Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writer:

Ted Willis (original screenplay)

Release Date:

24 February 1958 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Bold Story of an Illicit Love!

Plot:

A married, middle-aged woman is shocked to discover that her husband, who she thought was content in their marriage, has become infatuated with a beautiful younger woman and is planning to leave his family for her.

Plot Keywords:

Sloppy | Desertion | Divorce | Housewife | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Yvonne Mitchell	...	Amy Preston
Anthony Quayle	...	Jim Preston
Sylvia Syms	...	Georgie Harlow
Andrew Ray	...	Brian Preston
Carole Lesley	...	Hilda
Michael Ripper	...	Pawnbroker
Nora Gordon	...	Mrs. Williams
Marianne Stone	...	Hairdresser
Olga Lindo	...	Manageress
Harry Locke	...	Wine merchant
Max Butterfield	...	Harold
Roberta Woolley	...	Christine
Melvyn Hayes	...	Newsboy
Cordelia Mitchell	...	Hilda's baby

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Movie Connections:

Remake of "ITV Television Playhouse: Woman in a Dressing Gown (#1.40)" (1956)

Even as a pre-teen I was touched by the wife's desperation.

I remember watching this film as a young girl. It was a bit over my head as far as the complexity of emotions but the situation was quite clear. The story of a middle aged couple: the husband, still attractive and a bit worldly, has become attracted to a young woman...the wife, a bit shop-worn and, having been a housewife and entirely devoted only to her family for nearly two decades, appears dull in the eyes of her husband. However, so moving was the performance of Ms. Mitchell as the wife, so clear the pain and desperation she displayed in attempting to keep her husband when it becomes clear she is losing him, that I remembered nearly every bit of the movie and retained it until years later when I could feel full empathy for her. I see this movie as a sad, sweet study of a universal type of woman: the house-bound, devoted and totally self-sacrificing wife who has, perhaps, given too much of herself to her family and kept too little for herself.