The Honeymoon Killers (1970)

An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.

Directors:

Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman (uncredited)

Writer:

Leonard Kastle

Stars:

Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In the early 1950s, Martha Beck, who lives with her slightly senile mother, is the head nurse in a Mobile, Alabama hospital. She is bitter about her life, she not having male companionship in large part because she is overweight, while her bitterness in turn does not endear her to people. She is initially angry with her best friend, Bunny, for signing her up to a lonely hearts club, but eventually decides to give it a try. Through it, she meets Ray Fernandez, a suave Spanish immigrant living in New York, he who contacted Martha as the first through the club. After Ray's trip to Mobile to meet Martha, they fall in love. Upon a subsequent visit Martha makes to Ray in New York - which leads to her being fired in part for her time off work - he decides to be up front with her: that she is not only not his "first" but that he is really a con man who, primarily through the club, seduces then bilks lonely women of their money. Pretending to be his sister to prospective targets, Martha ...

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | hairy chest | barefoot male | bare chested male | male nudity | 

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Taglines:

Fat Martha...You'll Never Forget Her As One of...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1970 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Dear Martha

Filming Locations:

Dunn Memorial Bridge, Albany, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roxanne

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martha's derogatory comment to her Jewish boss about Hitler's opinion of Jews is ironic since Shirley Stoler herself was Jewish.

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Goofs

In the scene on the bus with the dead victim of Martha and Ray, there is a long shot of the woman's face with her eyes somewhat googly and her tongue sticking out, as you hear the bus driver exclaiming her death, etc. Towards the end of the shot, if you watch the woman's face, you can see her tongue move.

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Quotes

Mother: [shouting at Martha from the window of the rest home she's been dumped at] Goddamn you, goddamn you! I hope you end up like this! I hope someone does this to YOU!

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Connections

Version of Deep Crimson (1996)

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Soundtracks

Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 & 9
Composed by Gustav Mahler

User Reviews

Simply one of THE great American movies!

'The Honeymoon Killers' is easily one of the most underrated movies of all time. Often unfairly ignored as "just" a b-movie, or half remembered as trivia - the movie Scorsese nearly directed - it is in fact close to perfect, and one of the finest of all American movies dealing with murder. Why writer/director Leonard Kastle didn't make any other movies after this brilliant debut is both a mystery and a tragedy. His work is so impressive and fresh here, who knows what he could have been capable of. He may have turned out to be one of the greats, and even rivaled Scorsese, or Coppola, both having had a similar starts with low budget genre material (see 'Bloody Mama' and 'Dementia 13', their respective collaborations with king of the quickies Roger Corman).

The late Shirley Stoler is a knockout as bored nurse Martha Beck, and Tony Lo Bianco is equally impressive as her Spanish con man boyfriend Raymond Fernandez. Sadly neither actor got the career breaks they deserved. Stoler had small supporting roles in credible movies like 'Klute' and 'The Deer Hunter', and cult favourites like 'Frankenhooker' and 'Miami Blues', but always seemed to overlooked because of her weight. Lo Bianco starred in excellent sleepers like 'The Seven-Ups' and 'God Told Me To', but more often than not ended up as second-Mafioso-on-the-left in crappy movies like 'Boiling Point' and 'The Juror'. Too bad, both are brilliant here and had the potential to go on to better things.

'The Honeymoon Killers' is a minor masterpiece and should be essential viewing for all movie buffs. Don't miss this one!