Common Law Wife

In her film debut in the title role, veteran exploitation queen Annabelle Weenick (under her original alias of Anne MacAdams) really brings the opening and closing scenes of this misanthropic trash shot in Forney in Texas to life; and it lags badly during the interminable middle section when she's offscreen.

That the script is by a woman may account for why the scenes between the female characters are far more entertaining than those with the men - with the notable exception of those between Linda and her rancid old sugar daddy Shugfoot Rainey. Did the sheriff's wife pleading with her sister Jonelle not to steal her husband inspire Dolly Parton?

The uncredited jazz score - presumably library music - gives kick to the proceedings.

"Common Law Wife," a made-in-Texas drive-in quickie directed by exploitation maestro Larry Buchanan ("Mars Needs Women," etc.) has it all: inept cinematography, bad acting, dubbing that's reminiscent of a Sir Run Run Shaw production, and, best of all, twisted, hate-filled characters like lusty old Uncle Shug, who wants to get rid of his aging common law wife, a shrieking harridan played by Anne McAdams (who would go on to have a lengthy career), so he can shack up with his niece, Jonelle, who wants to get rid of HIM -- permanent-like! Jonelle (stripper name: Baby Doll) has been takin' it all off in New Orleans, and damn if they didn't cast a real stripper in the part!

No nudity here, just your garden variety sleaze and down-home depravity. They don't make 'em like this any more, which is either a good thing or a bad thing...

Common Law Wife (1963)

** (out of 4)

A rich and mean old man (Shugfoot Rainey) decides to throw Linda (Anne MacAdams), his lover of five years, out of his house because (WTF?) he wants his young and sexy niece Jonelle to come live with him. This sends Linda into a rage until she realizes that she's legally his common law wife.

COMMON LAW WIFE is a rather weird film that was sold as an exploitation movie but it barely fits into that genre. I guess the idea of you living with someone and then legally being considered married was a "shocking" subject to some back in 1963 but the film itself isn't quite as good as one would have hoped. With that said, there are enough weird moments to make it worth watching.

I thought the first half of the film was better than the second half. During the opening we get to have fun meeting all of these strange characters including the niece who seems to have no problem being sexual with her old uncle. This is a rather creepy but funny moment and we also get some rather funny dialogue dealing with the lover character seeking revenge as the new wife. The second portion of the film gets bogged down in a bunch of melodrama but it does lead up to a rather shocking ending.

The film was directed by Eric Sayers but for years it was rumored that Larry Buchanan had a hand in it. It turns out that some footage from a Buchanan movie was used here and that's the reason for the confusion but according to the audio commentary on the Something Weird Video disc it seems that very little of his footage made it into this film. COMMON LAW WIFE is a mild entertainment if you're looking for a cheap "C" movie.

Another in the so-bad-it's-good barrel, Lacey Kelly is the K-Mart Anita Ekberg in this fun, totally trashy backwater potboiler. It has all the pedigree of the best (if there is such a thing) Russ Meyer productions, which were being churned out around the same time. Great bad acting, with editing to match, sexy jazz score, and gowns by Orry-Kelly (just kidding).

When old Uncle Shug tires of his live-in girl (Annabelle Weenick), he plans to replace her with his gold-digging stripper niece, Baby Doll (Kelly), but she aint abut to go without a fight. While Shug is trying to work out the details, Baby Doll has lots of time to sample the local male cuisine, and she's got quite an appetite. What could possibly go wrong? Make some popcorn and find out!

Annabelle Weenick has been shacked up with rich, creepy George Edgley for five years now. He's grown tired of her and tells her to get out so niece Lacey Kelly can take care of him. She consults a lawyer, buys a wedding band, and tells him that under the laws of the state, they're actually married, and she's going nowhere. Meanwhile, Miss Kelly shows up, crawls into uncle lap, and goes to stay with her sister until matters settle. Deciding that it would be best if Edgley died, she sleeps with her brother-in-law, the town's sheriff, and when he turns down her idea, she sleeps with moonshiner Bert Masters.

Much is implied, but little is shown save good-looking women in their foundation garments. Apparently Larry Buchanan shot some footage, had to abandon the project, and then Eric Sayers shot some more.

While there is little doubt in my mind that a collaboration of sleaze could be very interesting, these two auteurs are not John Waters and David Lynch. They're a couple of players on the edge between smoking-room pornography and exploitation films, working with performers who look good but can't do much. Edgley is a creepy, mean old man, I'll give you that, and the camerawork is good if inconsistent, but I'm sure William Wyler wasn't sitting up late worrying about this competition.