Fails the Bechdel test
Tin Men
1987. Directed by Barry Levinson, written by Barry Levinson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 2 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
One step short of larceny, the aluminum siding salesmen in this movie sell their wares, compete with each other, and engage in a lot of great dialog. Tin Men focuses on the rivalry between BB Babowsky and Ernest Tilley. At the same time, the end of small world of which they are kings looms near as a government probe investigates their industry.
- Released
- 13 Mar 1987
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 75 / 100
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Tilley 328 lines, man
- Bb 256 lines, man
- Nora 121 lines, woman
- Sam 104 lines, man
- Moe 68 lines, man
- Wing 48 lines, man
- Masters 31 lines, man
- Looney 30 lines, man
- Gil 26 lines, man
- Mouse 25 lines, man
Full cast, 54 people
- Richard Dreyfuss as Bill 'BB' Babowsky
- Danny DeVito as Ernest Tilley
- Barbara Hershey as Nora Tilley
- John Mahoney as Moe Adams
- Jackie Gayle as Sam
- Stanley Brock as Gil
- Seymour Cassel as Cheese
- Bruno Kirby as Mouse
- J.T. Walsh as Wing
- Richard Portnow as Carly
- Matt Craven as Looney
- Alan Blumenfeld as Stanley
- Brad Sullivan as Masters
- Michael Tucker as Bagel
- Deirdre O'Connell as Nellie
- Sheila McCauley as Ada
- Michael Willis as Mr. Shubner
- Penny Nichols as Mrs. Shubner
- Susan Duvall as Suburban Housewife
- David DeBoy as Suburban Husband
- Walt MacPherson as Cadillac Salesman
- Florence Moody as Diner Waitress
- Myron Citronbaum as Salesman #1 at Hearing
- Ralph Tabakin as Mr. Hudson
- Norma Posner as Mrs. Hudson
- William C. Godsey as Belvedere Hotel Barman
- Roland Gift as Band Member
- David Steele as Band Member
- Andy Cox as Band Member
- Sharon Ziman as Mason Dixon Operator #1
- Lois Raymond Munchel as Mason Dixon Operator #2
- Kathy Jones as Mason Dixon Operator #3
- Cindy Geppi as Social Security Girl #1
- Ellen Sills as Social Security Girl #2
- Mary Morgan as Social Security Girl #3
- Marcia Herr as Social Security Girl #4
- Karen Barth as Gibraltar Operator #1
- Sharon Crofoot as Gibraltar Operator #2
- Geri Lynn Kelbaugh as Gibraltar Operator #3
- Lisa Ford as Gibraltar Operator #4
- Becky Weidner as Gibraltar Operator #5
- Patti Lennon-Potter as Gibraltar Operator #6
- Shirley Ann Wilson as Gibraltar Operator #7
- Joshua Billings as Man #1 at Crash
- Jeffrey Moser as Man #2 at Crash
- Freddie Stevens as Piano Bar Crooner
- Bill Danoff as Police Officer
- Katherine Ellis as Ruthie, Woman Asking BB to Dance
- Eva Jean Berg as Woman at Smorgasboard
- Todd Jackson as Young Boy
- Barbara Rappaport as Coffee Shop Waitress
- Theodore Goldman as Pool Hall Worker
- Kathleen Goldpaugh as Arguing Wife
- Brian Costantini as Arguing Husband
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 155
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 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 to 8 | 1 | 15 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 26 |
| 17 to 20 | 4 | 69 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 to 28 | 13 | 33 |
| 29 to 32 | 0 | 12 |
| 33 to 36 | 0 | 44 |
| 37 to 40 | 17 | 19 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 35 |
| 45 to 48 | 3 | 21 |
| 49 to 52 | 1 | 13 |
| 53 to 56 | 1 | 78 |
| 57 to 60 | 17 | 8 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 4 |
| 65 to 68 | 0 | 3 |
| 69 to 72 | 1 | 0 |
| 73 to 76 | 5 | 22 |
| 77 to 80 | 0 | 43 |
| 81 to 84 | 14 | 23 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 2 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 42 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 25 |
| 97 to 100 | 3 | 27 |
| 101 to 104 | 14 | 52 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 35 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 2 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 12 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 15 |
| 121 to 124 | 3 | 55 |
| 125 to 128 | 11 | 41 |
| 129 to 132 | 23 | 44 |
| 133 to 136 | 8 | 53 |
| 137 to 140 | 2 | 40 |
| 141 to 144 | 17 | 19 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 28 |
| 149 to 152 | 0 | 21 |
| 153 to 155 | 0 | 17 |
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, 14 are women's.
161 lines from women, 1016 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 21 men in the cast. 2 women and 18 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 8 of 1,202.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 94 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 (1,990), men 90% (16,996). Women have 14% 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
2
Two men
80
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 8% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Barry Levinson (man)
- Written by
- Barry Levinson (man)
- Produced by
- Mark Johnson (man)
- Shot by
- Peter Sova (man)
- Edited by
- Stu Linder (man)
- Music by
- Andy Cox (man), David Steele (man), Roland Gift (man)
- Production design by
- Peter Jamison (man)
- Costumes by
- Gloria Gresham (woman)
- Cast by
- Lisa Clarkson (gender not listed), Louis DiGiaimo (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
-
Writing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 39 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Barbara Hershey 39
Men
Bruno Kirby 37, Richard Dreyfuss 39, Richard Portnow 40, Danny DeVito 42, J.T. Walsh 43, John Mahoney 46, Seymour Cassel 52, Stanley Brock 55, Jackie Gayle 61
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 155 scenes and 1,202 lines of dialogue. How the test works
