Review: Woman of Straw (1964)

With Sean Connery (freshly cast as James Bond) and Italian stunner Gina Lollobrigida leading the cast, Woman of Straw should be more memorable than it is. Lollobrigida plays the nurse of an aging tycoon (Ralph Richardson). He's a real piece of work: hateful, merciless, and generally unloved and unlovable, but she brings out a spark of kindness in him. Enter the tycoon's nephew (Connery) who hatches a murder scheme to bump the old man off and have the nurse--who he's wooing--inherit all his cash. If it all sounds rather Hitchcockian, that seems to be by design. However, the film lacks the sense of purpose that Hitchcock films are known for, taking far too long to get going. Without spoiling much, the murder of the old man comes at around the 75 minute mark of a 120-minute film. Instead of relying on the score of a cinematic composer, the movie uses classical music to mixed effect. It all feels very British because that's precisely what it is, complete with the standard British film shortcomings. One critic sums it up rather nicely: the film fails to fully commit to the premise. it's too timid to lean into the dastardly deeds that the story calls for, and instead we're given lots of hang-wringing and melodrama just for the sake of it. There are moments of ugliness, such as when Connery backhands Lollobrigida for not getting dressed quickly enough--an unpleasant reminder of both the time the film was made as well as Connery's own proclivity toward physical abuse. 

Woman of Straw is not a bad film, it's just not a particularly good one. It needs a shorter running time, more urgency in its storytelling, and more of a threat. This is a whodunnit that's in no hurry at all. As such, it's hard to invest in our three main characters--one of whom is a grouchy old coot, another who is a conniving snake, and the last of whom seems to have no willpower until the third act. The film asks too much without giving us reason to care.

Lukewarm though it may be, this is nevertheless a thriller that stars Connery the same year he made Goldfinger, and Gina Lollobrigida was still one of the most glamorous and exotic beauties of the silver screen at the time of this film's release. Director Basil Dearden had come from the stage, and maybe that's why this film never takes on a three-dimensional life. Unsatisfying, but not without merit for fans of the cast.