Audience Member
Hikmet Labib Avedis may not be considered one of the best directors of all time, but he should be known as one of the most entertaining. Throughout his films, I'm never anything but into the story and wondering what happens next.
Take The Stepmother, a film which prefigures the adult world of today by presenting the story of, well, exactly what you think a stepmother is going to do. Just take a look at the tagline: "She forced her husband's son to commit the ultimate sin!"
Architect Frank Delgado (Alejandro Rey, TerrorVision) returns home to find the car of his client Alan Richmond (Mike Kulcsar, Raise the Titanic!) in the driveway. Thinking that his wife Margo (Katherine Justice) is having an affair, he follows the man home and strangles him, then buries him at the beach.
But now, he's taken a whole group of people — his business partner Dick (Larry Linville!) and his wife Sonya (Marlene Schmidt, Miss Universe 1961, who was also Avedis' wife), as well as porn director Goof (David Garfield) and his wife Rita (Claudia Jennings! — to the home of the man he just killed.
Of course, all manner of shenanigans ensue, but the movie never goes as far as you'd expect a 70s exploitation movie to go. Trust me, Avedis would eventually find his way to better work, but hey, we should all be so lucky to watch Claudia Jennings in a movie.
Despite this being a drive-in film, composer Sammy Fain and lyricist Paul Francis Webster were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Strange Are the Ways of Love."
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Neither title makes much sense. But like the Step-sister, 90% of the T and A is of the Stepmother. Frank Burns from M.A.S.H. is in this so that's pretty weird.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This Film is part of the Drive In Cult Classics 8 Movie Collection from BCI. It isn't so much that The Stepmother is a weird story--it could be the plot of any made-for-cable late night erotic thriller. But the way the story unfolds feels unusual, and that--along with some hammy acting--is probably why this movie has been largely forgotten.
The main character looks like a younger Al Pacino after two months with no sleep. The movie gets right to the action before we even know who any of these people are. The characters explain everything eventually, but for a while, we don't really know their backgrounds or their relationships to each other. Not that it's complicated, but you expect to know something about Frank before he strangles the guy messing around with his wife.
Even the ending is handled strangely. Moments before the credits roll, things happen that seem to set up another half hour of drama, but then the conclusion hammers down, and we are deprived of the conflict that the story seemed to be building towards. 2 1/2 stars 1-17-13
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
65%
"So alright, she made it with Allen. She tried to fight him off, there was nothing she could do!"-Dick Hill (Larry Linville)
Horrible 70's attire, wooden acting (for the most part) and unintentional laughs. Weird, like only the 70's film could be. Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod) from the film FROM BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS has a small part, as a police detective.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Trash to the extreme, but it's "good trash," if you will. Watch this movie alone and I'm sure it sucks, but watch it with friends and the absurdities are hilarious. The main character barely speaks English, the first murder victim has an affinity for obnoxious blue blazers, and after thinking you're only going to get to see two murders, they unleash a THIRD (*gasp*) one on you that is sure to rattle you for days.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An absolutly brillant piece of work!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
Full Review
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