What A Way To Go, 1964

Shirley MacLaine stars with Dean Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, and Robert Cummings in this fun romantic comedy. Shirley MacLaine’s gowns were designed by Edith Head.  

Louisa May Foster has had an interesting life, but she’s full of regrets. She just wanted a husband to love her and grow old with her. As a young girl, her mother wanted her to date the wealthy boy in town, Lennie Crawley, played by Dean Martin. But she only wanted love, not money. So she remained strong and kept looking.

She found what she wanted in Edgar Hopper, played by Dick Van Dyke. Not long after they were married, he found a way to get rich – and then he died. In her grief, she went to Paris to recover. There, she met and married a starving artist named Larry Flint, played by Paul Newman. His death made her more rich. At the Paris airport while she was trying to go back to New York, she met Rod Anderson played by Robert Mitchum. He, of course, made her even more wealthy, and then he died. But he wasn’t the last husband.

Her husbands loved her and made her happy, but because of their drive to become wealthy, they all died fairly young. She was a resilient woman who tried to have a happy life, but was swamped with money associated with several last names.