''The Women's Room'' is a 1980 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Glenn Jordan Glenn Jordan (born April 5, 1936) is a retired American television director and producer. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Jordan directed multiple episodes of ''Family'' and helmed numerous television movies, several based on real persons as divers ...

and starring

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He ...

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...

and

Tovah Feldshuh Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh (born December 27, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations f ...

. In spite of Esther Shapiro's (ABC's vice president for miniseries) struggle with the (predominantly male) network to release the film despite its feminist content, "''The Women's Room'' finally aired, and it received a huge 45 share (the highest rated movie on TV that week), prompted a raft of positive mail, and won an Emmy".

Premise

A married mother of two leaves her philandering husband and enrolls in graduate school.

Cast

as Mira Adams *

as Val *

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

as Lily *

Kathryn Harrold Kathryn Harrold (born August 2, 1950) is an American counselor and retired actress, best known for her leading roles in films '' The Hunter'' (1980), '' Modern Romance'' (1981), '' The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper'' (1981), '' Yes, Giorgio'' (1982), ...

as Bliss *

as Iso *

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

as Adele * Lisa Pelikan as Kyla * Heidi Vaughn as Samantha *

Mare Winningham A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

as Chris *

as Norman *

Gregory Harrison Gregory Neale Harrison (born May 31, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Chandler in the 1987 film ''North Shore (1987 film), North Shore'', as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John ...

as Ben Volper *

Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...

as Mrs. Martinelli *

Christopher Pennock Christopher Pennock (June 7, 1943 – February 12, 2021) was an American actor. He began acting on stage after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Pennock had been active for over 40 years starring on and off-Broadway theat ...

as Harley * Al Corley as Tad Ford

Critical reception

Critic

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...

found the film to be annoying and a "stinker." John J. O'Connor found the film to be a successful adaptation of the book and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, stating that "No one will be bored.""TV View: 'The Women's Room'--Devastatingly on Target" by John J. O'Connor, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 14, 1980

References

External links

* American television films Films based on American novels 1980 television films 1980 films 1980s feminist films ABC network original films Films directed by Glenn Jordan Films scored by Billy Goldenberg 1980s English-language films {{US-tv-film-stub