Eine Frau sieht rot

Not bad as otherwise suggested, this is an interesting exploitation film that served as the film debut of Margaux Hemmingway. Unfortunately, little sis Mariel totally steals the show from poor, pretty Margaux. Chris Sarandon is competent as the psycho rapist, as is the always great Anne Bancroft, but Perry King, then a pretty big star, has a worthless role as Margaux's boyfriend. Worth a look.

This is another lurid entry into the misbegotten "rape-revenge" genre, but it manages to be even more sleazy than usual because it was backed by a major studio and it features two of Ernest Hemingway's granddaughters (only one of whom was talented), sisters Margeaux and Mariel Hemingway.

The late model-actress (or, more accurately, model-bad actress)Margeaux Hemingway plays an, um, model (at least she doesn't stretch herself too much) who lets her younger sister's middle-school music teacher (Chris Sarandon) into her house to listen to his weird avante-garde music. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a frustrated psycho (aren't all middle-school music teachers?)who flies into a rage when she ignores him to take a phone call. So he ties her to the bed and violently sodomizes her(!) in a highly exploitative scene that involves Margeaux being butt-naked and tied up for nearly ten minutes (Strangely, Mariel Hemingway ended up in exactly the same position some years later at the end of the otherwise much better Dorothy Stratten bio "Star 80"). In the meantime, her younger sister walks in, but she isn't quite sure what she saw. Just like in real-life, the police and the courts are pretty ineffectual, but their portrayal here is still pretty over the top. (Is it normal police procedure to ask a rape victim if she had been defecated on?!). Without giving too much away, Sarandon's character (who even for a middle-school music teacher is ridiculously evil) sets his sights on the younger Mariel and has to face the wrath of the vengeful Margeaux.

Margeaux Hemingway was not much of an actress and she has one of the most annoying voices in the history of cinema. She's horribly unconvincing both as a rape victim and a vigilante. Even in her first role, Mariel Hemingway is far better as the troubled teen who isn't sure if she saw her favorite teacher raping her sister or her slutty sister seducing him. Chris Sarandon is also pretty good, and he no doubt had a hard time living this role down, but he would go on to "The Sentinel" and "Fright Night". I somehow missed this sleazy piece of trash back in the 70's (but I guess I was only seven at the time), but I saw it recently completely by accident while trying to find an even more obscure (and much better) Italian film with the same name. This is NOT good by a long shot but it is memorably sleazy.

"Lipstick" focuses on Chris (Margaux Hemingway), a Los Angeles model working for a lipstick company, who ends up being brutalized and raped in her apartment by her little sister's deranged music teacher/avant-garde composer (Chris Sarandon). After a feisty attorney (Anne Bancroft) fails to get a conviction, Chris is later forced to take matters into her own hands.

Decried as one of the worst films of the '70s, "Lipstick" has been condemned as everything from exploitative trash to a shameless vehicle for the Hemingway sisters. I'm going to play the devil's advocate here and say that, while, yes, the film does edge into the territory of the exploitation film (think 1973's "Thriller"), and yes, a lot of the legal jargon is dumbed down and the script set-up is at times completely arbitrary, this is not nearly as terrible a film as many would lead you to believe.

Lamont Johnson, who previously directed the superb Patty Duke thriller "You'll Like My Mother" in 1972, is behind the camera here, and the film is very stylishly shot. 1970s Los Angeles colors every frame, and the camera work is flashy and slick. Pacing is a bit of an issue here, as the film does have a bizarre narrative trajectory-it rises and falls, rises and falls, and the conclusion is a bit abrupt, which is indicative of the script needing some work. Margaux Hemingway and little sister Mariel play on screen siblings very nicely, both demonstrating considerably acting capability. Sarandon is at times a bit overacting here, but is reprehensible enough. Anne Bancroft plays the no- nonsense attorney perfectly, while Perry King appears briefly in a relatively pointless role as Hemingway's boyfriend/photographer.

The film's second-to-last scene is the real dynamite here, and the reason it's remembered above anything else, although it again is a bit awkwardly paced, and seems to arrive too late to the party. Overall though, "Lipstick" is not as awful of a film as so many have painted it to be. It's no masterpiece, but it is a mildly thrilling, entertaining revenge film, and Margaux Hemingway and Bancroft's performances lend it some serious backbone. 7/10.

When I was sixteen, this movie was released. I saw it opening night. I was not disappointed either. Well I saw it again the other day and it really is not that bad. Chris Sarandon had just been Oscar-nominated for "Dog Day Afternoon" and I wanted to see all his movies, and I was interested in seeing the Hemingway sisters. Anne Bancroft adds a lot as a laywer on the case. Perry King is also aboard. Its not a great movie by any means and the subject matter is obviously objectionable, but this movie is not without value.

The more I see references to the psychological drama/thriller movies of the 1970's, the more I wish I could see them again.

Lipstick (1976) was made during an era that saw thrillers like Duel, Badham County, Hardcore, The Dirty Harry series and politically incorrect teen movies like Animal House. The scripts and characterisations had to be good because this was pre special effects, they actually shot films outdoors in real life settings, not just studio caverns.

This is a beautifully made film and we can appreciate the freshness of the Hemingway sisters , as well as understand the difficulties a disturbed young man faces when his desires get the better of him.

The revenge aspect would make the viewer feel good as they see justice as being done.

Though in the end no one wins, expect viewers who are treated to almost 2 hours of suspense , escapism and possibly voyeurism as the girls are so attractive.

I am tired of the franchise films of today, the TV remakes, the special effects-making actors and writers redundant when good scripts and real life locations are needed to help us identify with the situation.