Bittersweet Love (1976)

Young married couple expecting a baby suddenly discover they are half-brother and sister.

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Adrian Morrall, D.A. Kellogg

Stars:

Lana Turner, Robert Lansing, Celeste Holm

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lana Turner	...	Claire Peterson
Robert Lansing	...	Howard Lewis
Celeste Holm	...	Marian Lewis
Robert Alda	...	Ben Peterson
Scott Hylands	...	Michael Lewis
Meredith Baxter	...	Patricia Peterson (as Meredith Baxter Birney)
Gail Strickland	...	Roz
Richard Masur	...	Alex
Denise DeMirjian	...	Nurse Morrison
John Friedrich	...	Josh Lewis
Amanda Gavin	...	Judy
Jerome Guardino	...	Psychiatrist
Jack Jozefson	...	Mr. Schoste (as Jac Jozefson Jr.)
Vincent Milana	...	Dr. Green (as Vince Milana)
Erik L. Nelson	...	Minister (as Erik Nelson)

Storyline

Los Angeles based architect Michael Lewis and Russian language instructor Patricia Peterson - "Pete" to her friends - meet and quickly fall in love. Although Michael asked her before the news, they decide to get married after Pete announces that she's pregnant with his child. All these events happen before each has had a chance to meet the other's family. As Pete's La Jolla based parents, Ben and Claire Peterson, are traveling the world and will not be back in time for the wedding, Michael and Pete decide to hold the ceremony in Vancouver, where Michael grew up and where his parents, Howard and Marian Lewis, still live. Of the four parents, the one person who is seemingly not happy with what is transpiring in their children's lives is Claire, her uneasiness strengthened when she finally meets Michael for the first time far along into Pete's pregnancy, and views the wedding photographs. Her uneasiness is due to a long held secret she's been keeping, that secret which is now tearing her...

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Plot Keywords:

half brother half sister incest | incest | bare chested male | homosexual subtext | pregnancy | 

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Taglines:

It was the only kind of love between a man and a woman that is still forbidden.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Birthmark

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zappala / SLott Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gig Young was replaced by Robert Lansing after only a few days of shooting, reportedly because he could not remember his lines.

User Reviews

A Bitter Pill to Take

Lana Turner, Robert Lansing, Celeste Holm, Robert Alda, Meredith Baxter Birney, and Scott Hylands star in this film about a young couple who meet, fall in love, get married, and, after the news of a baby, they find out they are related. How, you ask? They are brother and sister, because his father had an affair years ago with her mother and she, the daughter, just happens to meet her brother years later. I might would have liked the film more, had it not been for two things: one, Scott Hylands (who?) didn't do much for me and two, the film just lies there. Despite Robert Lansing's thoughtful performance and Lana's gutsy presence in this humdrum film, this film offers really nothing to the plot and this no-win situation. It takes the usual, predictable concerns they'd have in conversations and bore you with more and more and more talking. What starts out as just an unbelievable film becomes a morgue with despondent and lost people by the end and you feel really, really good after wards. Yeah right. You're wondering, where's the dead horse they were beating? I can only imagine that someone came up with this idea from "The Parent Trap," and putting a twist on it. But, aside from curiosity of the veteran actors' performances seen here, this film should have been put in a time capsule of the 1970s and left there.