The Sister in Law

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.

Crown International Pictures usually had a good idea as to what drive-in product would appeal to an audience, so if you've seen this pick-up, you might be wondering along with me as to what C.I.P. saw in this exercise in boredom. The movie has a pre-fame John Savage in its cast, though his performance here is nothing to sing about. (And speaking of singing, Savage also warbles a couple of terrible-sounding songs on the movie's soundtrack.) The movie does have a healthy amount of nudity and sex, but its presented in such an ordinary way that it isn't the least bit erotic. Also, the low budget apparently affected the sound recording, because some dialogue is so muffled that it's hard to make out what's being said. But the biggest problem the movie has is that it's so slow, so uneventful for the most part, chances are you'll fall asleep before the end. Insomniacs may go for this movie, others best avoid it.

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.

This was a predictable, stupid movie, that bored the hell out of me. Other than some steamy scenes, this film was a yawner. Sibling rivalry that just never seemed believable. These 2 baby faced brothers were comical with acting that was , well, lets just say not good. The film had the feel of an X-rated film with a lot less nudity and just did not deliver. Throw in a gangster ,secondary plot and the film was downright silly.Lust, seduction and lousy dialogue, made for a movie that was anything but special. Save your time folks. For the gentlemen that want to see nudity and beyond, you may as well go all out and watch a true X-rated film.

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.