The Stepford Wives (1975)

Réalisateur:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 février 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Accroche:

Something strange is happening in the town of Stepford.

Plot:

Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.

Plot Keywords:

Friendship Between Women | Coffee | Fantastic | Psychological Thriller | Social Commentary

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

"Like one of those robots in Disneyland..."

Ensemble

Katharine Ross	...	Joanna Eberhart
Paula Prentiss	...	Bobbie Markowe
Peter Masterson	...	Walter Eberhart
Nanette Newman	...	Carol Van Sant
Tina Louise	...	Charmaine Wimpiris
Carol Eve Rossen	...	Dr. Fancher (as Carol Rossen)
William Prince	...	Ike Mazzard
Carole Mallory	...	Kit Sunderson
Toni Reid	...	Marie Axhelm
Judith Baldwin	...	Patricia Cornell
Barbara Rucker	...	Mary Ann Stravros
George Coe	...	Claude Axhelm
Franklin Cover	...	Ed Wimpiris
Robert Fields	...	Raymond Chandler
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Cornell

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Femmes de Stepford, Les (France) (DVD title) [fr]
Mystère Stepford, Le (France) (video title) [fr]

Durée:

115 min | UK:110 min (2001 DVD release) | UK:100 min (2004 DVD release)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Fadsin Cinema Associates

Anecdotes:

According to screenwriter William Goldman in "Adventures in Screen Writing" (Ch 6), this was the only project he has been involved with that he knew was doomed even before production began. The original concept was that if men were going to murder their wives and replace them with robots, the replacements had better "be in the form of a Playboy Bunny". The concept was tossed when director Bryan Forbes cast his wife Nanette Newman in the film, as per contract. Newman was "an English actress in her mid-40s. An attractive brunette and very talented, but a sex bomb she wasn't". As the result of casting Newman, Forbes and Goldman had an ongoing feud and out went "the parade of Bunnies walking through the A&P in shorts on their perfect tanned legs" and in came the summertime wear of "long dresses to the floor and big-brimmed hats".

Goofs:

Continuity: As the Eberharts enter Stepford for the first time riding in their station wagon, Joanna's head scarf disappears and reappears several times as the scenes change.

Guillemet:

[last lines]
Joanna Eberhart: Hello, Bobbie.
Bobbie Markowe: Oh, hello, Joanna.
Joanna Eberhart: How are you?
Bobbie Markowe: I'm fine. How are you?
Joanna Eberhart: I'm fine. How are the children?
Bobbie Markowe: Fine...

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in "Nip/Tuck: Pilot - McNamara/Troy (#1.1)" (2003)

"Like one of those robots in Disneyland..."

"The Stepford Wives" certainly isn't the greatest thriller ever made, it isn't one of my all-time favorite movies, yet I've probably seen it 25 times and I'm always willing to return for more of its creepy, seductive ambiance. Director Bryan Forbes has created a funny/sinister atmosphere surrounding a secretive society of men in suburbia who exchange chilling glances and lines when they are alone ("She cooks as good as she looks, Ted"). It does however feature a very moody and unhappy Katharine Ross at the center, and it's easy to see why somebody might want to bump her off: she gripes, she complains, she stalks out of rooms flicking her long, thick hair out of her face. When Patrick O'Neal tells her at a social gathering that he used to work at Disneyland, she balks, "You don't look like someone who enjoys making other people happy." And this just after meeting the man! Thank goodness then for happily crass and vulgar Paula Prentiss as Ross' buddy Bobbie. Prentiss overdoes it a bit, but she comes into the picture at the right time and gives it that extra boost. The scenario (a squeaky clean Connecticut community) is gleefully turned inside out to reveal sinister underpinnings, and I loved Ross' sequence with the psychiatrist (who seems convinced by Katharine's outlandish story, which is a nice change of pace). No, it isn't art (or even the black comedy screenwriter William Goldman says he intended it to be), but "The Stepford Wives" is very smooth, absorbing, and enjoyable. It cooks as good as it looks.