Sean, Gina, and $50 Million

Sean Connery as Tony.

Wheelchair-bound Charles Richmond mistreats his servants, bullies his adult nephew, and fosters tyranny wherever he goes. He is also worth $50 million.

With his inheritance limited to a mere $650,000, nephew Tony Richmond (Sean Connery) hatches a scheme to increase his share of the estate. He carefully selects a new nurse that will appeal to his uncle: an Italian beauty named Maria unwilling to tolerate Charles' cruelty. Her defiance and Tony's open criticism of her combine to peak Charles' interest. Tony is convinced that he can manipulate his uncle into marrying Maria (Gina Lollobrigida). She reluctantly agrees to Tony's plan--but who can trust whom?

Gina Lollobrigida as Maria.

Made in 1964, Woman of Straw is the kind of low-key thriller that Alfred Hitchcock might have made twenty years earlier. It's a tribute to the cast that they make the plot's double-crossing shenanigans interesting for most of the two-hour running time. Ralph Richardson is in top form as the despicable Charles, who shows no signs of humanity until he gradually develops feelings for Maria. Gina Lollobrigida is convincing, too, as the conflicted Maria who loses her taste for the scheme, but can't resist her attraction to Mark and his ambitions.

Ralph Richardson as Charles.

By today's standards, the biggest star in Woman of Straw is Sean Connery. But, in 1964, he was on the brink of international superstardom pending the release of Goldfinger later that year. He is adequate as the cold and calculating Mark, who somehow never elicits audience sympathy even after he reveals that Charles drove his father to suicide and then married his mother! It doesn't help that Connery's character fades to the background during the film's middle portion as the focus shifts to the Charles-Maria relationship.

Veteran director Basil Dearden takes advantage of the colorful locations shot in Majorca, Spain (though the use of rear screens in some scenes is distracting). However, he loses control of the film during its rambling final thirty minutes. There's really no reason for a movie like Woman of Straw to be two hours in length! One would think that Dearden, who directed such marvelous, efficient thrillers as Victim (1961), would know this. Additionally, it doesn't help that the climatic scene is a headscratcher that left my wife and me trying to figure out what happened.

The best reason to watch Woman of Straw is to see Gina Lollobrigida give one of her best English-language performances. Once dubbed "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" (instead of Sophia Loren?), she had won several acting awards for her Italian films prior to Woman of Straw. It's unfortunate that she rarely got roles worthy of her talents in other English-language movies. She deserved better than being cast in light comedies opposite American stars like Rock Hudson and Bob Hope.

Dragonslayer: A Different Kind of Disney

Note the similarity to the Star Wars poster.

Dragonslayer is one of those films that disappointed me when I first saw it, but grew on me over the years. Perhaps, I expected a lighthearted fantasy (it was co-produced by Disney) and was totally unprepared for the grim, dark, medieval setting. If so, then that seems ironic now, for the film’s oppressive atmosphere has become one of its most endearing qualities for me.

The film opens with villagers from a faraway kingdom pleading with the great wizard Ulrich (Ralph Richardson) to destroy a disagreeable dragon. An unpleasant knight interrupts the proceedings and, questioning the old wizard’s skills, demands a test of magic. Surprisingly, Ulrich agrees and, in the process, dies unexpectedly. Galin (Peter MacNichol), his still-in-training apprentice, accepts the challenge of defeating the dragon.

Peter MacNichol as Galin

Galin’s confidence, and apparent initial success against the dragon, soon give way to doubt. In fact, doubt and change are the two prevalent themes in Dragonslayer. The king has so little confidence in his ability to defeat the dragon that he holds lotteries at the spring and autumn equinoxes to select virgin maids for sacrifice. Even some of the villagers who seek Ulrich’s aid doubt if he can truly help them.

Ulrich doesn’t doubt the power of magic, but he knows that times are changing. His wizardly contemporaries are gone and he feels his time is near. As one character says: “Magic, magicians…it’s all fading from the world.” There is a new age of enlightenment on the way (symbolized at the end by the sun’s emergence from behind the moon during an eclipse). Even then, though, as we learn in the final shot, there will be a place for magic.

I’ve probably made Dragonslayer sounds like a heavyhanded, symbolic film. In contrast, it’s a fantasy adventure at heart; Galin’s trek into the dragon’s lair is a tense, exciting sequence. The climax, with the winged fire-breathing creature swooping through the air, is enthralling if a bit brief. Indeed, the dragon in Dragonslayer remains an impressive creation (its horns reminding me somewhat of the demon in Night of the Demon).

Dragonslayer is by no means a great film, but it improves with repeated viewings—or has so for me anyway. It was among the first of many fantasy adventures made in the 1980s (e.g., Conan the Barbarian, Krull, Beastmaster, Red Sonja, etc.). I happen to think it’s the best.