Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Priest's Wife

Original title: La moglie del prete
  • 19701970
  • PGPG
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
628
YOUR RATING
The Priest's Wife (1970)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:49
1 Video
17 Photos
  • Comedy
Discovering her boyfriend is married, a young lady attempts to take her life, pausing only to phone a Help Line. Finding herself very much alive in hospital she meets the priest who took the... Read allDiscovering her boyfriend is married, a young lady attempts to take her life, pausing only to phone a Help Line. Finding herself very much alive in hospital she meets the priest who took the call and, much taken with him, she starts trying to date him. He in turn succumbs to her ... Read allDiscovering her boyfriend is married, a young lady attempts to take her life, pausing only to phone a Help Line. Finding herself very much alive in hospital she meets the priest who took the call and, much taken with him, she starts trying to date him. He in turn succumbs to her charms and they soon realise their major problem is his Holy vow of celibacy.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
628
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Dino Risi
  • Writers
    • Ruggero Maccari(screenplay)
    • Bernardino Zapponi(screenplay)
    • Dino Risi(story)
  • Stars
    • Sophia Loren
    • Marcello Mastroianni
    • Venantino Venantini
Top credits
  • Director
    • Dino Risi
  • Writers
    • Ruggero Maccari(screenplay)
    • Bernardino Zapponi(screenplay)
    • Dino Risi(story)
  • Stars
    • Sophia Loren
    • Marcello Mastroianni
    • Venantino Venantini
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Priest's Wife
    Trailer 2:49
    The Priest's Wife

    Photos17

    Sophia Loren in "The Priest's Wife." 1970 Warner/Champion
    The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
    Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sophia Loren
    Sophia Loren
    • Valeria Billi
    Marcello Mastroianni
    Marcello Mastroianni
    • Don Mario
    Venantino Venantini
    Venantino Venantini
    • Maurizio
    Jacques Stany
    • Jimmy Guitar
    Pippo Starnazza
    • Valeria's Father
    Augusto Mastrantoni
    • Monsignor Caldana
    Giuseppe Maffioli
    • Davide Libretti
    Miranda Campa
    • Valeria's Mother
    Gino Cavalieri
    • Don Filippo
    Gino Lazzari
    • Caldana's Secretary
    Dana Ghia
    Dana Ghia
    • Lucia
    Vittoria Crispo
      Nerina Montagnani
      • Don Mario's Mom
      • (uncredited)
      Paola Natale
      Paola Natale
        • Director
          • Dino Risi
        • Writers
          • Ruggero Maccari(screenplay) (story)
          • Bernardino Zapponi(screenplay) (story)
          • Dino Risi(story)
        • All cast & crew
        • See more cast details at IMDbPro

        More like this

        Sunflower
        7.3
        Sunflower
        Scent of a Woman
        7.5
        Scent of a Woman
        Lady Liberty
        5.7
        Lady Liberty
        The Great War
        8.2
        The Great War
        The Sign of Venus
        6.5
        The Sign of Venus
        Scandal in Sorrento
        6.5
        Scandal in Sorrento
        Il Sorpasso
        8.2
        Il Sorpasso
        Blood Feud
        6.4
        Blood Feud
        Stay as You Are
        6.2
        Stay as You Are
        White Sister
        5.4
        White Sister
        Too Bad She's Bad
        6.9
        Too Bad She's Bad
        It Started in Naples
        6.3
        It Started in Naples

        Storyline

        Edit

        Did you know

        Edit
        • Trivia
          Final film of Vittoria Crispo.
        • Quotes

          Monsignor Caldana: You've got a mama, haven't you? And you know how mamas are. They like to keep their sons around the house but they prefer their sons to do their hanky panky out of the house, as long as they come home at night for dinner, and the church is a jealous mama like all mamas.

          Nun: Yes. The church is like a mama. You know that.

          Don Mario: Oh, so you're advising me to live in an ambiguous dirty way... to get myself a girlfriend on the sly... like those priests who go to bed with their housekeepers and the nuns.

          Nun: What is he saying about nuns?

          Don Mario: There isn't anything to worry about as far as you're concerned.

          Monsignor Caldana: Well, wh-what has this got to do with me? What are you asking for? Renounce your vows. Get castrated. I don't care! But leave me in peace. I'm too old, I'm too tired and I'm sick. I'm fed up with you and your vows of celibacy. That's all there is to it!

          [Nun jabs him with needle]

          Monsignor Caldana: Ahhh! St. Lorenzo the martyr!

          Nun: Shame on you. Just a nip in the bottom.

        • Connections
          Referenced in The French Connection (1971)
        • Soundtracks
          Anyone
          by Boris Bergman/Armando Trovajoli (as Trovajoli)

          Sung by Sophia Loren

        User reviews2

        Review
        Top review
        8/10
        Bittersweet comedy
        Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni shine in the roles of the star- crossed lovers. Valeria is rebounding from a four-year affair with a man she now finds out is married. She expresses her displeasure at the man in one of the funniest scenes in the film - early on - a madcap car chase through Rome.

        Aside: cars in Rome during the 1970s were a lot smaller than ours are today - even including Mini-Coopers. And this is the 8th of 11 films she and Mastrioanni made together.

        Distraught to the point of suicide, she calls a crisis help line, on impulse, and is answered by a man who does his best to talk her out of it, but doesn't quite succeed. She's taken to a hospital, calls the help line again, insisting that the man she talked to come to her. When he arrives, she notices that he's a priest.

        That disappoints her: her first man was married to his wife, now this one is married to the church.

        Needless to say, their relationship grows, despite every effort by Don Mario to fend her off.

        The rest of the story, combining humor and pathos, revolves around Valeria's attempts to get Don Mario to quit the priesthood and marry her, and his attempts to get the church authorities to let him go.

        Loren is, as usual, stunningly beautiful, and considering that her character in the movie is as poor as anyone else in Italy, wears some gorgeous outfits.

        One of the great throw-away lines in the movie comes when Don Maro is visiting the hospital, and one of the doctors asks him to use his influence with the government.

        "The Church has no influence with the government", Don Mario says.

        "If they don't, who does"?

        The screening we saw was dubbed in English. I would have liked to hear the real voices - but we take what we can.

        Overall, I recommend this one.
        helpful•13
        1
        • rigoletto339
        • Jul 15, 2012

        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • December 22, 1970 (Italy)
        • Countries of origin
          • Italy
          • France
        • Language
          • Italian
        • Also known as
          • Die Frau des Priesters
        • Filming locations
          • Tirrenia Studios, Tirrenia, Tuscany, Italy
        • Production companies
          • Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
          • Productions et Éditions Cinématographique Français
          • Les Films Concordia
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Box office

        Edit
        • Gross US & Canada
          • $39,885
        See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

        Technical specs

        Edit
        • Runtime
          1 hour 43 minutes
        • Sound mix
          • Mono
        • Aspect ratio
          • 1.37 : 1

        Related news

        Contribute to this page

        Suggest an edit or add missing content
        The Priest's Wife (1970)
        Top Gap
        What is the English language plot outline for The Priest's Wife (1970)?
        Answer
        • See more gaps
        • Learn more about contributing
        Edit page

        More to explore

        View list
        List
        The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July
        See the full list
        View list
        List
        The Best Movies Coming This Summer
        See the full list

        Recently viewed

        Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
        Get the IMDb App
        • Get the IMDb App
        • Help
        • Site Index
        • IMDbPro
        • Box Office Mojo
        • IMDb Developer
        • Press Room
        • Advertising
        • Jobs
        • Conditions of Use
        • Privacy Policy
        • Interest-Based Ads
        IMDb, an Amazon company

        © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.