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Comedy

How to Murder Your Wife (1965): Cast & Plot

How to Murder Your Wife (1965) movie poster

How to Murder Your Wife is a 1965 comedy directed by Richard Quine, starring Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, Terry-Thomas and Max Showalter. It runs 1 hour 58 minutes.

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How to Murder Your Wife (1965) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 58m (118 min)
Director
Richard Quine
Genre
Comedy
Original language
English
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is How to Murder Your Wife About?

The premise of How to Murder Your Wife without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

Stanley Ford, a successful cartoonist enjoying a carefree bachelor life with his valet Charles, wakes up after a stag party to find he’s mysteriously married to a stunning woman who popped out of a cake—she doesn’t speak any English. Though he initially protests, he gradually embraces married life and even rewrites his comic hero from a suave spy to a harried husband.

How to Murder Your Wife Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • misogyny
  • misogynist
  • bachelor
  • comic strip artist
  • murder trial
  • husband wife reunion
  • sexism
  • sexist
  • new york city
  • newlywed couple
  • language barrier
  • uxoricide
+38 more
  • lust
  • butler
  • breaking the fourth wall
  • surprise ending
  • husband wife relationship
  • cartoonist
  • pet dog
  • bachelor party
  • lawyer
  • drunkenness
  • lawyer client relationship
  • construction site
  • speaking italian
  • rooftop
  • murder plot
  • drugged drink
  • mannequin
  • missing wife
  • murder suspect
  • jury
  • scene during opening credits
  • townhouse
  • voice over narration
  • talking to the camera
  • breaking the fourth wall by talking to the audience
  • cement mixer
  • close up of eyes
  • close up of mouth
  • dysfunctional marriage
  • sexual fantasy
  • kiss
  • domineering wife
  • italian abroad
  • henpecked husband
  • opening narration
  • dark comedy
  • men's club
  • weight gain
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Cast & crew

How to Murder Your Wife Cast & Characters

Jack Lemmon leads the cast as Stanley Ford, with Terry-Thomas as Charles and Max Showalter as Tobey Rawlins. Directed by Richard Quine; 20 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in How to Murder Your Wife

· 16 more
From the director

More from Richard Quine

More films directed by Richard Quine: The Prisoner of Zenda, The Moonshine War, A Talent for Loving and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad.

Full filmography
Plot

How to Murder Your Wife Plot Summary

What happens in How to Murder Your Wife from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 14 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Stanley Ford, a successful newspaper cartoonist, thrives on bachelor life in a stylish New York City townhouse, where his loyal valet, Charles Firbank, keeps everything running like clockwork. His wildly popular, widely syndicated comic strip, Bash Brannigan, stages a secret-agent thriller that Stanley makes feel real by acting out the adventures himself. He even takes on the persona of Brannigan while Charles photographs the improvised scenes to serve as visual references when drawing the strip.

Full summary

The whole story of How to Murder Your Wife, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Videos

How to Murder Your Wife Trailers & Videos

2 videos: 1 trailer and 1 featurette.

How to Murder Your Wife (1965) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
  • Featurette Dr. Z on HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE
Quiz

How Well Do You Know How to Murder Your Wife?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

What is Stanley Ford's profession?

Cars

Cars in How to Murder Your Wife

12 cars on screen, including the 1964 Lincoln Continental and the Autocar Construcktor.

All 12 cars
  • 1964 Lincoln Continental in How to Murder Your Wife 1964 Lincoln Continental Important role
  • Autocar Construcktor in How to Murder Your Wife Autocar Construcktor Minor role
  • Clark unknown in How to Murder Your Wife Clark unknown Minor role
  • 1964 Dodge 330 in How to Murder Your Wife 1964 Dodge 330 Minor role
Details

How to Murder Your Wife Also Known As

18 alternative titles, including “Come uccidere vostra moglie” and “Comment tuer votre femme”.

Also known as
  • Come uccidere vostra moglie
  • Comment tuer votre femme
  • Cómo matar a la propia esposa
  • Wie bringt man seine Frau um?
  • Hogyan öljük meg a feleségünket?
  • Jak zabít svou ženu
  • Как пришить свою женушку
  • Como Matar a Sua Mulher
  • Como Matar Sua Esposa
  • Cum să-ți ucizi soția
  • Как да убиете жена си
  • Jak zamordować własną żonę
+6 more
  • Como asesinar a su mujer
  • چگونه همسرتان را به قتل برسانید
  • 杀妻记
  • Kako ubiti svoju suprugu
  • Com matar la pròpia dona
  • Hur man mördar sin fru

Seen How to Murder Your Wife?

FAQ

How to Murder Your Wife FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of How to Murder Your Wife, each answered in a sentence.

How long is How to Murder Your Wife?

How to Murder Your Wife runs 1 hour 58 minutes (118 minutes).

When was How to Murder Your Wife released?

How to Murder Your Wife was released on January 26, 1965.

Who directed How to Murder Your Wife?

How to Murder Your Wife was directed by Richard Quine.

More films by Richard Quine

Who is in the cast of How to Murder Your Wife?

How to Murder Your Wife stars Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, Terry-Thomas as Charles and Max Showalter as Tobey Rawlins, among 20 credited actors.

Does How to Murder Your Wife have a post-credit scene?

No. How to Murder Your Wife has no extra scene during or after the credits.

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