A tight-knit sextet of senior citizens resort to desperate (I. E. homicidal) measures when the building that they've lived in for so long is scheduled to be torn down. The ringleader is the coldly determined Mattie (Paula Trueman, "The Outlaw Josey Wales") who is first to take action. Others in the group include blind man Mr. Blakely (Peter Brocco, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), writer Mr. Sandy (William Hansen, "Fail Safe"), the dotty Miss Emily (Frances Fuller, "One Sunday Afternoon"), and building superintendent Mr. Loomis (Ian Wolfe, "Witness for the Prosecution") and his wife (Ruth McDevitt, 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker').
This very dark comedy is quite entertaining for a while, with our principal cast of elderly actors & actresses making the most out of some meaty roles. They're all fun to watch, especially Trueman, who stops at nothing to ensure success. (Being pretty much blind by this point, she had to drive a towed car for the memorably funny scene where Mattie goes driving for the first time in 40 years.) Still, even with the various assorted murders goings on, and the macabre humor to be found, the seriousness of the theme still resonates, as the viewer is forced to actually think about the problems, and the rights, of the elderly in situations such as this. Packing up and leaving a longtime residence would *never* be easy at their advanced age, no matter if outside forces have condemned their building, all in the name of progress.
This first-rate cast is rounded out by a huffy Linda Marsh ("Freebie and the Bean") as Miss Pollack, the "girl from the city" who serves relocation notices to our antagonists, Douglas Fowley ("Singin' in the Rain") as the builder, Kenneth Tobey ("The Thing from Another World") as the construction boss, and Wesley Lau ("I Want to Live!") as the construction foreman. William "Billy" Benedict ("Docks of New York") has a bit as a watchman.
Filmed in five weeks in both Cincinnati and Los Angeles, this was directed by an unsung filmmaker named Larry Yust, whose other credits include the blaxploitation picture "Trick Baby". (He also co-wrote the sharp, savvy script.) Featuring excellent music (composed by Bernardo Segall) and effective cinematography by Isidore Mankofsky, "Homebodies" does lose some steam in its final third, but overall does a solid job of both entertaining the viewer and giving them plenty to think about.
Seven out of 10.
This very dark comedy is quite entertaining for a while, with our principal cast of elderly actors & actresses making the most out of some meaty roles. They're all fun to watch, especially Trueman, who stops at nothing to ensure success. (Being pretty much blind by this point, she had to drive a towed car for the memorably funny scene where Mattie goes driving for the first time in 40 years.) Still, even with the various assorted murders goings on, and the macabre humor to be found, the seriousness of the theme still resonates, as the viewer is forced to actually think about the problems, and the rights, of the elderly in situations such as this. Packing up and leaving a longtime residence would *never* be easy at their advanced age, no matter if outside forces have condemned their building, all in the name of progress.
This first-rate cast is rounded out by a huffy Linda Marsh ("Freebie and the Bean") as Miss Pollack, the "girl from the city" who serves relocation notices to our antagonists, Douglas Fowley ("Singin' in the Rain") as the builder, Kenneth Tobey ("The Thing from Another World") as the construction boss, and Wesley Lau ("I Want to Live!") as the construction foreman. William "Billy" Benedict ("Docks of New York") has a bit as a watchman.
Filmed in five weeks in both Cincinnati and Los Angeles, this was directed by an unsung filmmaker named Larry Yust, whose other credits include the blaxploitation picture "Trick Baby". (He also co-wrote the sharp, savvy script.) Featuring excellent music (composed by Bernardo Segall) and effective cinematography by Isidore Mankofsky, "Homebodies" does lose some steam in its final third, but overall does a solid job of both entertaining the viewer and giving them plenty to think about.
Seven out of 10.