The Second Greatest Sex (1955) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The women go on strike because their husbands and fiancés have abandoned them for months chasing the safe that holds the county documents. Inspired by the ancient Greek play Lysistrata, Liza McClure leads the women to seal themselves in a fortified building, refusing to let the men in until they abandon their pointless feud over the county seat and prove they care more about their families than political power.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show the women growing increasingly frustrated as the men repeatedly leave for days or weeks at a time.

• marital strike
• lysistrata
• women protest
• fort
• liza mcclure

The film directly references Aristophanes' ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, where women withhold sex from their husbands to end a war. Here, Liza McClure leads a similar marital strike, the women seal themselves in a fort and refuse to let men back into their lives until the men stop fighting over the county seat. It's a comedic gender-swapped adaptation of the classical premise.

Foreshadowing: The character Cassie Slater is introduced as a teacher who presumably introduces the Lysistrata idea to the women.

• lysistrata
• greek comedy
• marital strike
• protest
• chastity strike

The safe containing the important documents is fought over repeatedly between the three towns. After Osake recaptures it, it sinks in the river during a struggle. Later, when the men try to recover it as the water recedes, a brawl breaks out between all three towns and the safe is knocked off a wagon into a pool of quicksand, where it sinks beyond recovery, ending the feud permanently.

Foreshadowing: The safe had already been stolen and recaptured multiple times, showing the pattern of violent competition.

• safe
• quicksand
• river
• county documents
• osake
• mandaroon

Matt Davis marries Liza McClure but immediately abandons the wedding when the safe containing the county documents is stolen from Osake. He forms a posse with the other men and rides off to recover the prize, leaving his new bride behind. This abandonment is what fuels Liza's decision to join the women's strike.

Foreshadowing: Sheriff McClure had previously questioned whether Matt's interest in Liza was genuine romance or political ambition.

• matt davis
• liza mcclure
• wedding
• abandoned
• posse
• safe

The towns of Osake, Jones City, and Mandaroon are competing to host the county seat, which would bring political power and prestige to the winning town. The prize is a safe containing important documents that grants legitimacy to whichever town holds it. The rivalry keeps the men away from home for extended periods as they chase and guard the safe.

Foreshadowing: The opening establishes the ongoing tension between the three neighboring towns.

• county seat
• safe
• documents
• osake
• jones city
• mandaroon
• feud

The title refers to a song performed by Job McClure that becomes the anthem of the men's stubborn resilience. While the Lysistrata plot involves the 'greatest sex' (physical intimacy) being withheld as leverage, the title implies that the men's determination and stubborn fight for their cause is the 'second greatest sex', a humorous nod to their perseverance despite being locked out of their homes and wives.

Foreshadowing: Job McClure performs this song to boost male morale while the women hold the fort.

• title
• song
• job mcclure
• second greatest sex
• ballad

After the safe sinks in quicksand, the men return home to discover that the women from all three towns, Mandaroon, Jones City, and Osake, have vanished into the same fortified position. The women refuse to come out and force the men to agree to a truce, demanding they select an entirely new location for the county seat rather than letting any single town win. This cooperative decision ends the feud.

Foreshadowing: The women's strike had already demonstrated their collective power to disrupt normal town life.

• truce
• county seat
• new location
• fort
• women
• cooperation

Birdie Snyder, played by Mamie Van Doren, is a young wife whose voice grows louder as the crisis deepens. She joins Liza McClure in leading the women's strike and becomes one of the key figures demanding that the men prove their worth before being let back into the fort. She represents the frustrated wives left behind by the men's obsession with the county seat rivalry.

Foreshadowing: Birdie is shown early in the film as a young wife affected by her husband's absence.

• birdie snyder
• mamie van doren
• wives
• strike
• women

Sheriff McClure doubts whether Matt Davis is truly motivated by love for his daughter Liza or by political ambition tied to the county seat contest. Since Matt is positioning himself as a future town leader while pursuing Liza, the Sheriff questions if the marriage is about romance or gaining political leverage through the sheriff's family.

Foreshadowing: This doubt is established early in Matt's courtship and is validated when Matt leaves Liza at the altar.

• sheriff mcclure
• matt davis
• liza
• marriage
• doubt
• political ambition

The quicksand swallowing the safe represents the complete failure of the men's violent competition. After fighting relentlessly for months, all their effort sinks into an inaccessible bog with nothing to show for it. This humbling moment, combined with the women still holding the fort, forces the men to accept a truce and let the women help decide the county seat location instead of continuing their destructive rivalry.

Foreshadowing: Previous attempts to claim the safe had already caused conflict between the towns.

• quicksand
• feud ends
• safe lost
• rivalry over
• resolution