Fails the Bechdel test
Tough Guys
1986. Directed by Jeff Kanew, written by James Orr and Jim Cruickshank.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
6 women characters. 4 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
Harry and Archie are released from prison ready to collect their Social Security. How could they get into trouble at their age? Let's count the ways; A parole officer who is a famous criminal groupie, Dead end where people don't know they are dealing with dangerous, though older, criminals, a hit man who can barely see, but who still has an outstanding contract on them. Does anyone still rob trains?
- Released
- 03 Oct 1986
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 6.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 54 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Archie 290 lines, man
- Harry 248 lines, man
- Richie 66 lines, man
- Leon 60 lines, man
- Yablonski 45 lines, man
- Belle 31 lines, woman
- Skye 30 lines, woman
- Young Boy 18 lines, man
- Philly 13 lines, man
- Shultz 13 lines, man
Full cast, 34 people
- Burt Lancaster as Harry Doyle
- Kirk Douglas as Archie Long
- Charles Durning as Deke Yablonski
- Alexis Smith as Belle
- Dana Carvey as Richie Evans
- Eli Wallach as Leon B. Little
- Billy Barty as Philly
- Darlanne Fluegel as Skye
- Darlene Conley as Gladys Ripps
- Nathan Davis as Jimmy Ellis
- Hilary Shepard as Sandy
- Jake Steinfeld as Howard
- Arthur Tovey as First Old Man Eating
- Anthony Kiedis as Red Hot Chili Peppers Member
- Flea as Red Hot Chili Peppers Member
- Ernie Sabella as Hotel Clerk
- Joe Seely as Gang Member
- Rick Garcia as Federale Captain
- Bob Maxwell as Syms
- Graham Jarvis as Richie's Boss
- Corkey Ford as Gang Leader
- Ruth de Sosa as Teller #1
- John Mariano as Teller #2
- Grant Aleksander as Bartender at Mickey's
- Larry Mintz as Bank Robber #1
- Dick Hancock as Bank Robber #2
- John Demy as Policeman in Park
- Jimmy Lennon Sr. as Jimmy Lennon
- Kenneth Ransom as Gang Member #3
- Joe Seely as Gang Member #4
- Michael Francis Kelly as Ambulance Attendant #1
- Jeffery Lynn Johnson as Ambulance Attendant #2
- Hugo Stanger as Old Man
- Jeanne Mori as Female Officer
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 129
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 | 7 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 23 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 53 |
| 10 to 12 | 5 | 11 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 8 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 49 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 27 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 62 |
| 25 to 27 | 3 | 17 |
| 28 to 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 31 to 33 | 17 | 17 |
| 34 to 36 | 4 | 14 |
| 37 to 39 | 7 | 13 |
| 40 to 42 | 13 | 14 |
| 43 to 45 | 5 | 14 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 34 |
| 49 to 51 | 11 | 22 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 37 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 52 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 23 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 38 |
| 64 to 66 | 1 | 8 |
| 67 to 69 | 3 | 33 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 14 |
| 73 to 75 | 2 | 13 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 27 |
| 79 to 81 | 2 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 1 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 2 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 21 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 38 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 18 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 19 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 2 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 4 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 4 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 20 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 6 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 16 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 2 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 2 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 9 |
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, 9 are women's.
86 lines from women, 840 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 26 men in the cast. 4 women and 20 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 96 of 1,020.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 181 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 9% of the words (882), men 91% (8,500).
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
72
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jeff Kanew (man)
- Written by
- James Orr (man), Jim Cruickshank (man)
- Produced by
- Joe Wizan (man)
- Shot by
- King Baggot (man)
- Edited by
- Kaja Fehr (woman)
- Music by
- James Newton Howard (man)
- Production design by
- Todd Hallowell (man)
- Costumes by
- Erica Edell Phillips (woman)
- Cast by
- Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
0 women, 11 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 7 men
-
Production
3 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 3 men
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 50 on average. Men: 62 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Darlanne Fluegel 32, Darlene Conley 52, Alexis Smith 65
Men
Dana Carvey 31, Billy Barty 61, Charles Durning 63, Kirk Douglas 69, Nathan Davis 69, Eli Wallach 70, Burt Lancaster 72
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $21.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 129 scenes and 1,020 lines of dialogue. How the test works
