Woman Times Seven

Woman Times Seven (Italian: Sette volte donna) is a 1967 Italian/French/American co-production comedy-drama film consisting of seven episodes, all starring Shirley MacLaine, most of which deal with aspects of adultery.

Woman Times Seven
Directed byVittorio De Sica
Produced byArthur Cohn
Joseph E. Levine
Written byCesare Zavattini
StarringShirley MacLaine
Peter Sellers
Michael Caine
Anita Ekberg
Alan Arkin
Vittorio Gassman
Rossano Brazzi
Philippe Noiret
Robert Morley
Lex Barker
Music byRiz Ortolani
CinematographyChristian Matras
Production
company
Joseph E. Levine Productions
Distributed byEmbassy Pictures
Release date
  • June 27, 1967 (1967-06-27)
Running time
99 minutes
108 minutes (DVD)
CountryFrance
Italy
United States
LanguageEnglish
French
Italian

Cast

Main

Supporting
  • Elspeth March as Annette (segment "Funeral Procession")
  • Judith Magre as Bitter Thirty (segment "Amateur Night")
  • Catherine Samie as Jeannine (segment "Amateur Night")
  • Laurence Badie as Prostitute (segment "Amateur Night")
  • Zanie Campan as Prostitute (segment "Amateur Night")
  • Robert Duranton as Didi (segment "Amateur Night")
  • Robert Morley as Dr. Xavier (segment "Super Simone")
  • Jessie Robins as Marianne, Edith's Maid (segment "Super Simone")
  • Adrienne Corri as Mme. Lisiere (segment "At the Opera")
  • Michael Brennan as Mr. Lisiere (segment "At the Opera")
  • Jacques Ciron as Féval (segment "At the Opera")
  • Roger Lumont as Nossereau (segment "At the Opera")
  • Roger Trapp as Crosnier (segment "At the Opera")
  • Anita Ekberg as Claudie (segment "Snow")
  • Philippe Noiret as Victor (segment "Snow")
  • Paul Frees as Dubbing (voice)

Cameos/Uncredited

Episodes

Paulette/Funeral Procession

Leading a walking funeral procession behind the hearse containing the remains of her late husband, a widow is propositioned by her family doctor (Peter Sellers). Vittorio De Sica has a cameo as one of the mourners.

Maria Teresa/Amateur Night

Surprised at finding her husband (Rossano Brazzi) in bed with her best friend, a shocked wife vows to have sex with the first man she sees as revenge. She meets a flourish of prostitutes who help her accomplish her goal.

Linda/Two Against One

A Scotsman (Clinton Greyn) and an Italian (Vittorio Gassman) are invited to the room of a translator who reads T. S. Eliot in the nude. Linda has a photo of her lover (Marlon Brando) on a table.

Edith/Super Simone

Ignored by her bestselling author husband (Lex Barker) who is only interested in his fictional female creation Simone, a neglected wife turns her visions of herself as Simone into reality. Her shocked husband invites a psychiatrist (Robert Morley) to dinner to examine her for mental illness, but the husband, guest and housekeeper (Jessie Robins) insist that the guest is a lawyer.

Eve/At the Opera

A fashion queen is horrified when her archrival Mme Lisari (Adrienne Corri) has been photographed in what her husband (Patrick Wymark) had promised was an exclusive creation for her alone. When asking her archrival not to wear it encourages her to do the opposite, the head of research and development at her husband's fashion house suggests planting a bomb in her archrival's car. Louis Alexandre Raimon has a cameo as himself.[1]

Marie/Suicides

Two lovers, feeling rejected by the world, decide to commit suicide in their small room, dressed for the wedding that they will never have. Fred (Alan Arkin), however, is afraid of pills, doesn't want to mess up his tuxedo by jumping out of the window, and doesn't trust Marie to use his father's pistol on him in case she only wounds him, or kills him and changes her mind.

Jeanne/Snow

Two friends meet for lunch on a winter afternoon. They notice a handsome but seedy-looking man (Michael Caine) who appears to be following them. Claudie (Anita Ekberg) suggests that the two leave the restaurant and go their separate ways to see which one he follows. As Paris is hit by a sudden blizzard, Jeanne realizes that the man is following her.

Production

Woman Times Seven was the first of what was projected to be three films made by Joseph E. Levine, producer Arthur Cohn and Vittorio De Sica working together.[2] As Levine and De Sica had a critical and financial success with the films Marriage Italian-Style and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Levine asked De Sica for a similar film, and De Sica used some sketches made by his collaborator Cesare Zavattini as the basis of the film.[3] The first choice for the lead role, Natalie Wood, declined the role.[4]

The concepts of adultery in the film have a European flavor. For example, Vittorio Gassman's character reminds Clinton Greyn's character that divorce is, at the time of filming, impossible for an Italian.

The film was shot in Paris. Wardrobe was supplied by Pierre Cardin, jewellery by Van Cleef & Arpels, furs by Henri Stern and hairdressing by Louis Alexandre Raimon.

Lord Lucan, later to be suspected of murder, unsuccessfully screen-tested for a role in the film. After that failure, he declined an invitation from Cubby Broccoli to audition for the part of James Bond.[5]

Critical reception

Variety wrote, "Woman Times Seven means a seven-segment showcase for the talents of Shirley MacLaine, playing in tragicomedy and dramatic fashion a variety of femme types. MacLaine is spotted in many different adult situations, and largely convinces with each switcheroo."[6]

Box office

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $2,975,000 in rentals to break even and made $1,100,000, meaning it made a loss.[7]

References
  1. "Fashion: Alexandre the Great: what a hair-stylist". 21 October 1998.
  2. "THE VERY RICH HOURS OF JOE LEVINE". 9 September 1967 – via www.newyorker.com.
  3. Cardullo, Bert Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter (2002), McFarland, p.180
  4. Hallowell, John The Truth Game (1969), Simon and Schuster, p. 150
  5. Moore, Sally Lucan: Not Guilty (1987), Sidgwick & Jackson Limited, pp. 72–73
  6. Variety Staff (1 January 1967). "Woman Times Seven".
  7. Silverman, Stephen M (1988). The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox. L. Stuart. p. 326.
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