''The Unholy Wife'' is a 1957

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film noir crime film produced and directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

, but released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

as RKO was in the process of ceasing its film activities. The film features

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

, Rod Steiger,

Tom Tryon Thomas Lester Tryon (January 14, 1926 – September 4, 1991) was an American actor and novelist. He is best known for playing the title role in the film ''The Cardinal'' (1963), featured roles in the war films '' The Longest Day'' (1962) and ''I ...

and

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

. The screenplay was written by William Durkee and Jonathan Latimer The plot concerns a '' femme fatale'' named Phyllis (

) who tells her sordid story from her prison cell in flashback. Dors later said the film "wasn't good. They edited it badly." The movie's box office failure hurt her career.

Plot

Phyllis (

) tells her story, beginning with how she met rich

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

Paul Hochen ( Rod Steiger) from

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

in a bar and married him soon after. Not long after the marriage, Phyllis begins having an affair with a local rodeo rider, San Sanford (

), seeing him every time her husband is away, which is frequently. One night, her elderly mother-in-law (

) thinks a burglar is breaking into the house, so she calls the police. Phyllis sees this as an opportunity to kill her husband and blame the burglar for the crime. The plan backfires a day later when she instead kills her husband's best friend. Not wanting to go to jail, she convinces her husband to confess to the killing and they concoct a story that would set him free after the trial. Phyllis lies at the trial and Paul is put away for murder. The "unholy" wife finally gets the punishment she deserves when her mother-in-law dies of poisoning and the blame goes to Phyllis, who is sent to prison for a crime she did not commit. Later, she faces her execution in the gas chamber. Finally, Paul shows their son Michael (

Gary Hunley Gary Hunley (born May 22, 1948) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mickey in the final season of the American western television series ''Sky King''. Hunley was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1954 he appeared ...

) the vineyard that will someday be his.

Cast

as Phyllis Hochen * Rod Steiger as Paul Hochen *

as San Sanders *

as Emma Hochen *

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

as Gwen * Arthur Franz as Father Stephen Hochen *

Luis Van Rooten Luis d'Antin van Rooten (November 29, 1906 – June 17, 1973) was a Mexican-born American actor. He was sometimes credited as Louis Van Rooten. Van Rooten was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and emigrated to the United States with his parents when ...

as Ezra Benton *

Joe De Santis Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis (June 15, 1909 – August 30, 1989) was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor and sculptor. Biography Joe De Santis was born Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis to Italian immigrant parents in Ne ...

as Gino Verdugo *

Argentina Brunetti Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Ferraù; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005) was an Argentinian stage and film actress and writer. Biography Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Italian parents; her moth ...

as Theresa *

Steve Pendleton Steve Pendleton (September 16, 1908 – October 3, 1984) was an American film and television actor. He also went by Gaylord Pendleton as a Broadway performer. He was in more than 220 different films and television episodes. Pendleton appeare ...

as Deputy Bob Watkins * Douglas Spencer as Judge *

as Michael *

James Burke (actor) James Michael Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an Irish-American film and television character actor born in New York City."New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909", FHL microfilm 1,322,214; New York Municipal Archives, Ma ...

as Sheriff Tom Watling *

Tol Avery Taliaferro Ware "Tol" Avery (August 28, 1915 – August 27, 1973) was an American film and television character actor with more than a hundred screen appearances between 1950 and 1974. Biography Early in his career, Avery appeared as "Dennison ...

as Dist. Atty. Carl Kramer

''The Prowler''

The film was based on a TV play, "The Prowler" which was presented on the TV show ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

'' starring

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

, Pat O'Brien and Cameron Mitchell. There was some talk this play was based on the Woodward case but the host of the show,

William Lundigan William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady ...

, denied this in the press, saying the script had been bought six months previously, and was held until

was available to star in it. The script had been purchased by CBS by

William Dozier William McElroy Dozier (; February 13, 1908 – April 23, 1991) was an American film and television producer, writer and actor. He is best known for two television series, ''Batman'' and ''The Green Hornet''. Early life Dozier was born in Omaha, ...

. When Dozier became head of RKO he purchased the film rights for RKO. Dozier bought two other ''Climax'' scripts for filming by RKO – ''Public Pigeon Number 1'' to star

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

and ''Deal a Blow'' written by Dozier's son Robert. However these two films would not be made.

Production

RKO was attempting to re-establish itself as a leading filmmaking studio at the time and had numerous projects in development. The movie was made by

as the second in a three-film contract he had with RKO. The first was '' Back from Eternity'' (1956); there ended up being no third film. Rod Steiger signed to star in April.

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

was a leading contender for the female lead. However, in July 1956 the role was given to

as part of a long-term contract with RKO; it was her second film in the USA (and for RKO) the first being ''

I Married a Woman ''I Married a Woman'' is a 1958 American comedy film made in 1956, directed by Hal Kanter, written by Goodman Ace and starring George Gobel, Diana Dors and Adolphe Menjou. The picture was produced by Gobel's company Gomalco Productions. ''I Mar ...

'' (1956). Ethel Barrymore signed to play Dors' mother-in-law, her first film in two years. However, she changed her mind, fearing the heat of a location shoot in the Napa Valley, and dropped out.

replaced her. Filming started in September 1956 on location in the

under the title ''The Lady and the Prowler''.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' panned the film when it was released, writing, "Indeed, this might be an excellent time for the actress to take inventory or choose a comedy (her real forte). For the new R. K. O. production and Universal-International release, teaming her with Rod Steiger, is a dull, unholy mess, and an absolute waste of anyone's time. Including, we might add, that of the two principals. Pretentiously tinted in garish color, and staged with coronation pomp by director-producer John Farrow, the picture is a hollow, tawdry little drama of frustration, violence and a loveless marriage in California's

." Dors made no more films for RKO. She later sued RKO for defamation of character claiming $1,275,000. She settled out of court for $200,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unholy Wife, The 1957 films 1950s crime thriller films American crime thriller films Color film noir Films about capital punishment Films based on television plays Films directed by John Farrow Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof Films set in California RKO Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films