“How to Murder Your Wife” is one of my all-time favorite movies. My son gave me a new DVD of the movie for Christmas, and I am looking forward to watching it again soon.
The movie came out in 1965, so it’s not very politically correct these days, but I just love it. It’s not my usual kind of movie – it’s more slapsticky than I usually like, and I can take or leave Jack Lemmon, but I still love this movie.
Jack Lemmon is well cast as the high-strung cartoonist Stanley Ford, and Virna Lisi is drop-dead gorgeous, but also likable, as his Italian wife. But for me, the real stars are the co-stars – Terry-Thomas as Charles, Ford’s butler; Claire Trevor as Edna Lampson; and the always funny Mary Wickes as a secretary.
The hands-down funniest character, though, is Harold Lampson, Ford’s attorney, brilliantly and hilariously played by Eddie Mayehoff. He absolutely cracks me up. Several lines of his dialogue have become catchphrases in our family – “I do carry a lot of life insurance” and “that broken down money pit of a house in Scarsdale.” Even though we don’t live in Scarsdale, you’d be amazed how often that last line is appropriate for people who live in a 105-year-old house!
If you've never seen "How to Murder Your Wife," check it out. Everyone could use a laugh as we head into the depths of winter.
