You'll never look at Dr. Arthur Harmon or Mr. Drummond again after seeing this movie featuring Conrad Bain as the horrible head of a phony Mormon cult like town (mentioned to be excommunicated by the official Mormon religion within the movie) who promotes polygamy and marriage to underage girls. The film starts with the return of his Korean war vet son Christopher Atkins quickly becomes disgusted play realizing that his father wants to marry the much younger Diane Lane. There's a major confrontation with them where you long for Atkins to spit at his father right in the face after he is disowned.
Anybody familiar with the 1938 exploitation film "Child Bride" will find something completely different here, and that's a very good thing. This is a very serious look at the disgusting circumstances surrounding the goings-on in this town and how it is exposed and eradicated. As disgusting as his character is, Bain is excellent, a truly despicable villain. Joan Shawlee, who won cult status as Sweet Sue in "Some Like It Hot" is excellent as Bain's cast aside first wife and Atkins' mother. She is basically the walking dead now that she really has nothing to look forward to other than washing and barely existing. A young Helen Hunt is recognizable as another young girl in danger of being picked up by some older man. You look forward to the ending of this because there are cut off from what's going on in this town dealing with the loss closing in, and that is what makes dealing with the disgusting situation all the worthwhile.
Anybody familiar with the 1938 exploitation film "Child Bride" will find something completely different here, and that's a very good thing. This is a very serious look at the disgusting circumstances surrounding the goings-on in this town and how it is exposed and eradicated. As disgusting as his character is, Bain is excellent, a truly despicable villain. Joan Shawlee, who won cult status as Sweet Sue in "Some Like It Hot" is excellent as Bain's cast aside first wife and Atkins' mother. She is basically the walking dead now that she really has nothing to look forward to other than washing and barely existing. A young Helen Hunt is recognizable as another young girl in danger of being picked up by some older man. You look forward to the ending of this because there are cut off from what's going on in this town dealing with the loss closing in, and that is what makes dealing with the disgusting situation all the worthwhile.