19 MAY 2023
JBC rating: ****
James Bond Connections (4):
- Starring Sean Connery (James Bond 1962 – 1967, 1971) as Tony Richmond.
- Featuring Peter Madden (played Kronsteen’s chess opponent in From Russia with Love) as the Yacht Captain.
- Production Designer Ken Adam (Bond Production Designer, various 1962 – 1979).
- Art Director Peter Murton (Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Man with the Golden Gun).
Following the global success of Dr No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963), Sean Connery starred in two similarly themed suspense thrillers, Woman of Straw and Marnie (both 1964). Each film capitalised on Connery’s recent stardom by having the actor play characters who are essentially a darker, civilian variant on his James Bond persona. The American produced Marnie, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is by far the more famous film. However, the UK-made Woman of Straw, directed by veteran English filmmaker Basil Dearden, deserves to be better known. In each film, Connery is a dangerous mix of dynamism, charm, sex appeal and menace. Like Bond, his character is on a (here, personal) mission and must use his ingenuity to prevail. However, unlike Bond he is applying his skills to questionable or, especially in Woman of Straw, malign ends.
Woman of Straw follows Connery as Tony Richmond, who schemes to secure his inheritance from his wheelchair-bound but ruthless businessman uncle, Charles Richmond, excellently portrayed in monstrous fashion by English star Ralph Richardson (above, with Connery). Screen writers Robert Muller and Stanley Mann, working from Catherine Lacey’s source novel, add a Shakespearean aspect to Tony’s backstory – years previously Charles’ business methods drove Tony’s father to suicide. Charles then married Tony’s widowed mother. However, whereas Hamlet’s goal was to avenge his father, Tony’s primary motive, having been written out of Charles’ will following his mother’s death, is monetary.
Charles’ incredible wealth is obvious from his various trappings, including a splendid Jacobean home, a French-style yacht and a Majorcan villa. There is a Bond flavour to the Ken Adam production design. The studio interior of the hall is classic Adam, with huge spaces, high ceilings, a partitioned grand staircase, and a mix of classical and modern features. Later, Art Director Peter Murton dresses the sets for Charles’ yacht and villa with Bond-style opulent details. In the early scenes, Charles is portrayed as a cruel bully and a racist who, in a disturbing scene, literally treats his African house staff like dogs. His character softens slightly during his brief courtship and eventual marriage to his live-in nurse Maria Marcella, played very well by the striking Italian star Gina Lollobrigida (below, with Connery). However, this is all part of a plot engineered by Tony, who in addition to being Maria’s lover, has convinced her to marry his uncle on the understanding she will pay Tony £1,000,000 out of her inheritance when Charles eventually dies. Maria is the “woman of straw” of the title, the unwitting cover for Tony’s true scheme. The rather Victorian-style plot further links the film with its companion piece Marnie, where the heroine is also forced into marriage.
The wedding takes place in Majorca where, according to plan, Charles decides to change his will, leaving everything to his new bride. However, Tony’s plan appears to falter when Charles is found dead, crucially before the revised will has been authenticated by solicitors in London. Tony decides Maria must help him transport Charles’ body back to England without arousing suspicion and only report his death when the will has become official. Dearden effectively handles the suspense in the scenes where Tony and Maria attempt to move the deceased Charles (strapped into his wheelchair) back to England. In a horror-style touch, there are some memorable close ups of Charles’ face as his sunglasses slip down his nose to expose his dead but wide-open eyes. In a masterstroke, the filmmakers use a diegetic score – the only music playing throughout the film is whichever Beethoven symphony the characters are listening to. This proves highly effective, grounding an otherwise melodramatic story.
A good twist arrives two thirds of the way into the film. This augers in a final act reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954), in which the police accuse Maria of murder when they begin to doubt the timing of Charles’ death. There is a very strong scene late in the film when Tony visits Maria in prison (above). As the whole plot finally comes into focus Gina Lollobrigida is very convincing as the now emotionally ruined widow. It’s a shame Lollobrigida is offscreen for the violent but slightly routine climax, which could have been stronger with her presence. However, she does appear for a quietly satisfying coda set amongst the grounds of Charles’ hall, mirroring the opening of the film.
AN UNDERRATED GEM?
In his recently published biography Sir Sean Connery: The Definitive Biography (an update to a previous work), author John Parker explains how the first cinematic James Bond prematurely agreed to star in Woman of Straw after scanning through drafts between takes during filming for From Russia with Love. As such, Parker describes the film as something of a career misstep and a box office disappointment. However, sixty years since its release Woman of Straw offers considerable pleasures. The old-fashioned story is strong and well conveyed by the trio of old school-style movie stars in the lead roles. Director Basil Dearden serves up some solid, Hitchcock-style suspense sequences which are made all the more effective by the diegetic score. While the climax could have been stronger, this remains an involving, entertaining and memorable suspense thriller. For James Bond fans, Woman of Straw offers the chance to enjoy Sean Connery, in his first non-Bond film since before Dr No, play a villainous variation on his 007 persona.