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How to Murder Your Wife
Despite a problematic screenplay, the 1965 How to Murder Your wife still provides laughs thanks primarily to the professionalism of the cast, even if it goes on a little too long.
This allegedly sophisticated battle of the sexes stars Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, the illustrator of a nationally syndicated comic strip called Bash Brannigan and confirmed bachelor who goes to a bachelor party one night and gets very drunk. When Stanley wakes up the next morning, he is distressed to learn that during his drunken stupor, he married the non-English-speaking Italian beauty (Virna Lisi) who jumped out of the cake.
George Axelrod, who also wrote the screenplay for The Seven Year Itch provides a somewhat confusing story that leaves a little too much unexplained I did like the fact that Stanley remembered exactly what happened the morning after the party. It is never made clear why Stanley decides to incorporate his wife into his comic strip and change it completely even though he seems miserable being married and his devoted manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas) walks out on him. I had a hard time believing how quickly the new Mrs. Ford began learning English and the rules of marriage so quickly. And most confusing of all, fed up with a final invasion of his manhood/privacy, he decides to kill his wife in the comic strip and is then shocked when she really disappears and he's the first suspect.
I did find myself laughing through a great deal of this movie and put my questions about the story and its antiquated views on love and marriage on the back burner and enjoyed a cast that seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lemmon is a complete charmer as Stanley, even though I kept thinking Dean Martin might have been a better fit for the role. There are a pair of razor sharp supporting performances from Eddie Mayerhoff as Stanley's lawyer and BFF and the fabulous Claire Trevor as his wife, who helps the new Mrs. Ford adjust to married wife. And needless to say, Lisi is a breathtaking bride
Richard Quine, who also directed the 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle provides a similar breezy direction to this tale, which includes some first rate production values, especially set design (Stanley's townhouse is awesome) and Neil Hefti's zingy music. The screenplay definitely could have used some maintenance but Lemmon is always watchable and this comedy that is over half a century old held up a lot better than I thought it would.
Despite a problematic screenplay, the 1965 How to Murder Your wife still provides laughs thanks primarily to the professionalism of the cast, even if it goes on a little too long.
This allegedly sophisticated battle of the sexes stars Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, the illustrator of a nationally syndicated comic strip called Bash Brannigan and confirmed bachelor who goes to a bachelor party one night and gets very drunk. When Stanley wakes up the next morning, he is distressed to learn that during his drunken stupor, he married the non-English-speaking Italian beauty (Virna Lisi) who jumped out of the cake.
George Axelrod, who also wrote the screenplay for The Seven Year Itch provides a somewhat confusing story that leaves a little too much unexplained I did like the fact that Stanley remembered exactly what happened the morning after the party. It is never made clear why Stanley decides to incorporate his wife into his comic strip and change it completely even though he seems miserable being married and his devoted manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas) walks out on him. I had a hard time believing how quickly the new Mrs. Ford began learning English and the rules of marriage so quickly. And most confusing of all, fed up with a final invasion of his manhood/privacy, he decides to kill his wife in the comic strip and is then shocked when she really disappears and he's the first suspect.
I did find myself laughing through a great deal of this movie and put my questions about the story and its antiquated views on love and marriage on the back burner and enjoyed a cast that seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lemmon is a complete charmer as Stanley, even though I kept thinking Dean Martin might have been a better fit for the role. There are a pair of razor sharp supporting performances from Eddie Mayerhoff as Stanley's lawyer and BFF and the fabulous Claire Trevor as his wife, who helps the new Mrs. Ford adjust to married wife. And needless to say, Lisi is a breathtaking bride
Richard Quine, who also directed the 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle provides a similar breezy direction to this tale, which includes some first rate production values, especially set design (Stanley's townhouse is awesome) and Neil Hefti's zingy music. The screenplay definitely could have used some maintenance but Lemmon is always watchable and this comedy that is over half a century old held up a lot better than I thought it would.