The Stepford Wives (1975)

Based on the novel by Rosemary's Baby author Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives incorporates the same basic plot as that story: a woman in a strange place becomes convinced that the people around her are plotting some kind of evil. In the case of the town of Stepford, it's the fact that every housewife is consumed only by cooking, cleaning, and pleasing her husband. Katharine Ross turns in a strong performance as the paranoid victim in this case, a liberated photographer who leaves New York City for an all-too-perfect Connecticut town along with her husband (Peter Masterson) and two children (one of whom is Masterson's seven-year-old daughter, Mary Stuart Masterson, making her film debut). Though a bit too slow at times, the film builds to a chilling, downbeat conclusion. Particularly noteworthy is the screenplay by William Goldman, which features some truly inspired dialogue. In one scene, Patrick O'Neal, in the role of the local men's club leader, comments, "I like to watch women doing little domestic chores," to which Ross responds, "Well, you came to the right town." The cast does a solid job across the board with Paula Prentiss standing out as Ross' lively best friend, who becomes a robotic Stepford wife after a weekend "vacation." While it will never be considered more than an interesting cult horror film, The Stepford Wives nevertheless has left its mark -- its title has become a slang term in American culture. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide