The Sister in Law

Robert (Savage) comes home from a long trip to find things quite different between his brother Edward (McMillan) and sister-in-law Joanna (Saxon). Edward admits to Robert that he's taken a mistress named Deborah (Baer), but he hasn't totally abandoned his wife either and proves this by bringing Deborah to the house when Joanna is home. At first, both ladies are cordial to one another and actually appear friendly. Later, the two start a cat fight and push each other into the pool - all while Edward and Robert are watching from the window. Eventually, both Joanna and Deborah fall for Robert's boyish charm and humor and he develops relationships with both of them - behind Edward's back. In time, Edward tells Robert he is in a jam and asks if he would go and pick up a package for him in Canada since he can't do it himself. Robert obliges, but unwillingly. As an extra incentive, Edward sends Deborah along for the ride to make the job more "appealing". After Robert gets the package, he opens it and realizes he's now involved in something he never wanted part of. But, this was all part of Edward's plan in the first place and now he has left his little brother to take the fall for him in the surprising ending.

This movie is entertaining, but not really a zinger. The only performance I enjoyed was John Savage's as he was clearly the star of this picture. Matter of fact, of the four lead actors, he is the only one who went on to achieve major fame in the industry. Now I understand why Savage received accolades for his singing and composing of the songs in this picture -- they are really great. I knew he was a singer from his Broadway days and his role in the movie "Hair", but I had to rewind this video at least twice because the final two songs were sung so well that I couldn't believe it was him. If you are a John Savage fan, try to rent this one - at least to hear his great musical compositions.

The director of this film wasn't an amateur, even as it was his first feature. The Sister-in-Law is made not by some inept slacker looking for a couple of bucks of loose change, but someone who does care a little about his craft. This doesn't exactly make it very good but it does show that there is something going on, that dramatically the film actually makes sense, has some decent acting (or from John Savage very good acting) and even some sexy sex scenes where it's required. It's a fairly simple story of two brothers caught up in hazardous circumstances: one, Savage, is having affairs with the the wife and eventually the mistress of the other brother who is, in fact, in very hot water over a drug deal he was supposed to act as courier for over to Canada.

It follows their trials and tribulations in these matters, and for the typical drive-in crowd (it comes with a pack of eight movies from Crown entertainment) there are some typical pleasures like skinny dipping at night or some (almost) wacky gangster violence. But in reality this is really a low-key drama played out on personal stakes and put to a musical track by Savage himself that isn't half-bad, unlike most exploitation scores that are either bad or just non-existent in the talent sense. There's even a banjo-plucking number done during a chase scene that rings as some fun. Comparatively, indeed, out of the eight movies assembled (others include Best Friends and The Stepmother), this is more than likely the best. It's conventional marital-cum-crime drama at a professional level.

If you find this rare film on video, do yourself a favor and don't read the blurb on the back of the box. For some reason they give away the entire plot - including the ending! (It is called a "Suspense/Thriller" in the fine print. Giving away the ending ruins what little "suspense" it has. Drama is a better description for it.)

While there isn't an Amazon listing for the film; (it is long out-of-print on video), original copies can often be found on ebay, at a reasonable price.

"The Sister In Law" is notable for a very youthful John Savage sporting long hair and full beard, but don't expect the title to have much of anything to do with the plot.

Savage also wrote the music for the film, and performed 3 of his own songs. Savage's voice and style of composition would be more classified as "easy-listening with vocals" than any other style of music.

The film has a very early 70's feel; (not surprising as it was made in 1974)- but one wonders if we were ever this naive? Granted, '74 was an entirely different era, but even then, one would think twice about messing with the bad guys in that situation.

The acting of the ladies in the film consists mostly of disrobing, with some false-voiced sentences thrown in.

All in all it is Savage's film - non-fans won't find much here to interest them.

Robert Strong (John Savage) returns home to Westchester after traveling across America. His brother Edward is rumored to get a divorce from his wife Joanna. Soon flirtations between Robert and Joanna turn serious. Edward has Deborah Holt openly as his mistress. Edward is pushed into delivering a package into Canada and he convinces Robert to do it with Deborah as the prize. When Robert and Deborah find the package filled with drugs, they dump it into a stream and have sex in the woods.

This is part soft core porno that is spiced up by some crazy family romantic entanglement and a drug deal gone wrong. It doesn't work as either that well. The acting is mostly bad but the directorial style is much worst. The ending is just completely out of step. It's a bad movie.

As the first movie I have seen out of the 32-pack of "Drive-In Cult Classics" by Mill Creek, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Joseph Ruben would continue directing for the next 30 years after this debut film, and it's no surprise as you can see his talent, especially when compared to a lot of the other trash that was being made at that time. Everything about this movie fits perfectly into the drive-in formula (softcore nudity/sex, etc), but it doesn't use these as a crutch, rather stands well on its own as a story. The script leaves a little something to be desired in terms of character depth, but Ruben tried to layer them, and the audience is treated to a clever twist. Definitely not a great movie, but not a terrible one and by far one of the better in the genre.