Fails the Bechdel test
The Shawshank Redemption
1994. Directed by Frank Darabont, written by Stephen King and Frank Darabont.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
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 0 out of 3.
The film
Chronicles the experiences of a formerly successful banker as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the man's unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red.
- Released
- 14 Oct 1994
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 9.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 82 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 7 Oscars. 21 wins & 43 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Red 270 lines, man
- Andy 173 lines, man
- Norton 55 lines, man
- Heywood 47 lines, man
- Hadley 39 lines, man
- Brooks 33 lines, man
- Tommy 29 lines, man
- Floyd 16 lines, man
- Bogs 12 lines, man
- Guard 7 lines, man
Full cast, 60 people
- Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne
- Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding
- Bob Gunton as Warden Norton
- William Sadler as Heywood
- Clancy Brown as Captain Byron T. Hadley
- Gil Bellows as Tommy
- James Whitmore as Brooks Hatlen
- Mark Rolston as Bogs Diamond
- Jeffrey DeMunn as 1946 D.A.
- Larry Brandenburg as Skeet
- Neil Giuntoli as Jigger
- Brian Libby as Floyd
- David Proval as Snooze
- Joseph Ragno as Ernie
- Jude Ciccolella as Guard Mert
- Paul McCrane as Guard Trout
- Renee Blaine as Andy Dufresne's Wife
- Scott Mann as Glenn Quentin
- John Horton as 1946 Judge
- Gordon Greene as 1947 Parole Hearings Man
- Alfonso Freeman as Fresh Fish Con
- Vincent Foster as Hungry Fish Con
- John E. Summers as New Fish Guard
- Frank Medrano as Fat Ass
- Mack Miles as Tyrell
- Alan R. Kessler as Laundry Bob
- Morgan Lund as Laundry Truck Driver
- Cornell Wallace as Laundry Leonard
- Gary Lee Davis as Rooster
- Neil Summers as Pete
- Ned Bellamy as Guard Youngblood
- Joe Pecoraro as Projectionist
- Harold E. Cope Jr. as Hole Guard
- Brian Delate as Guard Dekins
- Don McManus as Guard Wiley
- Donald Zinn as Moresby Batter
- Dorothy Silver as 1954 Landlady
- Robert Haley as 1954 Food-Way Manager
- Dana Snyder as 1954 Food-Way Woman
- John D. Craig as 1957 Parole Hearings Man
- Ken Magee as Ned Grimes
- Eugene C. DePasquale as Mail Caller
- Bill Bolender as Elmo Blatch
- Ron Newell as Elderly Hole Guard
- John R. Woodward as Bullhorn Tower Guard
- Chuck Brauchler as Man Missing Guard
- Dion Anderson as Head Bull Haig
- Claire Slemmer as Bank Teller
- James Kisicki as Bank Manager
- Rohn Thomas as Bugle Editor
- Charlie Kearns as 1966 D.A.
- Rob Reider as Duty Guard
- Brian Brophy as 1967 Parole Hearings Man
- Paul Kennedy as 1967 Food-Way Manager
- James Babson as Con (uncredited)
- Dennis Baker as Old Man on Bus (uncredited)
- Fred Culbertson as Police Officer (uncredited)
- Alonzo F. Jones as Inmate (uncredited)
- Sergio Kato as Inmate II (uncredited)
- Nicolas Uribe as Rain droplet
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, 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 249
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 6 | 2 | 14 |
| 7 to 12 | 0 | 31 |
| 13 to 18 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 to 24 | 0 | 7 |
| 25 to 30 | 0 | 27 |
| 31 to 36 | 0 | 49 |
| 37 to 42 | 0 | 15 |
| 43 to 48 | 0 | 45 |
| 49 to 54 | 0 | 44 |
| 55 to 60 | 0 | 31 |
| 61 to 66 | 0 | 23 |
| 67 to 72 | 0 | 43 |
| 73 to 78 | 0 | 11 |
| 79 to 84 | 0 | 30 |
| 85 to 90 | 1 | 5 |
| 91 to 96 | 1 | 8 |
| 97 to 102 | 0 | 14 |
| 103 to 108 | 0 | 11 |
| 109 to 114 | 0 | 3 |
| 115 to 120 | 0 | 25 |
| 121 to 126 | 0 | 13 |
| 127 to 132 | 3 | 22 |
| 133 to 138 | 0 | 24 |
| 139 to 144 | 0 | 14 |
| 145 to 150 | 0 | 13 |
| 151 to 156 | 0 | 25 |
| 157 to 162 | 0 | 29 |
| 163 to 168 | 0 | 40 |
| 169 to 174 | 0 | 21 |
| 175 to 180 | 0 | 10 |
| 181 to 186 | 0 | 25 |
| 187 to 192 | 0 | 7 |
| 193 to 198 | 0 | 9 |
| 199 to 204 | 0 | 2 |
| 205 to 210 | 2 | 10 |
| 211 to 216 | 0 | 3 |
| 217 to 222 | 0 | 5 |
| 223 to 228 | 0 | 16 |
| 229 to 234 | 0 | 5 |
| 235 to 240 | 0 | 8 |
| 241 to 246 | 0 | 2 |
| 247 to 249 | 0 | 7 |
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, 1 are women's.
9 lines from women, 758 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
3 women and 45 men in the cast. 2 women and 29 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 788.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 400 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 1% of the words (134), men 99% (11,225).
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
71
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 19% 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
- Niki Marvin (woman)
- Shot by
- Roger Deakins (man)
- Edited by
- Richard Francis-Bruce (man)
- Music by
- Thomas Newman (man)
- Production design by
- Terence Marsh (man)
- Costumes by
- Elizabeth McBride (woman)
- Cast by
- Julie Lichter (gender not listed), Deborah Aquila (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 16 men, 28 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 14 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 5 men, 8 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 7 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 3 men, 8 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 4 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Men
Gil Bellows 27, Tim Robbins 35, Clancy Brown 35, Mark Rolston 37, William Sadler 44, Larry Brandenburg 46, Jeffrey DeMunn 47, Bob Gunton 48, Morgan Freeman 57, James Whitmore 72
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $25 million
- Box office
- $28.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 249 scenes and 788 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
