IMDb > The Unholy Wife (1957)

The Unholy Wife (1957) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
5.0/10   72 votes
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Director:
John Farrow
Writers:
William Durkee (writer) &
Jonathan Latimer (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Unholy Wife on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
October 1957 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
HALF-ANGEL......HALF-DEVIL, she made him HALF-A-MAN! ...she flaunted his hopes, taunted his dreams, turned his peaceful valley into a volcano of seething passions that even murder could not stem!
Plot:
Wealthy vintner Paul Hochen meets blonde bombshell Phyllis in a bar...and marries her. In due course... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
In Lurid Technicolor more (7 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Diana Dors ... Phyllis Hochen

Rod Steiger ... Paul Hochen
Tom Tryon ... San Sanders
Beulah Bondi ... Emma Hochen
Marie Windsor ... Gwen
Arthur Franz ... Father Stephen Hochen
Luis Van Rooten ... Ezra Benton
Joe De Santis ... Gino Verdugo

Argentina Brunetti ... Theresa
Steve Pendleton ... Deputy Bob Watkins
Douglas Spencer ... Judge
Gary Hunley ... Michael
James Burke ... Sheriff Tom Watling
Tol Avery ... Dist. Atty. Carl Kramer
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Lady and the Prowler (USA) (alternative title)
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Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.00 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15
Company:
John Farrow Productions more

Fun Stuff

Soundtrack:
ONE FOR MY BABY (AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD) more

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User Comments

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
In Lurid Technicolor, 13 July 2001
Author: mackjay from Out there in the dark

"The Unholy Wife" is not quite as sensational as a plot summary might make it sound. The femme fatale lead character does perpetrate a nasty little scheme, but it does not add up to a great deal. John Farrow's matter-of-fact directing style is partly responsible. A larger problem is in the impersonation by Diana Dors. Not a bad actress, really, sex goddess Dors just never seems as selfishly malevolent as her character is supposed to be. Things seem to happen around her, and she gets ideas from others as well.

There is definite camp appeal in watching Dors swivel down the ludicrously shadowy hallways of her husband's mansion, her impossibly complicated hairdo cascading around a Monroe-esquire facial expression. This is the kind of picture in which the viewer cannot wait for the heroine to do something evil. But, as indicated, Dors never really delivers. Considering her one violent act, she is probably merely stupid.

Rod Steiger does an early one of his 'nearly crazy' types here, mercurial but volatile. Beulah Bondi is non-stop hysterical. And the unfortunate Tom Tryon serves little purpose than to look good.

Yet, the whole thing has a luridly Technicolor, tabloid quality that is not without a certain appeal. It's interesting as the kind of B movie that--in a rather mild way--reflects an era (1957) of whispered sexuality and sensationalized scandal.

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