The Merry Wives of Windsor on Video – 1970

Sir John Falstaff decides to seduce both Mistress Page and Ford, who are, of course, already married. Falstaff writes identical love letters to both. The wives compare love letters and decide to teach Falstaff a lesson. They decide to lure him to one of their homes under the pretense of a romantic moment, and then make a fool out of him. In the meantime, the Mistress Ford's husband, hearing of Falstaff's intention to woo his wife, disguises himself and gets caught up in the escapade. Meantime, Mistress Page's daughter Anne is being wooed by three different suitors. In the end Mistress Ford's husband realizes that his wife has been faithful all along, giving closure to the "cuckold" theme. Anne runs away with one of her suitors, giving closure to the subplot. This is a lively, funny production and does full justice to the play. It closely follows the uncut original script.