The Stepmother

Ban, a sacred prohibition by which certain people or objects are considered untouchable, certain actions unperformable, certain words unspeakable. The sinful relationship between the stepmother and her stepson is the film's breaking point, revealing the dark side of desire and sexual repression. The marriage founders because of this betrayal and the lies used to hide it. The violence stems from domestic evil, not from external enemies, but from within the home. The protagonist is violent and kills in the grip of jealousy, unleashing a spiral of guilt, cover-ups, and lies. He doesn't even seek redemption, driven only by insane jealousy. The female figure is not only a seductress, but also an element of fragility, using sensuality as a mask for her existential unease.

Real estate developer Frank Delgado (Alejandro Rey), returning home from a business trip, finds a friend at home who confesses to having sex with his wife, Margo (Katherine Justice). Enraged by jealousy, Frank kills him. From that night onward, his partner Dick Hill (Larry Linville) begins to suspect something is afoot, but in an accident, he falls from a building during an argument with Frank and dies. Dick's wife, Sonya Hill (Marlene Schmidt), becomes his new partner, raising Inspector Darnezi's (John Anderson) suspicions of an affair between her and Frank.

Director Howard Avedis (4.0) attempts to craft a Hitchcockian thriller, but his success is limited, partly due to the modest means available; the screenplay (5.0) by the director himself alternates between a slow pace and sudden accelerations, with some "disjointed" or redundant sequences and an excessive use of freeze-frame; from a technical standpoint (5.0), Robert Steadman's cinematography stands out, despite its technical limitations, it manages to create a sufficiently realistic atmosphere; Audrey Granville's soundtrack is melodramatic, contrasting too much with the delicate song "Strange Are the Ways of Love" by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster (nominated); the cast (4.0) is very disappointing, out of character, stiff, and unbelievable, with the only exceptions being the two female leads, Justice and Schmidt.

Best moment: Probably the beginning, where the film presents itself for what it is: poor acting, a morbid plot, technically modest, but with a beautiful song that proves that even in a pigsty, a beautiful flower can grow. Worth watching when you have nothing better to do, or you want to fall asleep listening to a voice that keeps you company.

Architect Frank Delgado returns to his home in Mexico. His wealthy client Alan Richmond forces himself on his wife Margo. Frank runs into Alan on his driveway. Suspecting them having an affair, Frank kills Alan and buries his body. He escapes without being seen by a fighting couple. The police investigates Alan's strangulation death but also the young Mexican woman. Dick Hill arrives with company to talk his business partner Frank into going to a beach house which belongs to Alan.

This movie starts off well with a murder. However the tension that is build up by the opening is lost as the movie struggles through a slow boring slough. This is possibly the worst looking movie I've ever seen that is nominated for an Oscar. Alejandro Rey is a pretty awful actor. The movie has a few good actors and Larry Linville could have been an interesting lead. The staging is very static and the bad direction drains away all of the tension.

Upon returning home from a business trip "Frank Delgado" (Alejandro Rey) finds another car in his driveway and happens to see his wife, "Margo Delgado" (Catherine Justice) in their bedroom with another man. As the man comes out into the front yard Frank kills him in a fit of rage. Immediately afterward he comes to his senses and decides to quickly bury him in a field on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, as luck would have it the body is soon discovered anyway and Frank is considered as a possible suspect. In the meantime though, Frank cannot manage to forgive his wife because of her supposed infidelity and so refrains from making love to her from then on. What he doesn't know is that the man he killed had forced himself on her and since Margo is unaware that Frank knows anything about this incident it has left her feeling confused and sexually frustrated. Now, rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this was an adequate movie for the most part. The acting was okay but the story seemed to lag here and there. Likewise, I also thought the ending was a bit too abrupt. All things considered then, I rate the movie as slightly below average.

Awesome. I did a double take when I first saw him in this quirky little independent ditty from the early 70s. Just out of curiosity I looked at when he started work on MASH, and it was the same year. That explains his appearance, as I don't believe he would do this after international stardom, but I don't know if all the research in the world wide web could fully explain the movie.

It's really a movie in two parts: the first half(ish) is story of a husband with a temper and jealous streak and throughout the second half the title of the movie is explored a little more and fleshed out (pun intended). Typical incoherent, excuse for a young filmmaker to get his name out by throwing in gratuitous walking-out-of-bed or to-and-from- the-bathroom-shot drive-in cinema with a director that never graduated from the genre in his short (directorial) career. There are moments of interesting story or character development, and the title song was amazingly nominated for an Oscar, but overall this is only worth watching for someone with an interest in films from the 1970s.

In THE STEPMOTHER, Frank (Alejandro Rey) catches his wife Margo (Katherine Justice) having sex with another man, leading to Frank's putting an end to loverboy. After disposing of the body, Frank scowls and frowns a lot while the police investigate.

Meanwhile, a carload of hipsters arrive, led by Dick (Larry Linville!). Frank continues his grimacing amidst the frolicking hepcats.

Uh oh!

Frank sees Margo and Dick together! Luckily, it's all just a misunderstanding. Unluckily, Frank is too jealous and enraged to care. Sorry, Dick! Hmmm, why is Frank taking you to the roof of a tall building?

Eeeeaagh!

THE STEPMOTHER is another drive-in ready movie from Crown International Pictures. It's perfect for its time, complete with senseless violence, ample female nudity, 1970's ambiance, and serious groov-i-tude. In addition, how could anyone not like a movie with a character called "The Goof" in it?

How, indeed...