The Stepford Wives

Slow-burn creepy 70's Sci-fi/drama

A couple (Katharine Ross & Peter Masterson) moves from the Big Apple to Stepford, Connecticut, where many of the wives of the village are oblivious to the current women's lib movement; they seem wholly dedicated to their husbands, home & garden and keeping themselves well-groomed and primed for sex. The husband joins the mysterious all-male organization of the town which seems to be up to something fishy. Paula Prentiss is on hand as Joanna’s quirky new friend while Tina Louise plays another newbie resident.

“The Stepford Wives” (1975) is a drama/mystery that morphs into sci-fi/horror. It’s iconic for good reason. The story’s captivating and the movie’s all-around entertaining. The story's not campy at all, like the confused 2004 version. This is serious and creepy sci-fi/drama with a bit o’ satire. It powerfully succeeds while the similar-themed "Westworld" (1973) is only passable.

Unfortunately, the film takes too much time with the building mystery where some of the drama is just plain dull. Nevertheless, it’s a notable film of the 70s tarnished only by the misguided remake in the 2000s.

The film runs 1 hour, 55 minutes, and was shot in Connecticut (Norwalk, Westport, Darien, Weston, Fairfield & Redding), except for the opening Manhattan scenes.

GRADE: B