The Stepford Wives. 1975. USA. Directed by Bryan Forbes. Screenplay by William Goldman, based on novel by Ira Levin. With Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman, Tina Louise and Patrick O’Neal. 35mm. 115 min.
The second wave of feminism certainly didn’t make landfall on the town of Stepford, CT. When Joanna Eberhart reluctantly moves with her husband and two young daughters from New York City to this quiet town, she finds the women there are too “perfect”—vapid, obsessed with housework, and tending to their husbands’ every need. Along with her new friend Bobby, Joanna sets out to uncover the terrifyingly unbelievable truth. This first film version of Ira Levin’s novel was a moderate success upon its release in the mid-1970s, but over the decades it has achieved cult status. Perhaps it’s because the story, of women’s forced sublimation into traditional gender roles, continues to horrify each new generation of filmgoers.