How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Stanley Ford leads an idyllic bachelor life. He is a nationally syndicated cartoonist whose Bash Brannigan series provides him with a luxury townhouse and a full-time valet, Charles. When he wakes up the morning after the night before - he had attended a friend's stag party - he finds that he is married to the very beautiful woman who popped out of the cake - and who doesn't speak a word of English. Despite his initial protestations, he comes to like married life and even changes his cartoon character from a super spy to a somewhat harried husband.
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Fantastic!
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
This is one of the funniest and best-written comedies I have ever seen. Jack Lemmon is in top form, and Virna Lisi (in her first American film) is beautiful, sexy and delightful. Stanley (Lemmon) is a successful cartoonist and confirmed bachelor. He is ably assisted by his manservant, Charles, played by the always-funny Terry-Thomas. Not only is Charles a confirmed bachelor, also, but he refuses to work for any man who isn't. After a riotous night of drinking at a friend's bachelor party, Stanley awakens the next morning to find himself married to the lovely girl who popped out of the cake (Lisi). (Ironically, during the party his friend's marriage was called off.) Stanley remembers nothing, and to make matters worse, his bride speaks nary a word of English. Worse still, she hails from Italy where (at the time) divorce is forbidden. Stanley is desperate for a way to end the marriage, and quickly, but no one is able to help him. In a delicious irony, he slowly develops a fondness for his wife, only to have her leave him when he no longer wants her to. I won't reveal the rest of the plot, but the denouement is inspired, and the ending is laugh-out-loud funny.
The comic style of this film is reflected in Jack Lemmon's cartoons; in fact, he creates his comic-strip character, Brash Brannigan, in his own likeness and then tries to influence his own life by changing Brash's. A brilliant narrative trick. The last time I saw this, adult life lay ahead like a kind of exam. Orange juice in the shower, and beautiful blonds popping out of cakes seemed to be the goal. This film was like a comedic case study in lifestyle management, a blueprint to be stored away - just in case. I liked all the ideas here: the perfect bachelor life, waking up and finding yourself married, the club where you can't be reached - and it's still likable. Lemmon shows terrific timing with his rapid use of language and gesture that has an amazing flexibility to it - as a technique that is surely unique to him. Terry-Thomas is splendid and quite solid in contrast. Of course we scoff at the idea of a cartoonist living in a townhouse in the middle of Manhatten with a butler, but that's a metaphor for the end of the old days. The Brash Brannigan shenanigans at the beginning were a little overdone though, and the courtroom scene near the end is more than preposterous - it's post-posterous; the whole murder trial device is weakened by the fact that we know what actually happened - much better if there'd been some doubt in our minds also as to whether he had killed his wife - hard to understand how George Axelrod's script missed that obvious point.Still, the humour tootles along nicely: the gloppita-gloppita machine; the goofballs that make your wife dance on the table - Brrrrrrrrrrp! - and then collapse - Blapppp!; delicious Virna Lisi; and those in-your-dreams lifestyle tips - it's like re-reading an old favourite comic strip.
One fine day Jack Lemmon, an American Bertie Wooster who earns a living as a cartoonist finds himself married to the gorgeous Virna Lisi. It's such a shock that his Jeeves played by Terry-Thomas walks out on him. But that's only the beginning of Lemmon's troubles.As P.G. Wodehouse was still alive when this film came it would be interesting to speculate what he thought of it. Probably not all that much. Certainly he never considered a libel suit for ripping off his famous fictional pair, he probably though that a suit would give the film unwanted publicity.It's not that How To Murder Your Wife is a horrible film, but a great cast was assembled and it laid an ostrich size omelet in an attempt to be satirical.Lemmon goes to a bachelor party in which the gorgeous Lisi pops out of a cake and dances. The next day he wakes up with her, but unlike in the past, there's a little gold band on his finger. Terry-Thomas has been used to Lemmon's women, but he's got a firm rule against working for married people. Jeeves I'm sure would concur.If you're going to be married why not enjoy it if it's to Virna Lisi. But she's cramping his style and he takes his frustration out in his cartoon strip. Later when Lisi discovers she's his literary inspiration for fictional homicide, she walks out and Lemmon's accused of her real murder.Eddie Mayehoff and Claire Trevor play Lemmon's married friends and Trevor tries to help Lisi with her English. She in turn helps Trevor loosen up. That particular scene is the best in the film.Lemmon wasn't particularly crazy about this film and I can see why. Still for Jack Lemmon fans it shouldn't be missed. The film could have used a lot more of Terry-Thomas.
I'm a big fan of 60's movies - they remind me of my preteen years. I was born in 1960, and watching 60's movies, particularly with Jack Lemmon, is fun. But despite Jack saying this was the best one he did with Director Quine, I wouldn't recommend it. Now I'm wondering, if Jack said this is the BEST ONE, how tedious must the other five movies he did with Quine be!?! This movie is about 30 minutes TOO LONG. There's a lot of filler here - you could boil it down to about 80 minutes and still get the gist of things. Forget about it being politically incorrect - it's a period piece. But it gets bogged down with diversions that don't move the story along. I love Jack Lemmon, but you've got to be VERY patient with this movie to get any enjoyment out of it.