Woman of Straw (1964)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Catherine Arley (novel)
Robert Muller (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1964 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

IT'S SO EASY TO SET FIRE TO "A WOMAN OF STRAW" (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Tyrannical but ailing tycoon Charles Richmond becomes very fond of his attractive Italian nurse, Maria...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Millionaire | Inheritance | Poison | Tape Recorder

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Gina Lollobrigida	...	Maria Marcello
Sean Connery	...	Anthony 'Tony' Richmond
Ralph Richardson	...	Charles Richmond
Alexander Knox	...	Detective Inspector Lomer
Johnny Sekka	...	Thomas
Laurence Hardy	...	Baynes, the butler
Peter Madden	...	Yacht Captain
Danny Daniels	...	Fenton
Noel Howlett	...	Assistant Solicitor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Douglas Wilmer	...	Dr. Murray (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

122 min | Argentina:118 min | Germany:117 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (1964) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

Company:

Michael Relph Productions

Trivia:

The white tuxedo Sean Connery wears in this film is the same one he would later wear in the pre-title sequence of Goldfinger (1964). The jacket even had the initials "AR" sewn on the inside, which stand for his character's name Anthony Richmond.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Woman of Straw

Music soothes the savage breast.

Catherine Arley's novel and the play which followed both used to take place in Germany,just after the war.The nurse character was a survivor who had absolutely nothing left and thus had nothing to lose.She read a "job" advertisement -very special- in a paper and she wound up in a noble's desirable mansion.

Hence the changes:the nurse becomes Italian,and the greybeard and his nephew English.It does not make a big difference,and the movie is entertaining anyway.Too slow in its first part,it gains momentum later,and by the last third he's hit its stride:there are almost scary scenes :the old man's sunglasses,the cigarette in the car,the detective in the dead's wheelchair.Lollobrigida,Connery -at "Goldfinger' time- and Richardson give effective performances and the plot is full of suspense.

The old fogey digs classical music which he keeps listening to all day;it does not soothe the savage breast,as far as he's concerned,but Gina does.