Woman of Straw

Last updated

Woman of Straw
Woman of Straw poster.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Basil Dearden
Written by Robert Muller
Stanley Mann
Michael Relph
Based onLa Femme de Paille
1956 novel
by Catherine Arley
Produced by Michael Relph
Starring Gina Lollobrigida
Sean Connery
Ralph Richardson
Cinematography Otto Heller
Edited by John D. Guthridge
Music byNorman Percival
Production
company
Relph-Dearden Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • 28 April 1964 (1964-04-28)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.7 million [1]

Woman of Straw is a 1964 British crime thriller directed by Basil Dearden and starring Gina Lollobrigida and Sean Connery. [2] [3] It was written by Robert Muller and Stanley Mann, adapted from the 1954 novel La Femme de paille by Catherine Arley. [4]

Contents

Plot

Playboy Anthony Richmond schemes to acquire the £50 million fortune of his uncle Charles Richmond, a tyrannical, arrogant wheelchaired tycoon, by persuading Maria Marcello, the new Italian nurse he has hired to marry the old man in exchange of one million pounds.

A sincere Maria endures the verbal and emotional abuse of Charles both at his estate and on a yacht trip in Mallorca, Spain where they wed and a humbled Charles changes his will to leave all his fortune to Maria, leaving only 40,000 pounds to his nephew.

After his uncle's death at the yacht one morning, both Anthony and Maria concoct a scheme to pretend he is still living as they return to the estate. Maria later becomes a murder suspect after admitting their scheme to the detectives, and later discovers that Anthony murdered his own Uncle with Barbiturate poison, and purposely misled Maria about Charles last will and testimony in order to trap her into the crime alone while he ulteriorly inherits the money after her conviction.

Detective Lomer and Negroid servant Thomas later revealed a tape recording by Charles at his deathbed, exposing Anthony of the murder and tries to escape. The servant Thomas pushes the wheelchair of Charles towards Anthony, who falls into his death on the grand staircase while a vengeful ghostly wheelchair overlooks Anthony, now dead. Maria regains justice and is found to be innocent by the court, inheriting the estate and fortune of Charles and the film ends with credits.

The character of Lollobrigida' refers to the Woman of Straw of the title.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, Audley End House in Saffron Walden, Essex and in Majorca in the Balearic Islands between August and October 1963. [5] The Majorca footage, including much footage in a boat off the coast, was shot on location in September 1963. Gina Lollobrigida was reportedly "demanding and temperamental" during the filming, frequently clashing with Connery and Dearden. [5]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "With three accomplished performers, a well-handled supporting cast (led by the ever-reliable Alexander Knox), with palatial settings and a harmonious sense of colour, this run-of-the-mill melodrama could hardly fail to offer a mild thrill or two. Richardson has the eyes to penetrate one's nerve when the dark glasses of a dead man slip; and Sean Connery turns up a contemporary-type Hamlet, sneer, sable and all, capable of showing any of his prototypes how to deal with the cowardice of conscience. But this type of script needs a flamboyant sense of dramatic symbolism to bring it to life – a towering Wellesian view of a lift climbing slowly past arches and chandeliers, a more shattering use of the visual imagery of polished cars such as Losey can make, a touch of Hitchcock to sharpen suspense and turn the howl of a dog into something inhuman instead of noises off. Any film of such glamorous pretensions cannot fail to evoke memories of what can be done with similar material. Even Beethoven echoing from yacht to shore fails to carry the titanic irony of Richmond's necromantic homecoming, and the reason lies, as so often in British films, in a reluctant approach to the theme." [6]

In The New York Times , Eugene Archer wrote, "what could be more archaic than the sight of James Bond himself, Sean Connery, stalking glumly through the very type of old-fashioned thriller he usually mocks? That is exactly what we have in "Woman of Straw," and you can be certain that Mr. Connery did not look one bit more unhappy than yesterday's audience at the Criterion, where the hapless British film crept into town. For, despite the fancy trappings laid on by the respected old producer-director team of Michael Relph and Basil Dearden, this handsomely colored exercise is the kind of pseudo-Victorian nonsense that Alfred Hitchcock long ago laid to rest". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Connery</span> Scottish actor (1930–2020)

Sir Thomas Sean Connery was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Connery originated the role in Dr. No (1962) and continued starring as Bond in the Eon Productions films From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Connery made his final appearance in the franchise in Never Say Never Again (1983), a non-Eon-produced Bond film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Lollobrigida</span> Italian actress (1927–2023)

Luigia "Gina" LollobrigidaOMRI was an Italian actress, model, and photojournalist. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. Dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world", at the time of her death she was among the last surviving high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

<i>Dead of Night</i> 1945 British film

Dead of Night is a 1945 black and white British anthology supernatural horror film, made by Ealing Studios. The individual segments were directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Sally Ann Howes and Michael Redgrave. The film is best remembered for the concluding story featuring Redgrave and an insane ventriloquist's malevolent dummy.

<i>Beat the Devil</i> (film) 1953 film by John Huston

Beat the Devil is a 1953 adventure comedy film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida, in her American debut, and featuring Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee. Huston and Truman Capote wrote the screenplay, loosely based upon the 1951 novel of the same name by British journalist Claud Cockburn writing under the pseudonym James Helvick. Huston made the film as a sort of loose parody of the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, which Huston directed and in which Bogart and Lorre appeared. Capote said, "John [Huston] and I decided to kid the story, to treat it as a parody. Instead of another Maltese Falcon, we turned it into a... [spoof] on this type of film."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audley End House</span> Country house and former royal residence

Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is a prodigy house, known as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Slocombe</span> British cinematographer (1913–2016)

Ralph Douglas Vladimir Slocombe OBE, BSC, ASC, GBCT was a British cinematographer, particularly known for his work at Ealing Studios in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as the first three Indiana Jones films. He won BAFTA Awards in 1964, 1975, and 1979, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography on three occasions.

<i>O.K. Connery</i> 1967 Italian comedy film

O.K. Connery, released in America as Operation Kid Brother, is a 1967 Italian Eurospy comedy film shot in Technicolor and Techniscope and directed by Alberto De Martino. The spy-fi plot involves the brother of the British spy James Bond, played by Neil Connery, who is obliged to take the lead in foiling a world-domination plot. The film's cast included several actors from the Eon-produced James Bond film series: From Russia with Love's Daniela Bianchi, Thunderball's Adolfo Celi, Dr. No's Anthony Dawson, Bernard Lee (M), and Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny), as well as the producer's wife Agata Flori, Gina Lollobrigida's cousin Guido Lollobrigida, and Yasuko Yama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Dearden</span> English film director (1911–1971)

Basil Dearden was an English film director.

<i>Solomon and Sheba</i> 1959 film

Solomon and Sheba is a 1959 American epic historical romance film directed by King Vidor, shot in Technirama, and distributed by United Artists. The film dramatizes events described in The Bible—the tenth chapter of First Kings and the ninth chapter of Second Chronicles.

<i>The Man Who Haunted Himself</i> 1970 British film by Basil Dearden

The Man Who Haunted Himself is a 1970 British psychological thriller film written and directed by Basil Dearden and starring Roger Moore. It is based on the 1957 novel The Strange Case of Mr Pelham by Anthony Armstrong, and is a variation on the Jekyll and Hyde story.

<i>Go Naked in the World</i> 1961 American drama Metrocolor film

Go Naked in the World is a 1961 American drama film written and directed by Ranald MacDougall and co-directed by an uncredited Charles Walters and produced by Aaron Rosenberg. The film stars Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Franciosa, and Ernest Borgnine. It is based on a 1959 novel of the same name by Tom T. Chamales.

<i>Saraband for Dead Lovers</i> 1948 British film

Saraband for Dead Lovers is a 1948 British adventure historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood. It is based on the 1935 novel by Helen Simpson. Set in 17th-century Hanover, it depicts the doomed romance between Philip Christoph von Königsmarck and Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the wife of the electoral prince of Hanover. The saraband mentioned in the title is a type of Spanish dance.

<i>The Man Inside</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by John Gilling

The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano. It was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay by David Shaw was based on the 1954 novel of the same name by M. E. Chaber. It was Bonar Colleano's final film role.

<i>Out of the Clouds</i> 1955 British film by Basil Dearden

Out of the Clouds is a 1955 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty and James Robertson Justice. It was loosely based on the novel The Springboard by John Fores and was adapted by Rex Reinits, with a screenplay by Michael Relph and John Eldridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvear Palace Hotel</span> Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Alvear Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel in Avenida Alvear in Recoleta, an upscale neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It opened in 1932 and, after extensive refurbishment, reopened in 1994.

<i>Violent Playground</i> 1958 film by Basil Dearden

Violent Playground is a black and white 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, and David McCallum. It was written by James Kennaway.

<i>Cage of Gold</i> 1950 British film by Basil Dearden

Cage of Gold is a 1950 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Jean Simmons, David Farrar, and James Donald.

<i>Return from the Ashes</i> 1965 British film by J. Lee Thompson

Return from the Ashes is a 1965 British thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Ingrid Thulin, Maximilian Schell, Samantha Eggar and Herbert Lom. It is based on a novel by French crime writer Hubert Monteilhet, adapted for film by prolific screenwriter Julius J. Epstein.

Pierrette Henriette Denise Marthe Pernot, better known professionally as Catherine Arley, was a French novelist and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Orme</span> British film producer

Charles Orme was a British film producer. He worked regularly with Powell & Pressburger, Ralph Thomas, Basil Dearden and John Boorman. He has over 50 credits on a number of classics including The 39 Steps (1959), Khartoum (1966), Deliverance (1972), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and The Omen (1976). He was an original member of the multiple-award-winning Powell & Pressburger production team known as The Archers. He was a production assistant, production manager and assistant director on many of their classic productions, including The Red Shoes (1948), The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (1950) and The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955), The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Ill Met by Moonlight (1957).

References

  1. ↑ "Move Towards Bigger Budget Films". Variety. 27 November 1963. p. 19.
  2. ↑ "Woman of Straw". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Woman of Straw (1964)". Archived from the original on 16 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN   9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 Burton, Alan; O'Sullivan, Tim (2009). The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. Edinburgh University Press. p. 290. doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9780748632893.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-7486-3289-3. S2CID   193528676.
  6. ↑ "Woman of Straw". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 31 (360): 94. 1 January 1964 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Archer, Eugene (1 October 1964). "Gina Lollobrigida Stars in 'Woman of Straw'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 17 April 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.