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Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
10 August 1970 (USA)
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Tagline:
I, Tina Balser, Housewife, Did Not Do My Chores Today. I Did...Something Else!
Plot:
A housewife with an abusive husband has an affair with a writer. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 6 wins
&
6 nominations
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NewsDesk:
User Comments:
Glimpse of a New York of not so long ago that now exists only in memory
more (16 total)
Cast
(Credited cast)| Richard Benjamin | ... | Jonathan Balser | |
| Frank Langella | ... | George Prager | |
| Carrie Snodgress | ... | Tina Balser | |
| Lorraine Cullen | ... | Sylvie Balser | |
| Frannie Michel | ... | Liz Balser | |
| Lee Addoms | ... | Mrs. Prinz | |
| Peter Dohanos | ... | Samuel Keefer | |
| Katherine Meskill | ... | Charlotte Rady | |
| Leonard Elliott | ... | M. Henri | |
| Valma | ... | Margo | |
| Hilda Haynes | ... | Lottie | |
| Donald Symington | ... | Pediatrician (as Don Symington) | |
| Alley Mills | ... | Women's lib girl (as Allison Mills) | |
| Alice Cooper | ... | Himself | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Michael Bruce | ... | Himself... guitarist for the Alice Cooper band | |
| Glen Buxton | ... | Himself... guitarist for the Alice Cooper band | |
| Jeanette Du Bois | ... | Vera | |
| Dennis Dunaway | ... | Himself... bassist for the Alice Cooper band | |
| Kurt Garfield | ... | Carpenter | |
| Jason Holt | |||
| William Kiehl | ... | Elliot Asher | |
| I.W. Klein | ... | Stuttering man in group therapy | |
| George Loros | ... | Malcolm | |
| Lester Rawlins | ... | Dr. Linstrom | |
| Renee Semes | ... | College Girl in group therapy session | |
| Neal Smith | ... | Himself... drummer for the Alice Cooper band | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
95 min | 104 min (original version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Canada:18+ (Quebec) |
Canada:PA (Manitoba) |
Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) |
Finland:K-16 |
Sweden:11 |
USA:R
Company:
Fun Stuff
Quotes:
Jonathan Balser:
How about a little roll in the hay?
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Empty Nest: Diary of a Mad Housewife (#6.6)" (1993)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (16 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Why is this movie never on TV? | cconnelly1 |
| Dialogue from movie | mkelley-7 |
| Tina's last meeting with George | TheArchKookPetulia |
| Carrie Snodgress has passed away. | xavrush89 |
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This highly entertaining and memorable film provides a glimpse into a New York of not so long ago that now exists only in memory. But Diary of a Mad Housewife ultimately succeeds on the strength of its actors, particularly Snodgress, who plays a Smith graduate-turned prisoner of a Central Park West apartment inhabited by her overbearing, pitifully ambitious husband and spoiled daughters. Her performance is somehow flat and anemic but compelling at the same time--a combination that seems to have been consciously emulated by Chloe Sevigny in The Last Days of Disco.
Bejamin is perfectly cast as the insufferable husband, adenoidally petulant and demanding. When Snodgress's patience is finally exhausted, she takes up with Langella, a glowering animal presence as a bad-boy writer whose selfishness, it turns out, rivals and even exceeds Benjamin's.
The husband and wife represent two people whose lack of use for their education has led them astray: Snodgress finds herself in a state of frustration with the humiliations of her housewifely duties, and Benjamin, unappreciated in his office, comes up with ill-fated schemes for self-expression and social advancement.
All in all, the film brings The Feminine Mystique to life in unexpectedly original and diverting ways.