The Stepmother

In the 70's, you would see a lot of skin in drama and thrillers. Then there's the sex factor that goes along with it. In "The Stepmother", there is plenty of that. Alejandro Rey("The Flying Nun") plays Frank, a successful building contractor who catches his client with his wife while he was on a business trip. He kills him, then buries his body at a beach. Unbeknownst to him, there's a fighting couple that comes up later. After getting rid of the evidence, the police comes up and tells that there are two bodies at the beach. Frank knows that he killed his client, but the other body is female. That makes him more uneasy. If that is bad, it gets worse when he accidentally kills his partner in the business. That makes him more unstable. For this one, business and pleasure, don't mix. It has a great cast. But the ending was a letdown. It's worth the watch in certain ways. Only on a certain occasion. 2 out of 5 stars

I like weird 70's movies a lot, but this is weird even by weird 70's standards. It takes about half the movie, for instance, to even figure out why it's CALLED "The Stepmother"--it, at first, seems to be a movie about a jealous middle-aged, Mexican-American architect who murders a business associate after he finds him in bed with his younger gringa wife (and unbeknownst to the wife). By a weird coincidence another more lower-class Mexican also murders his wife in the same area and is framed for both murders. But the cops begins to suspect the architect, and his continuing jealously causes him to accidentally kill his partner and best friend (played by "MASH's" Larry Linville). He then has to fend off the amorous advances of the friend's widow before the cops grow even more suspicious. Got all that so far?

So why is it called "The Stepmother"? Well, about halfway through the man's son shows up from Mexico City, and he also starts messing around with the young wife (his stepmother)and the off-kilter plot REALLY goes into over-drive.

There are a few reasons to see this. First, if you're a weird 70's film completist. This film is kind similar to early 70's bizarro flick "Swinger's Massacre", which was equally ridiculous but had a less random plot. Second, if you're a fan of Larry Linville, he's actually pretty good here and acts circles around the rest of the unknown cast. The best reason perhaps though is this was the first appearance of cult drive-in queen Claudia Jennings. Jennings has a cameo role as a stoned-out hippie chick who has one hilarious line where she tell the cops she was "way too ripped" to remember what happened the night of the murder. (And if that isn't worth the price of admission, she also has her typically gratuitous full-frontal nude scene). Weird, weird movie, but if any of this sounds interesting to you, check it out.

In THE STEPMOTHER, Frank (Alejandro Rey) catches his wife Margo (Katherine Justice) having sex with another man, leading to Frank's putting an end to loverboy. After disposing of the body, Frank scowls and frowns a lot while the police investigate.

Meanwhile, a carload of hipsters arrive, led by Dick (Larry Linville!). Frank continues his grimacing amidst the frolicking hepcats.

Uh oh!

Frank sees Margo and Dick together! Luckily, it's all just a misunderstanding. Unluckily, Frank is too jealous and enraged to care. Sorry, Dick! Hmmm, why is Frank taking you to the roof of a tall building?

Eeeeaagh!

THE STEPMOTHER is another drive-in ready movie from Crown International Pictures. It's perfect for its time, complete with senseless violence, ample female nudity, 1970's ambiance, and serious groov-i-tude. In addition, how could anyone not like a movie with a character called "The Goof" in it?

How, indeed...

Awesome. I did a double take when I first saw him in this quirky little independent ditty from the early 70s. Just out of curiosity I looked at when he started work on MASH, and it was the same year. That explains his appearance, as I don't believe he would do this after international stardom, but I don't know if all the research in the world wide web could fully explain the movie.

It's really a movie in two parts: the first half(ish) is story of a husband with a temper and jealous streak and throughout the second half the title of the movie is explored a little more and fleshed out (pun intended). Typical incoherent, excuse for a young filmmaker to get his name out by throwing in gratuitous walking-out-of-bed or to-and-from- the-bathroom-shot drive-in cinema with a director that never graduated from the genre in his short (directorial) career. There are moments of interesting story or character development, and the title song was amazingly nominated for an Oscar, but overall this is only worth watching for someone with an interest in films from the 1970s.

I profoundly enjoyed this film. There are some glaring errors in cinematography and blocking and editing, and there is often a feeling of ineptness. The plot itself is pure melodrama and violence.

The strength of the performances is what intrigues me. When you have a one shot of an actor delivering several lines, it's almost always done with gusto. These actors are throwing themselves into these pitiful roles. They are doing solid hard work here.

just know that all of the criticisms are correct. The film really seems as if it was made with no professional input. But the actors are phenomenal.