie Laughton as Mr. Brophy (uncredited)
- Perc Launders as Doorman (uncredited)
- Bertram Marburgh as Jewish Man (uncredited)
- William Meader as Hardware Man (uncredited)
- James Millican as Nurse (uncredited)
- Frank Mills as Drunk in Alcoholic Ward (uncredited)
- Pat Moriarity as Irishman (uncredited)
- William Newell as Liquor Store Proprietor (uncredited)
- William O'Leary as Irishman (uncredited)
- Peter Potter as Shaky and Sweaty Man (uncredited)
- Stanley Price as Fruit Clerk (uncredited)
- Craig Reynolds as George (uncredited)
- Lester Sharpe as Jewish Man (uncredited)
- Lee Shumway as Guard (uncredited)
- Douglas Spencer as Hospital Patient Seeing Imaginary Beetles (uncredited)
- Al Stewart as Mattress Man (uncredited)
- Amzie Strickland as Woman in Bar (uncredited)
- Harry Tenbrook as Drunk in Alcoholic Ward (uncredited)
- Fred 'Snowflake' Toones as Washroom Attendant at Harry & Joe's (uncredited)
- Emmett Vogan as Doctor (uncredited)
- Max Wagner as Mike (uncredited)
- Milton Wallace as Pawnbroker with Helen's Coat (uncredited)
- Gisela Werbisek as Mrs. Wertheim (uncredited)
- Crane Whitley as Waiter at Harry & Joe's Bar (uncredited)
- Ernest Whitman as Black Man Talking to Himself (uncredited)
- Harry Wilson as Drunk (uncredited)
- Isabel Withers as Woman Before Pawn Shop (uncredited)
- Audrey Young as Cloak Room Attendant (uncredited)
- Dick Gordon as Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 2
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 1 | 60 | 194 |
| 2 to 2 | 234 | 465 |
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, 31 are women's.
294 lines from women, 659 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
12 women and 44 men in the cast. 6 women and 11 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 36 of 981.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 82 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 29% of the words (2,989), men 71% (7,353). Women have 31% 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
0
Two men
35
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 9 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 4% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Billy Wilder (man)
- Written by
- Charles Brackett (man), Billy Wilder (man)
- From the novel by
- Charles R. Jackson (man)
- Produced by
- Charles Brackett (man)
- Shot by
- John F. Seitz (man)
- Edited by
- Doane Harrison (man)
- Music by
- Miklós Rózsa (man)
- Costumes by
- Edith Head (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 5 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 45 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Doris Dowling 22, Jane Wyman 28, Anita Sharp-Bolster 50, Lilian Fontaine 59, Mary Young 66
Men
Phillip Terry 36, Howard Da Silva 36, Ray Milland 38, Frank Faylen 39, Frank Orth 65
Exhibit G: the money
It made 8.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $1.3 million
- Box office
- $11 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 2 scenes and 981 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
