Honeymoon killers

Movie
German title	Honeymoon killers
Original title	The Honeymoon Killers
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1970
length	107 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Leonard Kastle
script	Leonard Kastle
production	Warren Steibel
music	Gustav Mahler
camera	Oliver Wood
cut	Richard Brophy ; Stanley Warnow
occupation
	Shirley Stoler : Martha Beck; Tony Lo Bianco : Ray Fernandez; Mary Jane Higby : Janet Fay; Doris Roberts : Bunny; Kip McArdle : Dolphins Downing; Marilyn Chris : Myrtle Young; Dortha Duckworth : Mrs. Beck; Barbara Carson : Evelyn Long; Ann Harris : Doris; Myry Breen : Rainelle Downing;

Honeymoon Killers is in black and white twisted American Film Thriller by Leonard Kastle from the year 1970 . A failure at the time of its appearance, it was considered a cult film in later years .

action

The overweight, no longer very young nurse Martha falls in love with the marriage fraud Ray. When he wants to dump it after the money has been handed over, Martha fakes a suicide attempt with the help of a friend. Ray then confesses the truth to her. Both become lovers and Martha brings her mother to a home to take care of Ray instead. Then they steal the trust of older, single women with Ray as an applicant who seems to be willing to marry, in order to rob and murder them. When one of these women apparently becomes pregnant by Ray, the jealous Martha informs the police. Both are arrested and, as the final title indicates, executed.

background

The film is based on the case of the so-called Lonely Hearts killers Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, who were executed in 1951 for the proven murder of at least three people.

The film was the first production by producer Warren Steibel , the script came from the opera composer Leonard Kastle. A friend Steibels, Leon Levy , financed the 150,000 US dollars expensive film. Martin Scorsese was initially hired as a director, but this was dismissed due to differences, as was his successor Donald Volkman . Eventually, Kastle took over the direction, who made his debut with the film.

Honeymoon Killers started in New York on February 4, 1970. While the film was commercially unsuccessful in the US, it made modest profits in the UK and France .

In the Federal Republic of Germany , the film was started on November 17, 1970 and re-released on October 11, 1990.

reception

Honeymoon Killers received mostly good reviews. For example, Variety wrote that it was "made with care, authenticity and attention to detail". The New York Times praised the achievements of the directors and leading actors and called the film a "successful chamber play". One of the few exceptions was Pauline Kael , who spoke of a "terrible film". François Truffaut called it one of his favorite American films.

In 1990, on the occasion of the German revival, Der Spiegel wrote: “Not a crime thriller, but a love story; his pictures are so bright that the eyes hurt; his characters do not reveal the secret of their sick love and refuse to interpret it. "The lexicon of the international film ruled:" The only film by the opera composer Kastle is a cheaply produced, but superbly photographed, cold and oppressive satire on the American way of life. "

Web links

Honeymoon Killers in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Release certificate for Honeymoon Killers . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2005 (PDF; test number: 42 461 V / DVD).
↑ ^a ^b $ 200,000 according to Danny Peary: Cult Movies, Dell Publishing, New York 1981, ISBN 0-385-28186-2 , pp. 139 ff.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Leonard Kastle, Composer and Filmmaker, Dies at 82 , New York Times article, May 21, 2011, accessed July 29, 2012.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Behind the Filming of 'The Honeymoon Killers , New York Times article, October 20, 1992, accessed July 29, 2012.
↑ Honeymoon Killers on Turner Classic Movies.
↑ ^a ^b Review in the New York Times, February 5, 1970, accessed July 29, 2012.
↑ ^a ^b Honeymoon Killers in the Lexicon of International Films .
^ "[…] Made with care, authenticity and attention to detail." - Review in Variety from 1969, accessed on July 29, 2012.
↑ "It's such a terrible movie, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone" - quoted from Danny Peary: Cult Movies, Dell Publishing, New York 1981, ISBN 0-385-28186-2 , pp. 139 ff.
↑ ^a ^b Cinema love goes over corpses , short review in Der Spiegel No. 43/1990 of October 22, 1990, accessed on July 29, 2012.

[FSK-1] Release certificate for Honeymoon Killers . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2005 (PDF; test number: 42 461 V / DVD).

[peary-2] $ 200,000 according to Danny Peary: Cult Movies, Dell Publishing, New York 1981, ISBN 0-385-28186-2 , pp. 139 ff.

[nytnachruf-3] Leonard Kastle, Composer and Filmmaker, Dies at 82 , New York Times article, May 21, 2011, accessed July 29, 2012.

[filming-4] Behind the Filming of 'The Honeymoon Killers , New York Times article, October 20, 1992, accessed July 29, 2012.

[5] Honeymoon Killers on Turner Classic Movies.

[nytreview-6] Review in the New York Times, February 5, 1970, accessed July 29, 2012.

[ldif-7] Honeymoon Killers in the Lexicon of International Films .

[8] "[…] Made with care, authenticity and attention to detail." - Review in Variety from 1969, accessed on July 29, 2012.

[9] "It's such a terrible movie, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone" - quoted from Danny Peary: Cult Movies, Dell Publishing, New York 1981, ISBN 0-385-28186-2 , pp. 139 ff.

[spiegel-10] Cinema love goes over corpses , short review in Der Spiegel No. 43/1990 of October 22, 1990, accessed on July 29, 2012.