In The Women (1939), Joan Crawford played Crystal Allen, a shopgirl who becomes involved with another woman’s husband. Directed by George Cukor, the film featured an all-female cast — Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Crawford among them — and told its story entirely through its women characters.
Crystal is sharp, glamorous and unapologetic, and Crawford played her with a wit and confidence that made her the film’s most memorable figure, even as the story’s sympathies lay elsewhere. Her performance gave the comedy its bite.
The Women remains a classic of 1939, Hollywood’s greatest year, and Crawford’s Crystal is a key reason it is still quoted and revived today.