Hollywood has produced countless movies over the years that have stood the test of time and become iconic in every single way imaginable – even going on to become cultural icons. Nowadays, there are many actresses and female directors who are making strides – something that wasn’t there back in the early days of Hollywood. That said, there are still many films that have no female characters at all and are still hits.
Cinema as a whole has evolved in numerous ways, giving birth to quite a few genres and tendencies that were not prevalent in the older days of Hollywood. Even then, there are still quite a few changes that can still be made somewhere down the line.
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7 Box Office Hits Which Didn’t Have Female Characters
As already established, Hollywood is predominantly a male-dominated industry as most of the biggest movies in the history of the industry have been made by men. but that doesn’t mean women didn’t have any role. That said, we will list 7 Box Office hit movies with no female characters.
The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing is a brilliant horror film that skillfully blends creature thrills with intense paranoia, as a shapeshifting alien infiltrates an Antarctic research station. Notably, there are no female characters in the film, a deliberate creative choice that was made evident due to all of the station’s personnel being men. While the isolated setting may justify this decision to some extent, it remains a divisive choice. Thankfully, the movie was a blockbuster hit for its time and set the standard for horror sci-fi works.
The Great Escape
The Steve McQueen-led prisoner-of-war classic, The Great Escape, is a television re-run staple, known for its memorable moments and performances, featuring a who’s who of 1960s British cinema. However, the film notably lacks any significant female characters. The closest it comes to featuring women is during the soldiers’ escape into provincial Germany, where a few female extras appear briefly in certain scenes but without any substantial screen time or speaking roles. Despite the absence of featured female characters, the film’s singular focus on the British soldiers’ escape efforts doesn’t diminish its impact. It was also one of the highest-grossing films of 1963 despite circumstances.
Rambo: First Blood
Sylvester Stallone’s iconic role as Rambo transformed him into a muscled action star, but the franchise didn’t start as an over-the-top, adrenaline-fueled series centered on one man’s love of guns. First Blood, the initial film, didn’t even include Rambo’s name in the title. While not a serene movie, especially in comparison to its successors, First Blood aimed to explore the effects of war on a man’s life, particularly through Rambo’s PTSD.
Despite not being a traditional war film, First Blood heavily incorporates war movie tropes, resulting in the absence of female characters in both Rambo’s past and the unfolding events. Needless to say, it was a Box Office hit and spawned an entire franchise worth of films.
The Enemy Below
In period submarine films, the absence of female characters is often expected due to their small cast and the isolation theme. While some films use women for emotional framing during brief outside sequences, like the classic Das Boot, The Enemy Below takes a different approach. Set entirely on the two ships central to the story, the film explores the torpedo-driven cat-and-mouse game between the captains of an American destroyer and a German U-Boat. With its tense interplay and impressive special effects ahead of its time (1957), the film successfully unfolds at sea without the need for land-based expansion or the inclusion of female characters.
Sleuth
Sleuth, a gripping thriller from the 1970s starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, brings together acting greats in a twisting tale of a crime writer and his wife’s adulterer conspiring to orchestrate her divorce through faked murder and more. While the wife is a mentioned character, she only appears in painting form, based on Joanne Woodward’s likeness, and is credited as Eve Channing (a nod to characters from director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve). This choice, though peculiar, lacks a clear narrative, adding an element of intrigue to the film.
Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World is a Peter Weir film, documenting the adventures of the naval commander Jack Aubrey. It’s based on Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series and unfolds as an ocean-spanning epic. Given its setting in the 1800s, a period with few female sailors, there are no women characters in the film. The absence aligns with the film’s push for authenticity, capturing the era’s realism and contributing to the overall success of the production. The film was a big hit to boot at the Box Office.
Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia is a nearly four-hour epic masterpiece, chronicling T.E. Lawrence’s journey from a lighthearted English lieutenant to a solemn officer who unites Arab tribes during most of World War I. Directed by David Lean, the film showcases his prowess in both emotional character moments and grand set-pieces.
Featuring stellar performances from Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, and a breakout turn by Peter O’Toole, the film lacks any significant female characters. Despite that, it was a major success at the Box Office and is viewed as one of the best films of all time.
