| Release Date: | Feb 1970 |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller |
| Runtime: | 115 min |
| Cast: | Shirley Stoler (Martha Beck), Tony Lo Bianco (Ray Fernandez), Mary Jane Higby (Janet Fay), Doris Roberts (Bunny) Kip McArdle (Delphine Downing) Marilyn Chris (Myrtle Young) Dortha Duckworth (Mrs. Beck - Martha's Mother) Barbara Cason (Evelyn Long) Ann Harris (Doris) Mary Breen (Rainelle Downing) Elsa Raven (Matron) Mary Engel (Lucy) Guy Sorel (Mr. Dranoff) Michael Haley (Jackson (as Mike Haley)) Diane Asselin (Severns) William Adams (Justice of the Peace (as Col. William...) Eleanor Adams (Mrs. Hand) |
Based on the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, who met through a lonely-hearts correspondence club, Ray is weedy, feral, and untrustworthy; Martha is enormous, compulsive, and needy. Together, they play out a horrifying scheme in which he lures lonely women out on dates and proposes marriage to them, with she pretending to be his sister. They take the women's savings and then murder them remorselessly. Dank, claustrophobic, and weirdly engrossing, this movie never quite gives in to the comforts of conventional narrative. Francois Truffaut named it as his favorite American film.
