The Stepford Wives (1975)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 February 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Something strange is happening in the town of Stepford.

Plot:

Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Cleaning | Housework | Photographer | Secret

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Katharine Ross	...	Joanna Eberhart
Paula Prentiss	...	Bobbie Markowe
Peter Masterson	...	Walter Eberhart
Nanette Newman	...	Carol Van Sant
Tina Louise	...	Charmaine Wimpiris
Carol Eve Rossen	...	Dr. Fancher (as Carol Rossen)
William Prince	...	Ike Mazzard
Carole Mallory	...	Kit Sunderson
Toni Reid	...	Marie Axhelm
Judith Baldwin	...	Patricia Cornell
Barbara Rucker	...	Mary Ann Stravros
George Coe	...	Claude Axhelm
Franklin Cover	...	Ed Wimpiris
Robert Fields	...	Raymond Chandler
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Cornell

Runtime:

115 min | UK:100 min (2004 DVD release) | UK:110 min (2001 DVD release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Fadsin Cinema Associates

Trivia:

When Joanna goes to the city to show her photos at a gallery, the large black and white photo in the gallery window is of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland. Under his real name (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), he was a well-known Victorian photographer, especially of children.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joanna has first moved into Stepford she is relaxing on the couch holding a drink. Between shots, her drink changes from dark to light color, and the glass from half full to full.

Quotes:

Walter Eberhart: She cooks as good as she looks, Ted.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sports Night: Smoky (#1.12)" (1999)

Heaps better than the remake

I'm sure 'The Stepford Wives' spoke more to the audiences of 1975 than it does to the audiences of today, but this holds its own as decent, satisfying thriller. Really little more than a variation on 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' 'Stepford' follows that film's structure of slowly unspooling clues and suspicions and saving its bigger 'gotcha!' moments for the end. Katherine Ross was no doubt the star of this film, but Paula Prentiss really stood out for me. Gawky and enjoyable, she oddly predicted Geena Davis by a full generation. At one point in the film, my girlfriend commented of her wardrobe, 'Wow, can you imagine a grown woman today wearing a hot pant jumper?' The '70s… yikes!

I had the misfortune of both seeing the remake of 'The Stepford Wives' before seeing the original and *actually seeing* the remake of 'The Stepford Wives.' If the original serves any purpose, it is to expose the remake for the gutless, toothless, anemic waste of everyone's time that it is. God, what a terrible movie…