7.0/10
1,196
25 user 13 critic

Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)

R | | Comedy, Drama | 25 November 1970 (France)
Diary of a Mad Housewife Poster
A housewife with an abusive husband has an affair with a writer.

Director:

Frank Perry

Writers:

Eleanor Perry (screenplay by), Sue Kaufman (from the novel by)

Stars:

Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella, Carrie Snodgress | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

See all 7 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Last Summer (1969)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

During summer vacation on Fire Island, three young people--a girl and two guys--become so close that they form a sort-of threesome. When an uncool girl tries to infiltrate the trio's newly ... See full summary »

Director: Frank Perry
Stars: Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison
Next »
Ladybug Ladybug (1963)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

Staff and students at a rural school react to a warning of an imminent nuclear attack, not knowing whether it is real or a mistake.

Director: Frank Perry
Stars: Jane Connell, William Daniels, James Frawley
Next »
The Landlord (1970)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially his ... See full summary »

Director: Hal Ashby
Stars: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands
Next »
David and Lisa (1962)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

The emotional story of a young man in a mental institution for teens who begins to understand his psychosis in the environment of others with mental and emotional problems. He finds ... See full summary »

Director: Frank Perry
Stars: Keir Dullea, Janet Margolin, Howard Da Silva
Next »
Cinderella Liberty (1973)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A lonely Navy sailor falls in love with a hooker and becomes a surrogate father figure for her son during an extended liberty, due to his service records being lost.

Director: Mark Rydell
Stars: James Caan, Marsha Mason, Kirk Calloway
Next »
Hester Street (1975)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

It's 1896. Yankel Bogovnik, a Russian Jew, emigrated to the United States three years earlier and has settled where many of his background have, namely on Hester Street on the Lower East ... See full summary »

Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Stars: Steven Keats, Carol Kane, Mel Howard
Next »
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
Certificate: GP Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A man who wants to move on with his life by moving to California and marry his girlfriend, finds it difficult as he still lives in the towering shadow of his aging father.

Director: Gilbert Cates
Stars: Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney
Next »
Trilogy (1969)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

"Miriam": Miss Miller has spent her life as a governess for children in some of the most fashionable homes in New York. She is shocked one day to learn that one of her "babies" is expecting... See full summary »

Director: Frank Perry
Stars: Geraldine Page, Donnie Melvin, Lavinia Cassels
Next »
Isadora (1968)
Certificate: M Biography | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A biography of the dancer Isadora Duncan, the 1920s dancer who forever changed people's ideas of ballet. Her nude, semi-nude, and pro-Soviet dance projects as well as her attitudes on free ... See full summary »

Director: Karel Reisz
Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, James Fox, Jason Robards
Next »
Enemies: A Love Story (1989)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife.

Director: Paul Mazursky
Stars: Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, Lena Olin
Next »
Little Murders (1971)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Pitch black comedy about a young nihilistic New Yorker coping with pervasive urban violence, obscene phone calls, rusty water pipes, electrical blackouts, paranoia and ethnic-racial conflict during a typical summer of the 1970s.

Director: Alan Arkin
Stars: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia
Next »
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

Lou Andreas Sand, a once famous model, recalls her past as she tries to make success in the modeling world of New York, her stressful workdays, her affair with Mark, an advertising ... See full summary »

Director: Jerry Schatzberg
Stars: Faye Dunaway, Barry Primus, Viveca Lindfors
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Richard Benjamin ... Jonathan Balser
Frank Langella ... George Prager
Carrie Snodgress ... Tina Balser
Lorraine Cullen Lorraine Cullen ... Sylvie Balser
Frannie Michel Frannie Michel ... Liz Balser
Lee Addoms Lee Addoms ... Mrs. Prinz
Peter Dohanos Peter Dohanos ... Samuel Keefer
Katherine Meskill Katherine Meskill ... Charlotte Rady
Leonard Elliott Leonard Elliott ... M. Henri
Valma Valma ... Margo
Hilda Haynes Hilda Haynes ... Lottie
Donald Symington Donald Symington ... Pediatrician (as Don Symington)
Alley Mills ... Women's lib girl (as Allison Mills)
Alice Cooper ... Alice Cooper (as The Alice Cooper Band)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Bruce Michael Bruce ... Michael Bruce (as The Alice Cooper Band)
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Tina Balser is a bored New York housewife-mother married to Jonathan, a pompous, social-climbing lawyer who ridicules her in front of their children, criticizing everything she does or wears. She begins an affair with George Prager, a dashing, successful and blatantly sadistic writer. Finally after George has tormented Tina in much the same manner Jonathan has, and has been unfaithful to boot, she goes back to her husband and begins group therapy. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

new york city | infidelity | satire | extramarital affair | based on novel | See All (42) »

Taglines:

Does her anger at a domineering husband justify a wife's taking a lover? This wife was driven to find out. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1970 (France) See more »

Also Known As:

Diario de una esposa desesperada See more »

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frank Perry Films Inc. See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Carrie Snodgress, actor Richard Benjamin insisted that he and Carrie not have any interaction off-screen in order to have their onscreen tensions be more believable and authentic. See more »

Quotes

Jonathan Balser: How about a little roll in the hay?
See more »

Alternate Versions

Original version runs 104 minutes. Alternate TV version was prepared by director Frank Perry substituting different footage for many sequences; this version runs 95 minutes. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Wheel of the Worst #5 (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Ride With Me Baby
(uncredited)
Written by Mars Bonfire
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Carrie Snodgress---What Happened to Her After "Diary"?
See more »

User Reviews

Did a male conspiracy send this film to extinction???
3 March 2004 | by inthehouse – See all my reviews

Tried to rent this movie EVERYWHERE!! Where is it? At the time, it was a signature piece - first (or second???) of a whole genre of films, including "An Unmarried Woman," "Starting Over," "Same Time Next Year," "Stepford Wives," "Fried Green Tomatoes," and others which offered a new point of view for the housewife emerging from the Sixties to the Seventies!!

Best scene - the plate flying across the kitchen during Thanksgiving dinner!

Tell me where to rent it!! Have they put it under wraps????
10 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 25 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Free Movies and TV Shows You Can Watch Now

On IMDb TV, you can catch Hollywood hits and popular TV series at no cost. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free!

Dune
La La Land
The Karate Kid
Marie Antoinette
The Pursuit of Happyness...

Browse free movies and TV series

Stream Trending Movies With Prime Video

Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed