Sin in the Suburbs

With very limited resources at this disposal (the budget, shooting time, and acting talent were clearly in short supply), Sarno has combined a poor plot with an almost anthropological approach to encapsulating the fashions (hair and clothing) and the physical landscape of domestic split-level commuter suburbia (Long Island, perhaps?) in the mid-1960s.

The visual titillation is very minimal, alas, so this isn't much of a sexploitation treat, but it does serve as almost a work of cinema verite, brought about by lack of resources for depicting anything beyond recording that physical milieu directly and accurately.

There is also some attempt as social commentary -- everyone's house is the same, and all the breadwinners (male, of course) take the 7:21 train into the city and return on the 6:35, while their wives stay home and try to fend off boredom). Too bad that Sarno wasn't given enough resources to develop and capture a vision.

As it is, this is sort of a proto-indie movie, wherein the filmmaker was allowed some degree of personal expression within the straitjacket of the highly inhibited sexploitation genre of the era.

SiTS would have benefited from more flesh, and more fleshing out. A nice curiosity nevertheless.

Sin in the Suburbs (1964)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A group of housewives are so sad because their love life is a downright bore due to their boring husbands. The neighbors eventually join a sex club where they get more than they bargained for.

Swinging is something that writer-director Joe Sarno dealt with throughout his film career and that's the main plot point of SIN IN THE SUBURBS. If you're a fan of Sarno's work then you know that he often told "dirty" stories but he never really went into straight sexploitation at this point in his career. Instead the director delivered more "art" than "softcore" porn and that's what really sets him apart from others of this era.

I think there are a lot of good things going on in the film but at the same time there's no question that the screenplay itself isn't the strongest and the director actually made a much better swinger film a few years later with THE SWAP AND HOW TO MAKE IT. That film is certainly much better but this one here does offer up a few interesting characters and some decent performances.

As is usually the case, the cinematography is another major plus and there's no question that the film looks quite good. My biggest complaint is that the film just didn't always hold my attention. With that said, some have said that Stanley Kubrick ripped off various elements here and used them iN EYES WIDE SHUT. Who knows whether or not Kubrick actually saw this film but there are some striking similarities.

Sleazy, cheesy fun from the sexually-repressed early 1960s. Complete with jazzy soundtrack, freeze-frames, fervent coupling in kitschy bedrooms and silly costumes for the not-so-shocking "shock" ending. Stands out among the pioneering "adult" films.

When you watch this movie, test this hypothesis: with a little bigger budget, some proper editing, and a little more time, 'Sin In The Suburbs' could have been a great film. Kudos to Joe Sarno.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 1/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers (+ or -)

Believability/Consistency: -0.5 Extraordinary Actor Chemistry: 1 ( Judy Young aka Alice Linville & Dyanne Thorne aka Lahna Monroe ) Distractingly Poor Editing: - 0.5

Total RealReview Rating: 5 (If, on a quantum level, multiple 5's can have various degrees and sizes, then the 5 attributed to 'Sin In The Suburbs' is a HUGE 5.)

8/10 may be just a little generous for this b/w number but it has been made with surprising care and what we may be lacking in wide expanses of naked flesh is certainly made up for in dramatic storyline and non stop action. Pity we don't see more of the masked activities but we have to remember how early this is and that in many films around this time the title was as sexy as it gets. Here at least we get lots of enthusiastic fumblings, much suggestion of developing depravity and a sense that everyone is at it including the teenagers (and not with each other!). Nicely over the top performance in male lead who is trying to emulate his childhood hero, the circus ringmaster! Plus his sister(?) who is none other than Dyanne Thorne who will later transmogrify into the infamous, 'Ilsa' and 'Olga' is here too with a couple of cohorts later to be seen in 'Olga's House of Shame' So, fun enough to watch and most significant in the development of sex in US movies.