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| “ | Do you think I would've trusted you? Trusted any woman? I saw the way you fawned on him just like my mother did. Like some cringing spaniel b****! | „ |
| ~ Anthony Richmond further revealing his true colors to Maria in jail. |
| “ | No, Maria. It takes a very sane person to plan something perfect and this is perfect. | „ |
| ~ Anthony Richmond further revealing his true plans to Maria in jail. |
Anthony Richmond is the main antagonist of the 1964 British crime movie, Woman of Straw. He is a ne'er-do-well playboy who plots to gain control of his rich but tyrannical, ailing, wheelchair-using tycoon of an Uncle Charles Richmond's fortune by persuading Maria Marcello, the new personal nurse he has hired, to marry the old man.
He was portrayed by the late Sean Connery, who also played Macbeth in Macbeth and Sir August De Wynter in The Avengers.
Personality[]
Anthony Richmond starts off as a nice, kind, charming, generous, and polite gentleman who actually loves and cares about his Uncle Charles's new nurse, Maria Marcello despite the fact, like everyone else, he can't tolerate his tyrannical uncle's rude behavior and mistreatment towards everyone while harboring a deep animosity of his own uncle.
However, it later turns out to be nothing more than a façade to hide his true nature: that of a selfish, greedy, lying, remorseless, and manipulative murderer who only cares about himself and a liar with greedy intentions after murdering his own uncle in cold blood. He used both his Uncle Charles and Maria in order to acquire his uncle's fortune all for himself right from the start.
Biography[]
In need of a new nurse in order to replace the last one who looked after his rich but tyrannical, ailing, wheelchair-using tycoon of an Uncle Charles Richmond, Anthony "Tony" Richmond has hired a new one from Italy named Maria Marcello; thinking she's the perfect one for his uncle. Nevertheless, like all the others including Maria and the servant brothers: Thomas and Fenton, he can only put up with his uncle's rude behavior and mistreatment for so long that eventually, he secretly schemes and plots with Maria by persuading her to marry the old man, which, in turn, will persuade the latter to change his will in order to acquire his fortune after his death. In doing so, he also reveals that his uncle had both deprived his father of half of the family business and had married his mother after his father had committed suicide. As for the inheritance following the death of his uncle, Tony would get only 20,000£ while the rest of the fortune is donated to charities his uncle doesn't even know or care about.
Despite his uncle's never-ending abuse towards his employees, Tony constantly convinces Maria to stay and go along with the plan even if it means smacking her at one point every time she tries to quit and leave him, whether in London or Majorca until finally, she concedes to his uncle's marriage proposal. Even after the wedding, Tony still continues to flirt with and romance Maria like before despite her upcoming care and fondness of her new husband who appears to be a changed man at last. Later, Tony is present with both his uncle, the captain, and one of the servants, Thomas to witness the signature of his uncle's will that deems Maria worthy of his inheritance after his death.
However, on the way back home on his uncle's yacht, so far, Tony is the only one informed by Maria of his uncle's sudden death in his cabin, which poses a bit of a problem since the will has to be registered by the English lawyers in London in order for it to become valid. So now, Tony and Maria plot together to make it look like his uncle is still alive but ill once ashore in order to avoid any suspicions while still carrying out their plan. Then, Tony goes to London to handle the registration and supposedly pays off a crooked doctor to announce and confirm that he simply died of a heart attack in his sleep at home. Unfortunately, Maria is eventually suspected of murder when the butler, Baines notices her acting strange due to not receiving any further word from Tony and calls Inspector Lomar (whom she mistook for the doctor Tony had sent for at first). Later, it is revealed that his uncle was murdered by barbiturate poisoning on his yacht. When questioned by the police, Tony continues pretending to be oblivious and innocent, but when alone in a conversation with Maria, he decides it is time to tell the truth while engaging a lawyer on her behalf.
Nonetheless, when Maria learns from her lawyers that, under English law, the will was effective once witnessed by two people (the captain and Thomas) in Majorca, therefore, unnecessary of registration in London for validation, Tony is confronted by an angry Maria for his deception in the matter and suddenly acts completely more oblivious and innocent than ever like as though they had never planned anything at all while denying everything from the start even after she's been convicted in jail, therefore, finally revealing his true colors and intentions to her. As it turns out, Tony planned this long before he met Maria whom he thought was perfect for the real plan he had in mind and only manipulated her the same way he did his uncle whom he actually murdered by poisoning his sedative with barbiturate in the night in his cabin then disconnected the bell's wire so that the latter couldn't call for help in order to acquire his uncle's fortune all for himself. With his uncle dead and Maria convicted, all the money rightfully, officially, and legally goes to Charles Richmond's next of kin, namely, him either way.
After Maria has been falsely convicted and the case is supposedly closed, Tony returns to his uncle's mansion to savor his moment of victory until it is short-lived when he hears someone playing classical music (something his late uncle used to do every time as part of his meditation when he was alive). Angered and annoyed, Tony runs to the source, only to find both Inspector Lomar, Baines the butler, and Thomas the servant boy waiting for him in his uncle's study room as they play the music before turning it off. Then, Thomas reveals new evidence to confirm Maria's story about Tony's uncle's death on the yacht whereas Inspector Lomar further intensifies it by playing a tape recording his uncle's last words to confirm Tony's involvement in his murder, both of which Tony tries to deny in vain even when destroying the incriminating tape recording in anger and annoyance.
With his lies and deceptions exposed and his reaction to the tape recording confirming both Maria's story and the inspector's suspicions, Tony tries to flee until he is stopped at the last minute by his uncle's wheelchair deliberately pushed towards him by Thomas to prevent him from escaping. Then, he trips over the wheelchair and falls down the staircase until finally, he dies from a broken neck on the last step.
As the sole living heir to the Richmond fortune, Maria is granted full custody and ownership of both the fortune and mansion after being cleared of all false charges against her.
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