How to Murder Your Wife

Stanley Ford is a celebrated newspaper cartoonist who lives a carefree bachelor life in a New York City townhouse, backed by a loyal and perceptive valet named Charles Firbank. His wildly popular, widely syndicated comic strip about a secret agent named Bash Brannigan blends reality and fiction, with Stanley insisting that Brannigan only do what Stanley himself would actually do, a truth he reinforces by acting out scenes and letting Charles photograph them as visual references for his drawings.

At a lively bachelor party for his friend Tobey Rawlins, Stanley’s evening spirals into drunken chaos, and he ends up marrying a stunning Italian woman who appears out of a cake, officiated by a wildly inebriated judge. The morning after, Stanley stares at his naked new wife and bitterly regrets what happened. He refuses to work for married couples, and Charles storms off in frustration to start a new job with Rawlins. When Stanley tries to discuss the situation with his new wife, he discovers she does not speak English. His lawyer, Harold Lampson, explains that a divorce isn’t legally straightforward.

The woman’s charms—cheerful, affectionate, and a gifted cook—start to win him over, though she speaks limited English. To learn, she spends time with Harold’s clever, Italian-speaking wife Edna, who also demonstrates some manipulative traits that she passes along. Meanwhile, Charles resigns, choosing a new path, as Stanley’s wife becomes a constant feature in the home: beauty products, lingerie, late-night television, and a growing appetite that begins to affect Stanley’s weight. The wife also announces that her mother will soon travel from Rome to live with them.

Working from home, Stanley’s irritation with the domestic intruder grows, and he shifts Bash Brannigan from spy exploits to a domestic comedy, The Brannigans, which nonetheless remains a hit with readers. Hoping for privacy, he convenes a meeting of his male colleagues at an all-male health club. Edna gets wind of the gathering and calls Mrs. Ford to alert her husband’s concerns, prompting Mrs. Ford to confront him in person at the club. The confrontation lands Stanley in trouble, and he’s banned for violating the club’s “no women” policy.

In a misguided bid for control, Stanley devises a plan for Brannigan to murder his wife—drug her and bury her body in concrete on the construction site beside his townhouse—so that Brannigan can reclaim his secret-agent career. He stages the crime in real life, drugging his wife during a cocktail party and enlisting a department-store mannequin to play out her supposed burial in the concrete mixer. The next day, Mrs. Ford sees the finished comic strip and leaves, taking only her dog with her.

After the newspaper carries the story and Mrs. Ford disappears, Stanley is arrested and charged with murder, with his own strips used as evidence at his trial. Facing a likely conviction, he defends himself, arguing justifiable homicide, tapping into a male juror collective’s underlying frustrations about their marriages. The jury unanimously acquits him, and the courtroom erupts in cheers, carrying Stanley out on their shoulders.

Back at home, Stanley returns with a jubilant Charles, only to sense that Mrs. Ford may have returned. Charles reminds him that, legally, killing her again would be pointless because he’s been acquitted and double jeopardy would apply. Yet when he steps into their bedroom, he finds his wife naked beneath the covers, inviting him to join her—an invitation that he accepts. Charles, meanwhile, discovers Mrs. Ford’s mother in what used to be his own bedroom, unpacking with her daughter nearby, and the two share a look that hints at an instant, surprising connection. With that, Charles closes the door, leaving the scene and its unexpected future unresolved.