Woman's World

Very good cast highlight this film. Also great fashions. Arlene Dahl steals the film as an ambitious, scheming wife. All in all-worth seeing!!

In the fifties, Fox specialized in this multiple stories around one theme stories that were making money and the other studios started to copy. Movies like Three Coins the Fountain, How to marry a millionaire, We're not married!, forcing MGM to make Executive Suite which A woman's World is a lot like. One of three men will get the high post of a high-up executive in charge of production for a car company? Who it will be will be decided by the kind of woman they are married to. This film calmly taking its time shows the nuisances of the businessworld, the path to success and failure; the folly/desire for power in the nature of man by contrasting all the characters. The ending is a surprise and so is the movie. And most importantly, it gets better with every viewing.

Last night I saw Woman's World: The plot concerns three hot shot salesmen who have been summoned to New York for consideration as the general manager of a fictional automobile company. They salesmen are asked to bring their wives along as the company president believes his executives need the proper kind of wife to be an effective senior manager. Much intrigue, drama, and hilarity ensue.

Ford motor company participated significantly in this movie. In addition to a large number of 1954 Ford products, the movie featured two Ford fiftieth anniversary concept cars from 1953: the X-100 and the XL-500

At the beginning of the movie, one couple is shown driving to New York in a Mercury Monterey.

The lead character played by Clifton Web is the president of 'Gifford Motors. Gifford Motors' cars all resemble Ford Motor Company cars. In one scene, the lobby of the Gifford building is shown with the X-100 and the XL-500 displayed. A Gifford manager is demonstrating the features of the X-100 to a member of the public. The Plexiglas roof panel is shown automatically sliding into position as the windows rise to prevent the interior from being damaged in case it rained while the car was left open. Apparently this was a big problem in the 50s as 'automatically closing in case of rain' was a feature of many concept cars including the Buick LeSabre.

Later, the three wives are given a tour of New York in the X-100 with street scenes of the car in front of the New York Public Library and the United Nations among other locations.

Throughout the movie, company executives come and go in a Lincoln sedan and a convertible.

In one scene the president take the three potential general managers to the 'proving grounds' where we see a variety of Fords whizzing around a banked oval at high speeds with appropriate sound effects.

Another scene shows a futuristic feature being demonstrated by three large-scale tabletop models of prototype cars: one model drives forward, stops, makes a whirring sound, and then moves sideways into a parking space between the other two models. Presumably it was lowering dolly wheels when it made the whirring sound. This was a 50s approach to solving the age-old parallel parking problem for which solutions are still being pursued today – see the latest Lexus automatic parallel parking feature. A boardroom scene also shows a tabletop model although it's not clear if it's different from the previous three. There is also a scene in the interior design department with many prototype seats of varying color and design.

In addition to being a great movie, it is a real treat for lovers of early 50s Ford products.

Big June Allyson fan when I was a kid, crush and all. The girl next door, after all...but not next door to me. And now, years later, I can see why the crush: she was a doll! That wonderful voice and sweetness of heart. But now, of course - Lauren Bacall has a voice of a different octave, touched with her unique wry delivery. She's a grown-ups dream. So - you all know the story line - 3 men (and their wives as representatives) are up for a position of significance with Clifton Webb the decision maker. Cornel Wilde (Allyson), Fred MacMurray (Bacall) and Van Heflin (Arlene Dahl) are the contenders. Blatant technicolor and wonderful scenes of New York City - where I happen to be from - gloriously displayed and minus the chronic scaffoldings that adorn every street these current days. With their very different personalities, they vie. If you like just a few of these actors, you'll be happy enough. If you like a good story line and are not especially discriminating, you'll be happy enough. A few good scenes - the dress shopping spree with Bacall and Allyson, the last couple of moments of the show down, etc. - are all there is, basically. Clifton Webb, thankfully, toned down the typical superiority that he constantly indulged in. It was 1954 after all and it shows all over the place.

Big, glossy drama about three men (and their wives) competing for a top job at a glossy auto company in glossy New York City. This is one of many of those mid-century films that touted NYC as the greatest city in the world what with its wealth of money and arts and society and all those tall buildings.

In this one Clifton Webb plays the imperial head of the Gifford Auto Co., which boasts its cars are "luxury on wheels." He's interviewing three company men for the general manager job. There's the rather grim Van Heflin from Dallas, easy-going Cornel Wilde from Kansas City, and the up-from-the-ranks Fred MacMurray from Philadelphia. Each one wants ... or thinks he wants ... the big job.

Then there are the wives. Webb tells us over and over again the the manager's wife must also be a special type of gracious thing who'll fit into the Long Island set. Heflin's wife is a man-eater and a social climber (Arline Dahl), Wilde's wife is the homey but not-so-dumb type (June Allyson), and MacMurray's is the salt-of-the-earth type (Lauren Bacall).

Each couple has some private domestic dramas to deal with as they are dazzled by Emerald City and as the men jockey for position. Dahl heads right for the prize (Webb) while Bacall and Allyson deal with life in the big city. Funniest scene has the latter two going to a "bargain basement" to buy an evening dress for Allyson and almost being killed in the mob of hysterical women. Film culminates in a weekend party at Webb's Long Island estate where his sister (Margalo Gilmore) assesses the wives.

As the title suggests, the women basically take the story while the men drone their way through the auto factory etc. And while the men are pretty much forgettable, the gals (and Webb) have a high old time. Allyson and Bacall are especially good. As for the cars, the various models are Fords and Mercurys and Lincolns (minus any emblems) are showcased and the story includes one of those "cars of tomorrow" scenes that's quite fascinating.

Also in the cast are Elliott Reid as the nephew, Alan Reed as the Italian restaurateur, and look fast for Billie Bird, Kathryn Card, and Elinor Donahue in the bargain basement.

Highly enjoyable mid-century drama with a dash of comedy.