The Sister in Law

"Robert Strong" (John Savage) is a thoughtful but naive young man who has just finished traveling across the United States in a quest for self-discovery and is now returning home. When he gets there he finds that his brother, "Edward Strong" (Will MacMillan) is in the process of divorcing his wife, "Joanna Strong" (Anne Saxon) in favor of another young woman named "Deborah Holt" (Meridith Baer). While this is going on Joanna is staying at the house and is the first one to greet Robert when he arrives. Later on she also starts a fight with Deborah which both Robert and Edward observe from a distance. Yet another problem is the fact that Edward has gambled away a fortune and now supplements his income as a courier for a mobster by the name of "Benjo" (Frank Scioscia) who needs Edward to take a package across the Canadian border. Unable to accommodate Frank's demands Edward talks Robert into doing it for him and offers Deborah as an incentive. Now, rather than revealing too much I will just say that things take an unexpected turn from here on. I liked the performance of John Savage and I thought that Anne Saxon certainly added some nice scenery. Unfortunately, the movie moved at a very slow pace with some scenes being quite dull. All in all, this wasn't a terribly bad low-budget movie and I rate it as only slightly below average.

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.

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.

The sister in law is one of those little known movies from the 1970's that slipped below the radar.the big star in this film is John Savage,who went on to star in; hair(78)the onion field(80)and the recent low budget horror flick;Christina's house(1999)this is about two brothers,one good one rotten,savage plays the good one.there's a love triangle,mafia dealings,and some drama.I'm not giving any spoilers away on this but i do recommend this movie as it is pretty good.the title makes it sound like an exploitation film,but it is'nt.its rated r so there's some violent scenes and nudity.the sister in law is a selection from the 8 movie boxed set called;drive in classics from;crown inter- national.i was very disappointed out by the ending,and i know most who view this movie will agree.i give sister in law 7 out of 10.its a pretty good little melodrama.