Woman of Straw ** (1964, Gina Lollobrigida, Sean Connery, Ralph Richardson) – Classic Movie Review 9,235

The 1964 film Woman of Straw is a Hitchcock-style crime thriller about a wicked nephew (Sean Connery) and a sexy Italian nurse (Gina Lollobrigida) scheming to bump off a rich old tycoon (Ralph Richardson).

Director Basil Dearden’s 1964 film Woman of Straw is a passable Hitchcock-style crime thriller about wicked nephew Tony Richmond (Sean Connery) and sexy Italian nurse Maria (Gina Lollobrigida) scheming to bump off ruthless wealthy old tycoon Charles Richmond (Ralph Richardson).

Playboy Tony schemes to acquire the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles by persuading the new  nurse he has hired, Maria,  to marry the old man.

The two stars are very welcome, Richardson and Alexander Knox as Detective Inspector Lomer have a jolly time, and the movie looks a treat thanks to Otto Heller’s Eastmancolor photography, Ken Adam’s sets, and the Majorca [or Mallorca] locations for the yacht trip. It is very attractively made by the producer-director team of Michael Relph and Basil Dearden. But unfortunately the plotting and director Dearden’s pacing are distinctly dodgy, and its 122 minutes of running time could be profitably tightened.

Also in the cast are Johnny Sekka, Laurence Hardy, Danny Daniels, Peter Madden, George Zenios, Joseph Wise, Ronald Hatton, Michael Goodliffe, Edward Underdown, André Morell, Noel Howlett, and Michael Corcoran.

Douglas Wilmer as Dr Murray (scenes deleted).

The screenplay by Robert Muller and Stanley Mann is based on the 1954 novel La Femme de Paille by Catherine Arley.

Connery did actually get to work with Hitchcock – in Marnie – and in the same year, 1964.

The film was shot from August to October 1963 at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England; Audley End House in Saffron Walden, Essex, England; Poole, Dorset, England; and in Majorca [or Mallorca], Balearic Islands, Spain. It was released on 28 April 1964 (London).

Connery got on well with Richardson, and described later as his favourite actor, though apparently did not get along with Lollobrigida. Surprisingly, Lollobrigida gets top billing, annoying Connery, which might be part of the reason they did not get along.

Connery remained bitter at being paid only $6,000 for the first Bond film, and was delighted to do this film for his first million-dollar pay-check. But he was disappointed at the film’s critical and box-office failure. He blamed what he saw as the poor story. 

A ‘man of straw’ is someone who serves as a front for another in activities that may or may not be legal.

Woman of Straw is directed by Basil Dearden, runs 122 minutes, is made by Michael Relph Productions [Novus Films], is distributed by United Artists, is written by Robert Muller and Stanley Mann, based on the 1954 novel La Femme de Paille by Catherine Arley, is shot in Eastmancolor by Otto Heller, is produced by Michael Relph, and is scored by Norman Percival.

The cast are Gina Lollobrigida as Maria Marcello, Sean Connery as Tony Richmond, Ralph Richardson as Charles Richmond, Alexander Knox as Detective Inspector Lomer, Johnny Sekka as Thomas, Laurence Hardy as butler Baynes,  Peter Madden as Yacht Captain, Danny Daniels as Fenton, Michael Goodliffe as Solicitor, Noel Howlett as Assistant Solicitor, George Zenios, Joseph Wise, Ronald Hatton, Edward Underdown, André Morell, and Michael Corcoran.

Senegalese actor Johnny Sekka was born Lamine Sekka on 21 July 1934 and died of lung cancer at his ranch in Agua Dulce, California, on 14 September 2006, aged 72.

Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was one of the highest-profile European stars and international sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9,235

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