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.
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Title: Woman of Straw (1964)
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Nominated for
1
BAFTA Film Award.
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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) | |
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Plot Summary
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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. Written by Robert B. Sklaroff, M.D.
Plot Keywords:
nurse | woman | hairy chest | uncle nephew relationship | bare chested male |Taglines:
IT'S SO EASY TO SET FIRE TO "A WOMAN OF STRAW" (original ad - all caps)Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 August 1964 (Japan) See more »Also Known As:
La mujer de paja See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: How she liked his strength after my father's weakness? How she loved him, despite his wealth?
Maria Marcello: He was so sad when he talked about her dying.
Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: Did he tell you what he said the minute after she died?
Maria Marcello: No...
Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: He said, "You gave me everything, and took nothing. You were a very stupid woman." Let's not get sentimental, shall we?
See more »
(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Muir Mathieson
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The novel, on which this movie is based, was originally published in France under the title "La Femme de Paille" by Catherine Arley in 1953. See more »Quotes
Maria Marcello: He was telling me about your mother.Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: How she liked his strength after my father's weakness? How she loved him, despite his wealth?
Maria Marcello: He was so sad when he talked about her dying.
Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: Did he tell you what he said the minute after she died?
Maria Marcello: No...
Anthony 'Tony' Richmond: He said, "You gave me everything, and took nothing. You were a very stupid woman." Let's not get sentimental, shall we?
See more »
Soundtracks
Fidelio(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Muir Mathieson
See more »
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This is not a brilliant movie by any means, but it's worth seeing if you can track it down on late-night television or the limited VHS release (poor transfer quality, so be warned if you happen to find one). Ralph Richardson in particular gives a great performance, playing the meanest tycoon this side of Montgomery Burns, with a bit of "The Magic Christian"'s Sir Guy Grande thrown in for good measure. It's not surprising his nephew (Sean Connery) would want to do him in. Connery spends much of the film looking and acting like he's still in James Bond character. He wears similar well-tailored clothing and has the same cool, slightly bored manner he affected in those movies. Towards the end, though, his character turns sociopathically chilling, and he hits some good acting notes in that part of the film. Gina Lollabrigida gives a good performance sporadically, as well. Her halting English does her in at times, as it does in most of her films, but she delivers great emotion when her character has terrible things happen to her. The film has a rather slow start, but builds nicely and offers some twists along the way.