10 Classic Movies That Passed the Bechdel Test

Based on Alison Bechdel’s 1985 comic book, the Bechdel Test is a metric for determining the extent to which a film is a feminist text. To pass the test, the films must feature two named female characters who talk at least once about something other than a man. The test highlights several things; how startlingly low the bar is, and how startlingly few films can overcome this elementary hurdle that aims to support the creation of more complex female characters. Instead, this low bar seems to knock out most films like a nasty first round of uncertainty.

It’s great to have a metric for understanding how well a text fits into feminist discourse, but passing the Bechdel Test doesn’t always guarantee that a movie is a feminist text. Otherwise; Hollywood’s golden age films also coincide with a time of enduring misogyny and widespread acceptance of patriarchal values. This is what makes classic films that pass the Bechdel test so interesting - they went where many films surprisingly fail, but creating a feminist text that can also be assessed is more difficult.

10 “Gone with the Wind” (1939)

Privileged brat and general nuisance Scarlett O’Hara is the central female character gone With the Wind, a Civil War epic that romanticizes a troubled period in United States history. Barely pretty and attention-hungry, after spending over three hours with Scarlett, viewers will likely have very little to think about where she will go or what she will do.

There is more than one conversation that qualifies the film for the Bechdel badge. The ladies discuss charity, dinner, and each other, but the women who live within this highly structured patriarchy, rife with racism and hard-to-read scenes, are afforded a little more depth.

9 “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

Everyone’s favorite single girl, Dorothy, is one of the few main characters in the film who doesn’t have a romantic male lead and is completely unconcerned about finding love. However, she worries about the woman she just killed with her house, and the closest thing she cares about what a man thinks is her attempt to find Wizard of Ozbelieving that he would ferry her home. It so happens that he is generally ill-prepared, and Dorothy saves herself.

There is talk between the Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy about a recent murder and shoe theft in Munchkin Country. Dorothy also talks to Glinda about how she arrived in Oz and gets clear and concise directions on how to get to the Wizard and home at the end.

8 “Double Indemnity” (1944)

The femme fatale Phyllis falls in love with an insurance agent and uses him to develop an elaborate plot to kill her husband over his life insurance policy. double refund film noir at its finest, despite the female lead being depicted as a bloodthirsty black widow.

The requirements of the Bechdel test are fulfilled in one short conversation between Phyllis and her husband’s daughter Lola, in which they lament that cards are boring. Score one on the Bechdel test, but little is done to create a female character with greater difficulty than card aversion and homicidal tendencies.

7 “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944)

Frank Capra Arsenic and old lace about two adoring aunts who are sugar and spices and everything is so nice, except for the fact that they like to kill tramps and bury them in the basement. When a long-lost relative arrives and the police intervene, the farce begins.

Most of the conversation between Martha and Abby revolves around the men, but the discussions tend to pleasantly lean towards poisoning them. In that sense, the dialogue is really about pouring wine and hiding the bodies. Women also have an exchange about disliking horror movies because they’re too horrific, and shown with perfect irony over a basement full of dead hobos.

6 ‘Sunset Boulevard’ (1950)

The megalomaniac former actress and would-be assassin indulges in a brutally depressing fantasy life where she remains the brightest star in the Hollywood firmament. Error and an insufficiently firm understanding of sanity are largely characteristic of Sunset Boulevarda familiar image in Hollywood classics with female characters.

The secondary characters Betty and her roommate Connie are indeed talking about something other than a man, but in another stab at feminist discourse, they are discussing a woman. Gossip and snarky remarks about the admittedly unorthodox Norma allow the film to pass the test, but portray the female characters as snide interlocutors.

5 “All About Eve” (1950)

Harsh reflections on celebrities, acting, and the even more important art of betrayal. All about Eve chronicles the ups and downs of aspiring actress Eva and the fall of her idol Margo.

Eva and playwright wife Karen discuss Margot, the theater ecosystem, and the interaction between fandom and play. While remaining trademarked due to the way women were portrayed at the time, the main female characters are focused on destroying each other, starting as harmless sycophants and eventually turning into treacherous harpies to stay ahead of the dog eating industry.

4 “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)

Adapted from Tennessee Williams’ play, Tram “Desire” came up with more than one landmark moment in the history of the stage and cinema. A story about two sisters; one is a faded southern beauty, and the other is married to a rough man whose sensitivity is monstrous for the delicate and fragile Blanche. Violence and victimization are topics that burden both women, proving that while the Bechdel test is a reliable metric, it does not guarantee a feminist outcome.

Sisters Blanche and Stella admittedly talk a lot about Stanley. However, other conversations between the sisters concern their old homestead, their family, and their upbringing, which Blanche unashamedly romanticizes. Although shown as yet another example of the central female character not being sane, the tropes are familiar, but luckily the characters are more complex.

3 “Singing in the Rain” (1952)

Sing in the rain an unmissable musical comedy about the adaptation of cinema and its stars from silent to talkies. This classic love letter to cinema has earned its well-deserved place in the hearts of moviegoers thanks to unforgettable musical numbers, comedy scenes and a hilarious imaginary story of the changing cinematic landscape.

The most meaningful conversation between the two women involves Lina, a movie star whose transition to talkies is hampered by the fact that her voice sounds like a packet of rusty nails is being ground in a used blender. She talks to her diction coach, Phoebe Dinsmore, to address these vocal issues. Although the coaching sessions were less successful than expected, the stage gives viewers one of the best comedy performances of the decade.

2 “How to Marry a Millionaire” (1953)

How to Marry a Millionaire transposes the plight of a single woman in 1950s Manhattan into a cynical and brutally funny place. Perhaps, speaking about the quality of available men, women are cunning and impartial in choosing a partner. Even when they talk about men, men are usually objectified and reduced to a financial figure.

While the concept of the title seems superficial and frivolous, it is in keeping with an age when women could not have financial independence - hence having to marry said millionaire was a higher-stakes pursuit. A lot of the talk revolves around men—how to pick the best crop, how to manipulate them into getting them married—but women’s talk about transportation and moving in together ticks off Bechdel.

1 “Some Like It Hot” (1959)

Two jazz musicians witness a carnage on Valentine’s Day and run to the only place where the violating thugs won’t find them, a women’s jazz band. The best comedy of all time according to the American Film Institute. Only girls in jazz reached fantastically farcical highs, despite hitting problematic, gender-biased lows.

Although the cast is predominantly female, few interactions meet the requirements of the Bechdel Test, with the only exception being the interaction between group master Sweet Sue and Dolores regarding the room set-up at the group’s dig site in Miami. While it’s far from perfect in regards to feminist character development, no one seems to be perfect.