Fails the Bechdel test
The Majestic
2001. Directed by Frank Darabont, written by Michael Sloane.
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
Peter Appleton is an ambitious young screenwriter working for HHS Studios during Hollywood's Golden Age--1951 in particular. "Ashes to Ashes" is about to be released, and he's dating its attractive star, Sandra Sinclair. Just when everything seems to be going his way, it is discovered that he (unwittingly) attended a Communist meeting during college when dragged there by his girlfriend at the time; thus, heavy suspicion settles over him and he must stand before Congress. Afraid of what might happen if they don't, HHS cancels Appleton's contract and aborts the film's release. Appleton promptly plunges into self-pity and spends nearly a whole night at a bar, then drives intoxicated through the streets of California until he plummets into a stormy river and is knocked unconscious. He washes up on the beaches of a small town called Lawson. The citizens are pleasant and likable, but the town is depressed and lifeless after losing 62 of its sons in World War II. One of them, Luke Trimble, was Missing in Action, and miraculously, Peter bears a striking resemblance to the black-and-white photos: close enough to fool even Luke's father Harry. And the alcohol and blow to the head have brought on amnesia, so Peter decides that he must be who they think he is. Besides, it's not a bad life: Luke's beautiful girlfriend, lawyer Adele Stanton, is all over him; the town has sudden sprung back to life with excitement, and he and his "father" rebuild a movie palace Harry used to run, The Majestic. Unfortunately, Peter's memory returns in time for G-men to track him down.
- Released
- 21 Dec 2001
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 6.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 27 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Pete 181 lines, man
- Luke 146 lines, man
- Adele 96 lines, woman
- Harry 89 lines, man
- Lardner 55 lines, man
- Leo 52 lines, man
- Clyde 33 lines, man
- Ernie 28 lines, man
- Eldridge 26 lines, man
- Old Tim 25 lines, man
Full cast, 80 people
- Jim Carrey as Peter Appleton
- Martin Landau as Harry Trimble
- Laurie Holden as Adele Stanton
- Gerry Black as Emmett Smith
- David Ogden Stiers as Doc Stanton
- Bob Balaban as Elvin Glyde
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Mayor Ernie Cole
- Hal Holbrook as Congressman Doyle
- Brent Briscoe as Sheriff Cecil Coleman
- Ron Rifkin as Kevin Bannerman
- James Whitmore as Stan Keller
- Susan Willis as Irene Terwilliger
- Catherine Dent as Mabel
- Brian Howe as Carl Leffert
- Karl Bury as Bob Leffert
- Chelcie Ross as Avery Wyatt
- Amanda Detmer as Sandra Sinclair
- Allen Garfield as Leo Kubelsky
- Daniel von Bargen as Federal Agent Ellerby
- Mario Roccuzzo as Jerry the Bartender
- Earl Boen as Newsreel Announcer (voice)
- Bruce Campbell as Roland the Intrepid Explorer
- Cliff Curtis as The Evil But Handsome Prince Khalid
- Michael Sloane as Kindly Old Professor Meredith
- Garry Marshall as Studio Executive (voice)
- Paul Mazursky as Studio Executive (voice)
- Sydney Pollack as Studio Executive (voice)
- Carl Reiner as Studio Executive (voice)
- Rob Reiner as Studio Executive (voice)
- Matt Damon as Luke Trimble (voice)
- Shawn Doyle as Federal Agent Saunders
- Frank Collison as Subpoena Server
- Bill Gratton as Daley
- Ginger Williams as Louise
- Ken Magee as Coastal Engineer
- Csilla Horvath as Nurse Muriel
- April Ortiz as Vera
- Larry Cox as Grauman's Usher
- Julie Richardson as Grauman's Bon-Bon Girl
- Scotty Leavenworth as Joey
- Grant Vaught as Boy on Beach
- Bob Wells as Reverend
- Kevin DeMunn as Western Union Man
- Matt G. Wiens as Spencer Wyatt
- Jeffrey Adams as Principal Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- Steven Lee Allen as Studio Guard (uncredited)
- Kris Andersson as Dancer (uncredited)
- Alvah Bessie as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives, behind Cole) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Herbert J. Biberman as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Jennifer Blaire as Carl's Date (uncredited)
- Chris Carver as Dancer (uncredited)
- Lester Cole as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Lathan Crowe as Casanova (uncredited)
- Corey Foxx as Photographer (uncredited)
- Kate Greeke as Popcorn Girl (uncredited)
- Gordon Hart as Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- J. Edgar Hoover as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Jesse Jensen as Soldier (uncredited)
- Mary Kircher as Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- Tony Laanan as Grauman's Usher (uncredited)
- Ring Lardner Jr. as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives, behind Biberman) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- John Howard Lawson as Self (Hollywood Ten, testifies) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Brian Libby as Studio Guard Hal (uncredited)
- Melissa S. Markess as Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- Amanda Melby as Young Mrs. Trimble (uncredited)
- Christopher Metas as Cassanova (uncredited)
- Samuel Ornitz as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Kimberly Prendez as Girl at Welcome Home Party (uncredited)
- Maudie Purcell as Old Lady (uncredited)
- Bubba Dean Rambo as Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- George Ratliff as Dancer (uncredited)
- Craig Richards as Studio Guard (uncredited)
- Philip Romano as Sword fight (uncredited)
- Dave Rosenbaum as Swing Dancer (uncredited)
- Adrian Scott as Self (Hollywood Ten, arrives, behind Cole) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Gary Sommers as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Cole Spivey as Theater Patron (uncredited)
- Robert Thorne as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Jack Truman as Party Member (uncredited)
- Steven Paul Zsenyuk as Driver/Theater Patron (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 132
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 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 to 6 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 to 9 | 8 | 65 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 to 24 | 5 | 29 |
| 25 to 27 | 3 | 34 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 35 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 30 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 15 |
| 37 to 39 | 2 | 23 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 17 |
| 43 to 45 | 9 | 20 |
| 46 to 48 | 9 | 51 |
| 49 to 51 | 22 | 16 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 4 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 18 |
| 58 to 60 | 8 | 34 |
| 61 to 63 | 16 | 15 |
| 64 to 66 | 6 | 24 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 1 | 34 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 1 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 to 81 | 6 | 4 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 0 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 0 |
| 91 to 93 | 3 | 11 |
| 94 to 96 | 2 | 5 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 21 |
| 100 to 102 | 7 | 16 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 14 |
| 106 to 108 | 12 | 13 |
| 109 to 111 | 9 | 45 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 15 |
| 115 to 117 | 3 | 13 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 38 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 7 |
| 124 to 126 | 1 | 14 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 38 |
| 130 to 132 | 3 | 8 |
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, 16 are women's.
145 lines from women, 751 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
10 women and 51 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 12 of 943.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 105 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 (1,684), men 84% (8,877).
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
62
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 9 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 34% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Frank Darabont (man)
- Written by
- Michael Sloane (man)
- Produced by
- Frank Darabont (man)
- Shot by
- David Tattersall (man)
- Edited by
- Jim Page (man)
- Music by
- Mark Isham (man)
- Production design by
- Gregory S. Melton (man)
- Costumes by
- Karyn Wagner (woman)
- Cast by
- Deborah Aquila (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
12 women, 2 men, 10 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 5 men, 13 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 15 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
3 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
-
Production
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 59 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Laurie Holden 32
Men
Jim Carrey 39, Brent Briscoe 40, Jeffrey DeMunn 54, Bob Balaban 56, David Ogden Stiers 59, Ron Rifkin 62, Martin Landau 73, Gerry Black 74, Hal Holbrook 76
Exhibit G: the money
It made 52% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $72 million
- Box office
- $37.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 132 scenes and 943 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
