''Woman Times Seven'' ( it, Sette volte donna) is a 1967

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

directed by

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

. It consists of seven segments, all starring

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, most of which deal with aspects of adultery.

Plot

''Paulette/Funeral Procession''

Leading a walking funeral procession behind the

hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...

containing the remains of her late husband, a widow is propositioned by her family doctor, played by

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

has a cameo as one of the mourners.

''Maria Teresa/Amateur Night''

Surprised at finding her husband in bed with her best friend, a shocked wife vows revenge by planning to have sex with the first man whom she sees. She meets a group of

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s who try to help her achieve her goal. A prostitute gives a client to her; but, she quickly gets out of his car, shocked by the client's nudity. The prostitute then has her boyfriend give Maria Teresa a ride home. On their arrival, they meet her husband looking for her in the street. The husband insults the boyfriend, who responds by socking him in the face. The receipt of the blow earns Marie Teresa's sympathy.

''Linda/Two Against One''

Linda is a

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

working at an airport, greeting Japanese tourists. At a party a Scotsman and an Italian are invited to her room where she reads T. S. Eliot in the nude and starts bouncing on the bed. They all three sit on the bed and watch her slide show of art works. The men have a slap fight whilst the photo of her lover in military uniform looks on sternly from a shelf. She throws the picture out and moves to seduce both.

''Edith/Super Simone''

Edith goes shyly into her husband Rik's study, where he is smoking his pipe with his

Great Dane The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...

by his side, he reads his latest chapter about his fictional creation: Simone. Rik details his romantic fantasies but these are for Simone not Edith. They go to a bistro but he prefers writing to chatting. He has forgotten it is their anniversary. He asks if she would like ice cream but she demands

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. The next day she starts acting oddly, singing instead of talking. In the evening she answers the door in a tiny pink negligee which she wears at the dinner table. The maid looks on in disbelief. She was hired a muscular black man to serve dinner. The next evening her shocked husband invites Dr Xavier, a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

to the house to examine her for mental illness. She escapes onto the rooftops. As her husband scoops her up, she states in exasperation, "I'm not crazy, I'm in love."

''Eve/At the Opera''

Eve, a fashion diva, is horrified when her arch-rival Mme Lisari is photographed in what her husband had promised was an exclusive creation for her alone. The article mentions that Mme Lisari intends to debut the dress at the opera that night. Eve calls Mme Lisari and asks she alter the dress in some small way, a request which Mme Lisari denies. Furious, Eve enlists the aid of her husband's company. The head of

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

at her husband's fashion house suggests planting a small bomb in Mme Lisari's car. Her husband is not happy with the plan but nevertheless goes ahead with it. They witness the sabotage and Mme Lisari's driveway and go on to the opera house. Eve makes a grand entrance at the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

. Her glory reaches a shinning moment when the audience stand and gaze at her in her box; this moment is ruined when another, older woman, comes into her own box wears the same dress. Eve is desolate and runs out of the box crying. While sobbing on the stairs, her sorrow is allayed when she sees Mme Lisari arriving, her version of the dress in tatters from the bomb blast.

Louis Alexandre Raimon Louis Alexandre Raimon (6 September 1922 – 12 January 2008), better known as Alexandre de Paris, was a famous French hairdresser ("maître coiffeur"). He was responsible for creating Elizabeth Taylor's coiffure in the 1963 Hollywood epic '' ...

has a cameo as himself.

''Marie/The Suicides''

On the sixth floor of a narrow corner block in Paris, two lovers, Marie and Fred, feel rejected by the world, and sit in a bedroom full of graffiti in a garret. Marie makes a tape recording of their plan to be given to her husband. Fred makes a parallel recording for his wife, Juliet. They decide to commit suicide in their small room, dressed for the wedding that they will never have. But Fred is afraid of pills, does not want to mess up his

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

by jumping out of the window and cannot trust his lover to shoot him. After they face their planned suicide more seriously, Fred packs his suitcase to leave only to find Marie has broken out of the bathroom window and has run down the fire escape.

''Jeanne/Snow''

Two friends Jeanne and Claudie walk along a wide Parisien avenue on a winter afternoon. They notice a handsome but seedy-looking man who appears to be following them. He physically bumps into hem. Claudie suggests that the two go for lunch in a bistro. He follows them in then leaves but hangs around outside. They leave the bistro and go their separate ways to see which one he follows. He takes a while to choose. As the city is hit by a sudden blizzard, Jeanne realizes that the man is following her when she sees him on the opposite side lurking behind a lorry. A shopowner thinks she is looking in his shop and she goes into the tool shop and leaves with an electric drill. She gets on a tram and he joins but gets blocked by the crowd when she gets off. She goes home to her husband Victor and gives him the drill. She looks out of the window, Her admirer is sitting in the snow on a bench in the park. The man phones the flat from a call box and has an odd conversation with Victor then walks off leaving only his footprints.

Cast

"Funeral Procession" *

as Paulette *

as Jean *

Elspeth March Elspeth March (5 March 1911 – 29 April 1999) was an English actress. Early years March was born as Jean Elspeth Mackenzie in Kensington, London, England, the daughter of Harry Malcolm and Elfreda Mackenzie. She studied speech and drama un ...

as Annette *

as Mourner (uncredited) "Amateur Night" * Shirley MacLaine as Maria Teresa *

Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Vene ...

as Giorgio *

Judith Magre Judith Magre (born 20 November 1926) is a French actress, born in Montier-en-Der, Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture i ...

as Bitter Thirty * Catherine Samie as Jeannine *

Laurence Badie Laurence Badie (born 15 June 1928) is a French actress. She appeared in more than one hundred films since 1952. Selected filmography References External links * 1934 births Living people French film actresses {{France-actor- ...

as Prostitute * Zanie Campan as Prostitute * Robert Duranton as Didi "Two Against One" * Shirley MacLaine as Linda *

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

as Cenci *

Clinton Greyn Clinton Greyn (29 September 1933 – 19 March 2019) was a Welsh-born actor noted for his appearances in British television series of the 1960s and 1970s. After graduating from RADA in 1957, Greyn worked in rep at Ipswich, Chesterfield and the ...

as MacCormack "Super Simone" * Shirley MacLaine as Edith *

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably as ...

as Rik *

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Life and career Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953, she was discovered by Roberto Capu ...

as Pretty Woman *

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

as Dr. Xavier *

Jessie Robins Jessie Robins (5 June 1905 – 10 August 1991) was an United States, English actress whose career lasted from 1958 to 1974. She was best recognised as Ringo Starr's "Auntie Jessie" in The Beatles' made-for-television movie ''Magical Mystery Tour ...

as Marianne, Edith's Maid "At the Opera" * Shirley MacLaine as Eve Minou *

Patrick Wymark Patrick Wymark (11 July 192620 October 1970) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Wymark was born Patrick Carl Cheeseman in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. He was brought up in neighbouring Grimsby and frequently revisited th ...

as Henri Minou her husband * Michael Brennan as Mr. Lisiere *

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian f ...

as Mme. Lisiere * Jacques Ciron as Féval (uncredited) * Roger Lumont as Nossereau (uncredited) * Roger Trapp as Crosnier (uncredited) "The Suicides" * Shirley MacLaine as Marie *

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

as Fred "Snow" * Shirley MacLaine as Jeanne *

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

as Handsome Stranger *

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

as Claudie *

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

as Victor * Georges Adet as Old Man (uncredited) *

Jacques Legras Jacques Legras (16 October 1924 – 15 March 2006) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Branquignol'' (1949) - Le domestique qui crie trop fort * ''La patronne'' (1950) - Un témoin * ''Bernard and the Lion'' (1951) - Paul * '' Lov ...

as Salesman (uncredited)

Production

''Woman Times Seven'' was the first of what was intended to be three films made by

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

, producer

Arthur Cohn Arthur Cohn (born February 4, 1927) is a film producer and a multiple Academy Award winner. Biography Cohn was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marcus Cohn, a lawyer and leader of the Swiss Zionist movement who moved to Israel in 1949 where h ...

and Vittorio De Sica working together. As Levine and De Sica had critical and financial success with the films ''

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow ''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'' ( it, Ieri, oggi, domani) is a 1963 comedy anthology film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It stars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film consists of three short stories about couples in differ ...

'' (1963) and ''

Marriage Italian Style ''Marriage Italian Style'' ( it, Matrimonio all'italiana ) is a 1964 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica, starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film was adapted by Leonardo Benvenuti, Renato Castellani, Piero ...

'' (1964), Levine asked De Sica for a similar film, and De Sica used some sketches made by his collaborator

Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, o ...

as the basis. The first choice for the lead role,

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

, declined the role. 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 Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

Van Cleef & Arpels Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...

, furs by

Henri Stern Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

and hairdressing by

Lord Lucan Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934 – disappeared 8 November 1974, declared death in absentia, declared dead 3 February 2016), commonly known as Lord Lucan, was a British Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer who di ...

, later to be suspected of murder, unsuccessfully

screen-test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

ed for a role in the film. After that failure, he declined an invitation from

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

to audition for the part of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

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 ...

'', critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

harshly denounced the film: "For a man who has treated women as nicely as Vittorio De Sica has—as witness the several classic characters he has created with

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

—it is shocking and thoroughly bewildering to find him kicking them around as he does in his new picture ... Not one of the seven silly females whom Shirley MacLaine portrays in this series of seven blackout sketches provokes any feeling but disgust—or possibly embarrassment and pity—for the weaker (shall we say minded?) sex. Not one of them has the charm, the humor or the vitality we've come to expect in Mr. De Sica's women. And not one of them shows a spark of truth." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "''Woman Times Seven'' means a seven-segment showcase for the talents of Shirley MacLaine, playing in

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

and dramatic fashion a variety of femme types. MacLaine is spotted in many different adult situations, and largely convinces with each switcheroo."

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.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Vittorio De Sica 1967 films 1967 comedy-drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s sex comedy films Adultery in films American anthology films American comedy-drama films American sex comedy films Commedia sexy all'italiana English-language French films English-language Italian films Films directed by Vittorio De Sica Films scored by Riz Ortolani Films set in Paris Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini French anthology films French comedy-drama films French sex comedy films Italian anthology films Italian comedy-drama films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films