The Stepford Wives (1975)
Director: Bryan Forbes Run Time: 115 min. Format: 35mm Release Year: 1975
Starring: Katharine Ross, Nanette Newman, Patrick O'Neal, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Tina Louise
The quaint town contains a sinister truth for women in THE STEPFORD WIVES.
The second wave of feminism certainly didn’t make landfall on the town of Stepford, CT. When Joanna Eberhart moves with her husband and two young children from New York City to the quiet town, she finds the women there are too “perfect” – vapid, obsessed with housework and tending to their husband’s every need. Along with her new friend Bobby, she sets up to uncover the terrifyingly unbelievable truth.
The first film version of Ira Levin’s novel, The Stepford Wives, was moderate success when released in the mid-1970s but throughout the decades its popularity has reached cult status. Perhaps it’s because the story of forced sublimation of women back into traditional gender roles continues to horrify each new generation of film goers.