How to Murder Your Wife (1965)

67% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(3,365 ratings)

George Axelrod's script for How to Murder Your Wife isn't politically correct in the least, but you're likely to get a charge out of it -- provided you are of the male persuasion, that is. Jack Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a successful cartoonist and a confirmed bachelor who shares a lavish… More George Axelrod's script for How to Murder Your Wife isn't politically correct in the least, but you're likely to get a charge out of it -- provided you are of the male persuasion, that is. Jack Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a successful cartoonist and a confirmed bachelor who shares a lavish apartment with his misogynistic manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas). While attending a friend's bachelor party, Stanley falls head over heels in love with the gorgeous bikini-clad girl (Virna Lisi) who pops out of a cake. He impulsively marries her, but thinks better of it the next day. Alas, Stanleycan't get a divorce because his bride is an Italian Catholic (this is 1966). Dicier still, she is a "domestic goddess," lovingly plying her hubby with rich Italian food until Stanley's once-athletic physique is as bloated as the dirigible Hindenberg. Stanley's descent into husbandhood is reflected in his work: his popular adventure comic strip "Bash Brannigan" metamorphoses into a Blondie-like "idiot husband" daily. As a catharsis, Stanley vicariously "kills" his lovely wife by having Bash Brannigan murder his missus. Stanley's wife sees the finished strip on his desk and runs tearfully out of his life (at least temporarily). The publication of the strip, coupled with his wife's disappearance, results in Lemmon being put on trial for murder. We won't tell you how things turn out; suffice it to say that most feminists will be outraged, while most husbands will laugh immoderately. Eddie Mayehoff and Claire Trevor provide sparkling support as Lemmon's bombastic editor and his dragon-like wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 58 min.
Directed By: Richard Quine
Written By: George Axelrod
Genres: Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1964 Wide
On DVD: Oct 15, 2002
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
A nimble comedy that doesn't make much sense because it makes nonsense, most of it screechingly funny and played by knockabouts who know that the slapstick was invented for keeping an idea aloft, not for beating it into the ground.
Variety Staff, Variety
Finesse and desire aren't enough to overcome the fact that Axelrod's script doesn't make the most of its potentially antic situations.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Believable or not, this stuff is funny just so long as one can go with the sour joke- -and that depends upon one's tolerance of trivia and also, perhaps, upon whether one is a fellow or a girl.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This dated comedy is saved by Lemmon's comedic genius which eschews macho.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Lemmon está ótimo como sempre, e Lisi é belíssima, mas o fraco roteiro e a ridícula conclusão comprometem o filme irremediavelmente.
David Nusair, Apollo Guide
The movie contains unbelievably sexist lines and attitudes, and it's impossible to imagine anyone in this day and age watching the film without being horribly offended.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Superior 60s sex comedy.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

A mostly forgotten gem from 1965 this comedy operates under the seductive fantasy that no man really ever wants to be married. After one drunken night's revelry Lemmon awakes to discover he's slipped up and married ... now what? More cute than laff-out-loud funny it does… More
A mostly forgotten gem from 1965 this comedy operates under the seductive fantasy that no man really ever wants to be married. After one drunken night's revelry Lemmon awakes to discover he's slipped up and married ... now what? More cute than laff-out-loud funny it does carry more than a few good bits.
AJ V

The story is predictable and silly, but there are a handful of really hilarious scenes, which save the movie from being too bad.
Ken S

Tons of shovanistic fun
Tom E

This has got to be the FUNNIEST movie I've ever seen -- one of my all-time favorites
Dannielle A

Stanley Ford is a single man with a good fortune, but he is NOT in want of a wife. He enjoys his bachelor ways as a cartoonist, having his way with women and being taken care of by a butler. In a moment of drunkenness, he marries an Italian woman who doesn't speak a word of… More
Stanley Ford is a single man with a good fortune, but he is NOT in want of a wife. He enjoys his bachelor ways as a cartoonist, having his way with women and being taken care of by a butler. In a moment of drunkenness, he marries an Italian woman who doesn't speak a word of English. She is a very loving wife and nothing seems to phase her but Ford hates being married and tries unsuccessfully to dump her. He imagines that he's killed her and emulates his thoughts in his cartoon. Everyone believes he's actually killed her and tries him for murder. That's the basic plot. There are tons of sexist, chauvinistic lines and attitudes. The comedy is dry and insulting to women. Obviously it is satire, but it's still insulting. I sat through the whole movie but it was difficult to watch and I didn't enjoy it.