I Love My Wife (1970)

I Love My Wife (1970)

Taglines: Behind every “successful” is an understanding woman… or two… or three!

I Love My Wife movie storyline. Richard Burrows (Elliott Gould) is a medical student with a pregnant wife, Jody (Brenda Vaccaro), who becomes unappealing to him before and after childbirth, abstaining from sex and gaining weight. When her mother moves in with them, Richard’s home life frustrates him even more.

Flirtations with nurses and patients begin, with Jody catching him being unfaithful. But after he becomes a surgeon at a Los Angeles hospital, the infidelity continues. Richard meets a married model, Helene Donnelly, and begins meeting her secretly in motels. They contemplate getting divorces.

Richard decides to make one last attempt to save his marriage. He evicts his mother-in-law from the premises and persuades Jody to go to a weight-loss center. When his wife returns, she is slim again and Richard is pleased, until learning that now she wants a divorce.

I Love My Wife (1970)

I Love My Wife is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Mel Stuart. It stars Elliott Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Angel Tompkins, Dabney Coleman, Leonard Stone, Joan Tompkins, Helen Westcott, Ivor Francis, Joanna Cameron, Veleka Gray and Gloria Manon.

The film was originally known as Three Women and was based on an original story by Robert Kaufman. In December 1967 the story was purchased by David Wolper, a television producer who had moved into feature film production. The script was finished by October and in December 1968 Woldper announced the film would be made as part of a slate of films worth $45 million.

In April 1969 David Wolper announced he would make the film with Mel Stuart to direct and Stan Marguiles to produce. They had just finished If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium for Wolper. In July Wolper signed a deal with Universal to distribute Three Women which was retitled I Love My Wife.

Gould signed to make the film in December 1969. (He had just completed Getting Straight, based on a script by Kaufman.) Gould turned down McCabe and Mrs Miller to do the film. “The more successful the character seemed to be, as a product of our socioeconomic society, the shallower he became as a human being,” said Gould. “I wanted to be able to experience that.”[9] Filming took place in early 1970.

I Love My Wife Movie Poster (1970)

I Love My Wife (1970)

Directed by: Mel Stuart
Starring: Elliott Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Angel Tompkins, Dabney Coleman, Leonard Stone, Joan Tompkins, Helen Westcott, Ivor Francis, Joanna Cameron, Veleka Gray, Gloria Manon
Screenplay by: Robert Kaufman
Cinematography by: Vilis Lapenieks
Film Editing by: David Saxon
Costume Design by: Helen Colvig
Set Decoration by: Hal Gausman, Frank R. McKelvy, Gary Moreno
Art Direction by: Alexander Golitzen, George C. Webb
Music by: Lalo Schifrin
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: December 21, 1970 (New York)

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