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The Stepford Wives (1975 film)
Encyclopedia
The Stepford Wives is a 1975 science fiction
–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin
novel of the same name
. It was directed by Bryan Forbes
with a screenplay
by William Goldman
, and stars Katharine Ross
, Paula Prentiss
, Peter Masterson
, Nanette Newman
and Tina Louise
. The film was remade
in 2004 under the same name, but was written as a comedy versus a serious horror/thriller film.
While the film was only a moderate success at the time of release, it has grown in stature as a cult film
over the years. Building upon the reputation of Levin's novel, the term "Stepford Wife" has become a popular science fiction concept and several sequels were shot, as well as the remake of the film in 2004.
) is a young wife who moves with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson
) and two children from New York City to the idyllic Connecticut
suburb of Stepford. Loneliness quickly sets in as Joanna, a mildly rebellious aspiring photographer, finds the women in town all look great and are obsessed with housework, but have few intellectual interests. The men all belong to the clubbish Stepford Men's Association, which Walter joins to Joanna's dismay. Neighbor Carol Van Sant's (Nanette Newman
) sexually submissive behavior to her husband Ted, and her odd, repetitive behavior after a car accident also strike Joanna as unusual.
Things start to look up when she makes friends with another newcomer to town, sloppy, irrepressible Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss
). Along with glossy trophy wife
Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise
), they organize a Women's Lib consciousness raising session, but the meeting is a failure when the other wives hijack the meeting with cleaning concerns. Joanna is also unimpressed by the boorish Men's Club members, including intimidating president Dale "Diz" Coba (Patrick O'Neal); stealthily, they collect information on Joanna including her picture, her voice, and other personal details. When Charmaine turns overnight from a languid, self-absorbed tennis fan into an industrious, devoted wife, Joanna and Bobbie start investigating, with ever-increasing concern, the reason behind the submissive and bland behavior of the other wives, especially when they learn they were once quite supportive of liberal
social policies
.
Spooked, Bobbie and Joanna start house hunting in other towns, and later, Joanna wins a prestigious contract with a photo gallery with some photographs of their respective children. When she excitedly tells Bobbie her good news, Joanna is shocked to find her freewheeling and liberal friend has abruptly changed into another clean, conservative housewife, with no intention of moving from town.
Joanna panics and, at Walter's insistence, visits a psychiatrist
to whom she voices her belief that all the men in the town are in a conspiracy of somehow changing the women. The psychiatrist recommends she leave town until she feels safe, but when Joanna returns home, the children are missing. The marriage devolves into domestic violence
when Joanna and Walter get into a physical scuffle. In an attempt to find her children, she hypothesizes Bobbie may be caring for them. Joanna, still mystified by Bobbie's behavior, is desperate to prove her humanity but intuitively stabs Bobbie with a kitchen knife. But Bobbie doesn't bleed or suffer, instead going into a loop of odd mechanical behavior, thus revealing she is a robot.
Despite feeling she may be the next victim, Joanna sneaks into the mansion which houses the Men's Association to find her children. There, she finds the mastermind of the whole operation, Dale "Diz" Coba, and eventually her own robot-duplicate. Joanna is shocked into paralysis when she witnesses its soulless, black, empty eyes. It is then suggested that the Joanna-duplicate strangles the real Joanna. In the final scene, the duplicate is seen placidly purchasing groceries at the local supermarket, along with the other "wives" all wearing similar long dresses, large hats and saying little more than hello to each other. The final shot focuses on Joanna's now-finished eyes.
, primarily in Darien
, Westport
, and Fairfield
. Director Bryan Forbes purposefully chose white and bright colors for the setting of the film, attempting to make a "thriller in sunlight". With the exception of the stormy night finale, the film is almost oversaturated with bright light and cheery settings. All the locations were actual places; no sets were built for the film.
Tension developed between Forbes and screenwriter Goldman over the casting of Nanette Newman (Forbes's wife) as one of the wives. Goldman had wanted the wives to be depicted as model-like women who dressed provocatively. But after casting Newman this was not to be, as Goldman stated he felt that Newman's physical appearance did not match the type of woman he imagined, and as a result this caused a change in appearance in costuming for all of the other wives. Goldman has said that he found Newman to be a perfectly good actress, however. Goldman was also unhappy with some rewrites that Forbes contributed. In particular, Forbes toned down Goldman's "horrific" ending. Actor Masterson, who was friends with Goldman, would secretly call Goldman for his input on scenes creating additional stresses.
was cast as Bobbie. When she left after a few weeks into production, her scenes were reshot. Tuesday Weld
initially accepted the role of Joanna, but cancelled before filming began. Diane Keaton
tested for the part of Joanna.
Initial reaction to the film by feminist groups was not favorable, arguing that it was "anti-woman". Cast and crew vehemently disagree, as the men in the film are characterized as "swinish and grotesque", and the heroine is dispatched in the finale. They maintain that critics misunderstand the premise, that Stepford is a sort of chauvinistic dystopia, and that the depiction of subservient, robotic women is intended as a satirical statement against traditional gender roles.
American Film Institute
Films
Note: The BBC movie soundalike The Stretford Wives
(2002) is not related.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin
Ira Levin
Ira Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
novel of the same name
The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives is a 1972 satirical thriller novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who begins to suspect that the frighteningly submissive housewives in her new idyllic Connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands.Two films of...
. It was directed by Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by William Goldman
William Goldman
William Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
, and stars Katharine Ross
Katharine Ross
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
, Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss
Paula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
, Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson is an American actor, director, producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing...
, Nanette Newman
Nanette Newman
-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
and Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
. The film was remade
The Stepford Wives (2004 film)
The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction film. The film is a remake of the 1975 film of the same name; both films are based on the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives...
in 2004 under the same name, but was written as a comedy versus a serious horror/thriller film.
While the film was only a moderate success at the time of release, it has grown in stature as a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
over the years. Building upon the reputation of Levin's novel, the term "Stepford Wife" has become a popular science fiction concept and several sequels were shot, as well as the remake of the film in 2004.
Plot
Joanna Eberhart (Katharine RossKatharine Ross
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
) is a young wife who moves with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson is an American actor, director, producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing...
) and two children from New York City to the idyllic Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
suburb of Stepford. Loneliness quickly sets in as Joanna, a mildly rebellious aspiring photographer, finds the women in town all look great and are obsessed with housework, but have few intellectual interests. The men all belong to the clubbish Stepford Men's Association, which Walter joins to Joanna's dismay. Neighbor Carol Van Sant's (Nanette Newman
Nanette Newman
-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
) sexually submissive behavior to her husband Ted, and her odd, repetitive behavior after a car accident also strike Joanna as unusual.
Paula Prentiss
Paula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
). Along with glossy trophy wife
Trophy wife
Trophy wife is an expression used to describe a wife, usually young and attractive, who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband, who is often older and affluent.-History:The term's etymological origins are disputed...
Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
), they organize a Women's Lib consciousness raising session, but the meeting is a failure when the other wives hijack the meeting with cleaning concerns. Joanna is also unimpressed by the boorish Men's Club members, including intimidating president Dale "Diz" Coba (Patrick O'Neal); stealthily, they collect information on Joanna including her picture, her voice, and other personal details. When Charmaine turns overnight from a languid, self-absorbed tennis fan into an industrious, devoted wife, Joanna and Bobbie start investigating, with ever-increasing concern, the reason behind the submissive and bland behavior of the other wives, especially when they learn they were once quite supportive of liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
social policies
Social policy
Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues...
.
Spooked, Bobbie and Joanna start house hunting in other towns, and later, Joanna wins a prestigious contract with a photo gallery with some photographs of their respective children. When she excitedly tells Bobbie her good news, Joanna is shocked to find her freewheeling and liberal friend has abruptly changed into another clean, conservative housewife, with no intention of moving from town.
Joanna panics and, at Walter's insistence, visits a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
to whom she voices her belief that all the men in the town are in a conspiracy of somehow changing the women. The psychiatrist recommends she leave town until she feels safe, but when Joanna returns home, the children are missing. The marriage devolves into domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
when Joanna and Walter get into a physical scuffle. In an attempt to find her children, she hypothesizes Bobbie may be caring for them. Joanna, still mystified by Bobbie's behavior, is desperate to prove her humanity but intuitively stabs Bobbie with a kitchen knife. But Bobbie doesn't bleed or suffer, instead going into a loop of odd mechanical behavior, thus revealing she is a robot.
Despite feeling she may be the next victim, Joanna sneaks into the mansion which houses the Men's Association to find her children. There, she finds the mastermind of the whole operation, Dale "Diz" Coba, and eventually her own robot-duplicate. Joanna is shocked into paralysis when she witnesses its soulless, black, empty eyes. It is then suggested that the Joanna-duplicate strangles the real Joanna. In the final scene, the duplicate is seen placidly purchasing groceries at the local supermarket, along with the other "wives" all wearing similar long dresses, large hats and saying little more than hello to each other. The final shot focuses on Joanna's now-finished eyes.
Cast
- Katharine RossKatharine RossKatharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
as Joanna Eberhart - Paula PrentissPaula PrentissPaula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
as Bobbie Markowe - Peter MastersonPeter MastersonPeter Masterson is an American actor, director, producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing...
as Walter Eberhart - Nanette NewmanNanette Newman-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
as Carol van Sant - Josef SommerJosef SommerJosef Sommer is an American film actor.He was born Maximilian Josef Sommer in Greifswald, Germany and was raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemons Sommer, a professor of art history at the University of North Carolina. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology...
as Ted van Sant - Tina LouiseTina LouiseTina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
as Charmaine Wimperis - Franklin CoverFranklin CoverFranklin Edward Cover was an American actor most noted for starring on the sitcom The Jeffersons. His character, Tom Willis, was half of one of the first interracial marriages to be seen on prime-time television....
as Ed Wimperis - Toni Reid as Marie Axhelm
- George CoeGeorge CoeGeorge Coe is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for having been a cast member on the first three episodes of Saturday Night Live, as well as for his work on various television shows.-Career:...
as Claude Axhelm - Carole MalloryCarole MalloryCarole Mallory is an American author, actress and former model who appeared in the films Looking for Mr. Goodbar and The Stepford Wives...
as Kit Sundersen - Barbara Rucker as Mary Ann Stavros
- Judith BaldwinJudith BaldwinJudith Lee Baldwin is an American film and television actress who replaced Tina Louise in the role of Ginger Grant in Rescue From Gilligan's Island and The Castaways on Gilligan's Island . Baldwin amassed 46 screen credits between 1969 and her leading role in 2005's Every Secret Thing.- Early...
as Patricia Cornell - Michael HigginsMichael Higgins (actor)Michael Patrick Higgins was an American actor who appeared in film and on stage, and was best known for his role in the original Broadway production of Equus.-Early life:...
as Mr. Cornell - William PrinceWilliam Prince (actor)William LeRoy Prince was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies like The Gauntlet and Spontaneous Combustion.-Biography:Prince was born in Nichols, New York, the son of Myrtle , a nurse...
as Ike Mazzard - Carol Eve Rossen as Dr. Fancher
- Robert FieldsRobert FieldsRobert Fields is an actor who has appeared frequently on film and television.He is perhaps best known for his role as Susannah York’s dance partner Joel Girard in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. He also appeared in The Blob, The Incident, Looking for Mr Goodbar and The Stepford Wives...
as Raymond Chandler - Remak RamsayRemak RamsayRemak Ramsay is an American veteran stage, film and television actor.Ramsay was born Gustavus Remak Ramsay in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Caroline V...
as Mr. Atkinson - Patrick O'Neal as Dale Coba
Cast notes
- "Brat Pack" actress Mary Stuart MastersonMary Stuart MastersonMary Stuart Masterson is an American film, stage and television actress and director.-Early life:Masterson was born in New York City to writer/director Peter Masterson and actress Carlin Glynn. She has two siblings: Peter Masterson Jr., and Alexandra Masterson, who are both involved in the...
made her film debut here as one of Joanna's children. Masterson is the daughter of Peter Masterson. - Nanette Newman is the wife of director Bryan ForbesBryan ForbesBryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
. - Dee Wallace, later known for her role in E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, appears as Charmaine's maid. Franklin CoverFranklin CoverFranklin Edward Cover was an American actor most noted for starring on the sitcom The Jeffersons. His character, Tom Willis, was half of one of the first interracial marriages to be seen on prime-time television....
, of the situation comedy The JeffersonsThe JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
also appears in a supporting role. - Tina LouiseTina LouiseTina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
originated the role of "Ginger GrantGinger GrantGinger Grant is a fictional character in the 1964 to 1967 television sitcom Gilligan's Island.-Career:...
" on the situation comedy Gilligan's IslandGilligan's IslandGilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
. When the actress declined to appear in later incarnations, she was replaced by actress Judith BaldwinJudith BaldwinJudith Lee Baldwin is an American film and television actress who replaced Tina Louise in the role of Ginger Grant in Rescue From Gilligan's Island and The Castaways on Gilligan's Island . Baldwin amassed 46 screen credits between 1969 and her leading role in 2005's Every Secret Thing.- Early...
, who had a role as one of the minor wives. Baldwin also appeared in a small role in the telesequel The Stepford ChildrenThe Stepford ChildrenThe Stepford Children is the second of three made-for-television sequels to the 1975 cult film The Stepford Wives. The film premiered on the NBC network on March 15, 1987. The film was directed by Alan J...
.
Production
The film was shot in a variety of towns in Western ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, primarily in Darien
Darien, Connecticut
Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast", the population was 20,732 at the 2010 census. Darien was listed at #9 at CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2011...
, Westport
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
, and Fairfield
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
. Director Bryan Forbes purposefully chose white and bright colors for the setting of the film, attempting to make a "thriller in sunlight". With the exception of the stormy night finale, the film is almost oversaturated with bright light and cheery settings. All the locations were actual places; no sets were built for the film.
Casting
Initially, Joanna CassidyJoanna Cassidy
Joanna Cassidy is an American film and television actress. She is known for her role as the replicant Zhora in the Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner...
was cast as Bobbie. When she left after a few weeks into production, her scenes were reshot. Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
initially accepted the role of Joanna, but cancelled before filming began. Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
tested for the part of Joanna.
Reception
The Stepford Wives has a 67% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com. Some critics deride its leisurely pace. Most applaud the "quiet, domestic" thrills the film delivers in the final third and earlier sections as "clever, witty, and delightfully offbeat". As for the satire in the film, Roger Ebert wrote, "[The actresses] have absorbed enough TV, or have such an instinctive feeling for those phony, perfect women in the ads, that they manage all by themselves to bring a certain comic edge to their cooking, their cleaning, their gossiping and their living deaths."Initial reaction to the film by feminist groups was not favorable, arguing that it was "anti-woman". Cast and crew vehemently disagree, as the men in the film are characterized as "swinish and grotesque", and the heroine is dispatched in the finale. They maintain that critics misunderstand the premise, that Stepford is a sort of chauvinistic dystopia, and that the depiction of subservient, robotic women is intended as a satirical statement against traditional gender roles.
Awards and nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror films- Best Actress 1975 — Katherine Ross-Won
- Best Science Fiction film 1975 — nominated
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Films
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills - Nominated
- AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
- Nominated Science Fiction Film
Sequels
Many sequels have been produced over the years including:- Revenge of the Stepford WivesRevenge of the Stepford WivesRevenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film...
(1980) Starring Don JohnsonDon JohnsonDonnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
, Sharon GlessSharon GlessSharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
, and Julie KavnerJulie KavnerJulie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
. - The Stepford ChildrenThe Stepford ChildrenThe Stepford Children is the second of three made-for-television sequels to the 1975 cult film The Stepford Wives. The film premiered on the NBC network on March 15, 1987. The film was directed by Alan J...
(1987) Starring Barbara EdenBarbara EdenBarbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
. - The Stepford HusbandsThe Stepford HusbandsThe Stepford Husbands is a 1996 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Fred Walton with a screenplay by brothers Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat. Donna Mills, Michael Ontkean, Cindy Williams, Sarah Douglas, and Louise Fletcher all...
(1996) Starring Donna MillsDonna MillsDonna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
and Michael OntkeanMichael OntkeanMichael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:... - The remake The Stepford WivesThe Stepford Wives (2004 film)The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction film. The film is a remake of the 1975 film of the same name; both films are based on the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives...
(2004) Starring Nicole KidmanNicole KidmanNicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and Matthew BroderickMatthew BroderickMatthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
Parodies and popular culture
- Married... with ChildrenMarried... with ChildrenMarried... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
- Season 11, Episode 10 was titled, "The Stepford Peg", where Peg (Katey SagalKatey SagalCatherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married.....
) bumps her head on the coffee table after slipping on a candy wrapper and becomes a stereotypical housewife thanks to Al (Ed O'NeillEd O'NeillEdward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
) implanting suggestions that she does do housework. - The ChronicleThe Chronicle (TV series)The Chronicle is the name of a science fiction television series on SCI FI . The series is based on the "News from the Edge" series of novels by Mark Sumner, a St. Louis, Missouri based author. The show was originally sold to NBC, which shot the pilot, then later found a home with The Sci-Fi...
- Season 1, Episode 18 was titled, "The Stepford Cheerleaders." - Homeboys in Outer SpaceHomeboys in Outer SpaceHomeboys in Outer Space is an American science fiction/fantasy sitcom that aired on UPN from 1996 to 1997. The series stars comedian Flex and Darryl Bell.-Synopsis:...
- Season 1, Episode 10 was titled, "A Man's Place is in the Homey, or The Stepford Guys" - Desperate HousewivesDesperate HousewivesDesperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
- In Season 1, Bree Van de Kamp is said to be running for the "mayor of Stepford" because of her perfection. - NewhartNewhartNewhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
- Season 2, Episode 4 was titled, "The Stratford Wives".
Note: The BBC movie soundalike The Stretford Wives
The Stretford Wives
The Stretford Wives is a British drama film made by the BBC. It was first broadcast on BBC One in August 2002 and has not been released on DVD. The film revolves around the lives of three sisters – played by Fay Ripley, Claire Rushbrook, and Lindsey Coulson – who live in Stretford,...
(2002) is not related.
- In one episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival GuideNed's Declassified School Survival GuideNed's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...
there were three "perfect" girls in the class, and Moze thinks they are robots. - In an episode of My Hero, Pierce is asked if it is possible to make the Stepford wives a reality