User reviews

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.

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.

This has six or seven nude scenes and four or five straight two-minute love-making scenes without cuts or camera movement. Take away those 15 minutes and we have a simple tale of two brothers and their hostile, but ultimately loving relationship.

John Savage is quite good. This was only his second, low budget, starring role. His character is undeveloped, as is much of the plot, but he is likable.

It is director's Joseph Rueben's first film. He went on to make a number of memorable ones, including "Dreamscape," and "Sleeping with the Enemy". He gives a nice sense of realism with scenes that are naturalistic and underacted. This is nice resume reel that shows he knows the basics of movie-making. There's a certain sweetness to the movie that makes it closer to hippie movies of this era like "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring" than the usual exploitation films with bad innuendos, one dimensional characters and quick imitation sex scenes.

It is sad that Anne Saxon who plays the sister-in-law did not make any more movies. She plays her part with charm and fun.

Watch it as an independent, low budget character study and you might enjoy it. Watch it as an sexploitation flick and you'll be disappointed.

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.

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 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.

"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.

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.

Though is says 74 it seems possible to me that this very slow, dull film was actually made earlier, given how young savage looks. He had already been in one class studio film (Bad Company) but alas had not yet given up singing. His warbling over terrible songs (so much a stable of this sort of Crown International dreck) is the toughest part of the film to endure. Hard to imagine that Savage's great breakthrough in "The Deer Hunter" was only four years away.

This is one of the films that the slower it goes to explain things, the less we seem to know. Yes, they are attractive. Yes, they are standing around. Yes, they are having sex. So? A seemingly likable and talented cast is wasted. The broad Italian mob characters are perhaps supposed to be amusing but are offensive nonetheless.

Hopefully the people who saw this at the drive in were making out.

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.

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.

The cast did a great smashing job! Although John Savage was the one chosen who went in for the successful career please do not overlook Will MacMillan for his combination of dashing looks, charm and sophistication which was vombined with camp wit and sinister approach that made the film work very well until his Exit to Paris end with Anne Saxon, his film wife who was also underrated as the Phoebe Cates of her time. She went on to model very modern tailored clothes magazine feature then the critics pulled her success down that her nudity was not for children or teenagers but kids gave been exposed then and now to nudity, which is another position to think about. Anne was in sophisticated clothes in the magazine and in most of the movie. The love scenes were just a bit suggestive but the content involved star crossed lovers cheating taboos which resolved then it was a surprise violent ending . The movie really needed a sequel of what happened after their exit to Paris, what happened to the shared mistress played by Meridith Jan Baxter who is faced with tragefy that she and Will faced with a drug deal hone wrong. Yet although once the situation had been taken down back in NY with someone to blame, there may not have been a reason for the Young couple if Anne and Will having to leave but the couple didn't know.... There could have been a sequel chaser like The Tourist or love triangle melodrama that ends well as Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The critics did not understand this trendy cult film. Meridith Jan Baxter became a successful interior designer after playing this sweet but mischief making young lady who sets the stage to lose her true found love. Frank Adonis was convincing in his role as the good and bad guy. The rest of the acting staff was very natural as upscale suburbinites who could be your own family. There was utmost style with the wardrobe, houses and apartments as well as country and city settings. The chase scene was unique as a combo of slow and fast movement which not typical so it holds your interest. The swimming pool cat lady fight was a surprise then the guys also got into it too. Anne showed yoga and barefoot basketball abilities. In the end the couple resolved their love to Exit to Paris then undetected as it would not be possible as to be filmed today as airports do not have secret exits with cameras everywhere. Interesting to see that. It takes us back to a time of certain freedoms and emotions that are politically incorrect but spontaneous. The Film was very stylish and now there is contemplation to exit to Paris as in a recent film where fallen socialites exit to a new place to survive their end years. This film had some minor casual nudity which upset critics then which overshadowed the film's success, and hindered the actors and actresses unfairly. Today audiences have seen nudity in films which may be lessened so to come. In the end, this become a popular cult film.