IMDb RATING
6.5/10
7.1K
YOUR RATING
A dedicated bachelor drunkenly marries a young woman and immediately lives to regret it.A dedicated bachelor drunkenly marries a young woman and immediately lives to regret it.A dedicated bachelor drunkenly marries a young woman and immediately lives to regret it.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
William Bryant
- Club Member
- (as Bill Bryant)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring a taping of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Jack Lemmon told this story. Prior to starting the film, the husband of co-star Virna Lisi made her promise that she would not be talked into doing a nude scene in her first American film. She assured him that she would not, signed the contract and traveled to Hollywood. While filming the "revelation" scene, where Lemmon awakens to discover in horror that he had gotten married at the bachelor party, she had to disrobe and lay in the bed nude but discreetly covered with a sheet. However, it was this day that her husband, an architect, arrived unannounced at the set to surprise his wife. When he walked into the scene, he became very upset. He focused his anger toward Lemmon who, realizing that discretion was the better part of valor, exited the set at full speed with Virna's husband in pursuit. Running past several sound stages on the MGM lot, he quickly found a garbage dumpster, jumped in and closed the cover. He waited there until security officers found him.
- GoofsIn the opening scenes, the same woman in a red skirt and black top can be seen walking past Stanley's house (left to right) twice - firstly when Charles is collecting the newspaper and then when Charles and Stanley are leaving in the car.
- Quotes
Stanley Ford: Good evening, Judge Blackstone. I'm afraid this is a mournful occasion.
Judge Blackstone: Not at all, my boy, not at all. Been married 38 years myself. And I don't regret one day of it. The one day I don't regret was... August 2, 1936. She was off visiting her ailing mother at the time.
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits, the title says only "How to Your Wife" on the screen, in white letters. Then, the word "Murder" shows up in red letters in the space between the two rows of text.
- ConnectionsFeatured in TCM Guest Programmer: Tom Kenny (2005)
Featured review
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.
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.
- federovsky
- Aug 24, 2009
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Wie bringt man seine Frau um?
- Filming locations
- Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA(at Rheingold Brewery)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,467,420
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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