Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Woman in a Dressing Gown Photos

View All Photos (15)

Movie Info

Jim Preston (Anthony Quayle) has been married to Amy (Yvonne Mitchell) for 20 years. They have a teenage son named Brian (Andrew Ray), a house in London and a dog. They seem perfectly happy -- except Jim is secretly having an affair with co-worker Georgie (Sylvia Syms). Desirous of something more than stolen evenings, Georgie threatens to reveal the affair unless Jim divorces Amy and marries her instead. Jim is forced to choose between his family and his fantasy.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English (United Kingdom)
Director:

J. Lee Thompson
Producer:

Frank Godwin
Writer:

Ted Willis
Runtime:

1h 33m
Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), Godwin-Willis

Cast & Crew

Yvonne Mitchell
Amy Preston

Anthony Quayle
Jim Preston

Sylvia Syms
Georgie Harlow

Andrew Ray
Brian Preston

J. Lee Thompson
Director

Ted Willis
Writer

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Woman in a Dressing Gown

All Critics (13) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (2)

Despite the over-facile resolution of the last scene, one's final impression is of an emotional drama of considerable intensity.

March 31, 2020 | Full Review…

John Gillett
Sight and Sound
This is both a reminder of British sexual mores in the darker days of the Fifties and one of the first attempts in a genre that was later referred to as kitchen-sink drama.

July 27, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
An unmissable rerelease.

July 26, 2012 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
It's utterly compelling, both as a historical document and as heartbreakingly plausible drama.

July 26, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
A very worthy rediscovery.

July 26, 2012 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

David Jenkins
Little White Lies
The most affecting aspect of the film is its sense of compassion: we're never asked to condemn or condone, merely to understand.

July 24, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Tom Huddleston
Time Out
The facile ending, with its suggestion of "happy ever after", is in line with the compromising attitude of the film as a whole; and rings entirely false.

February 16, 2019 | Full Review…

MFB Critics
Monthly Film Bulletin
J. Lee Thompson's direction has a few documentary-style cliches about it, but provides a good, empty space, most of the time, for Miss Mitchell's virtuosity to shine in.

February 16, 2019 | Full Review…

Isabel Quigly
The Spectator
[A] stilted, patronising British movie about working-class and lower-middle-class life...

July 30, 2012 | Full Review…

Philip French
Observer (UK)
A film that deserves to be better known and a welcome reminder of what a fine actress the late Yvonne Mitchell was.

July 26, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Allan Hunter
Daily Express (UK)
Hard and uncompromising, yet charged with sad fellow-feeling regarding the lies that we tell ourselves and the compromises we make, this is elegant, adult cinema with a fierce emotional punch.

July 17, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Hannah McGill
The List
It's relentlessly downbeat and claustrophobic, but Ted Willis' script avoids easy recrimination.

July 16, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Philip Kemp
Total Film