Woman of Straw (1964)

Tyrannical, but ailing, tycoon Charles Richmond becomes very fond of his attractive Italian nurse, Maria. The nurse, in turn, falls in love with Charles' ne'er-do-well nephew Anthony, who plots ways to gain control of his uncle's fortune.

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Catherine Arley (novel), Robert Muller (screenplay)

Stars:

Gina Lollobrigida, Sean Connery, Ralph Richardson

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

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

Storyline

A ruthless tycoon, whom his nephew (Anthony "Tony" Richmond) hates as he had both deprived his father of half of the family business and had (after his father had committed suicide) married his mother. A nurse (Maria) from a poor Italian family, is initially hired to care for the tycoon. She initially dislikes him because he abuses his employees. Tony convinces Maria to persist in his employ, however, telling her that he plans to bequeath his entire (fifty million pound) fortune to charity. He plans to help her marry him, then to help him change his will, and (perhaps) then to help her achieve her inheritance, all for a payoff of one million pounds.

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Plot Keywords:

calling a black man boy | nurse | woman | hairy chest | uncle nephew relationship | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were some concerns over Sean Connery being cast as a villain, owing to the risk of his heroic image being compromised.

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Goofs

Sean Connery wears his marriage ring in two sequences and in the film is a single guy.

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Quotes

Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: You know what you're throwing away, what you're losing? Foxhurst and all that goes with it.
Maria Marcello: He goes with it, Richmond.
Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: Oh, not for long.
Maria Marcello: Too long for me.

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Connections

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000)

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Soundtracks

Capriccio Espanol
(uncredited)
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Arranged by Muir Mathieson

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1964 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Woman of Straw

Filming Locations:

Audley End House, Saffron Walden, Essex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Relph-Dearden Productions, Michael Relph Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1