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Rating: 7 stars

Seen 1 time

Seen on: 01/23/2011

View on: IMDb | TMDb

The Honeymoon Killers (1970)

Directed by Leonard Kastle

Crime

Most recently watched by sensoria

Overview

Martha Beck, an obese nurse who is desperately lonely, joins a “correspondence club” and finds a romantic pen pal in Ray Fernandez. Martha falls hard for Ray, and is intent on sticking with him even when she discovers he’s a con man who seduces lonely single women, kills them and then takes their money. She poses as Ray’s sister and joins Ray on a wild killing spree, fueled by her lingering concern that Ray will leave her for one of his marks.

Rated R | Length 108 minutes

Actors

Tony Lo Bianco | Michael Haley | Doris Roberts | Shirley Stoler | Kip McArdle | Marilyn Chris | Mary Breen | Guy Sorel | Elsa Raven | Ann Harris | Dortha Duckworth | Barbara Cason | Diane Asselin | Mary Jane Higby | Mary Engel | William Adams | Eleanor Adams

Viewing Notes

The Honeymoon Killers is a shrill, discordant true crime drama, shot in black and white; the one and only film directed by Leonard Kastle, who also wrote the script. This was the Criterion Collection DVD.

Based on the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, who met through a lonely-hearts correspondence club, The Honeymoon Killers takes place in the 1950s, and in a lot of ways, feels as if it were shot in the 1950s as well. Well shot, the cinematography imparts a sense of decay and unease throughout. The film grain in this beautiful Criterion print really adds to the tone.

The story itself moves along very slowly and threatened to lose me a few times. I’m glad I stuck with it though, because the last ten minutes are the payoff.

The sound is the difficult part, accounting for the shrillness note above; very tinny and loud. It does, however, add to the stiflingly claustrophobic feeling of the film. Well worth a watch, if you can be patient with it.

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