Friendships, Secrets and Lies

I absolutely loved this made for television movie when it first aired in 1979 (when I was 15 years old). I had recorded it again years later when it re-aired on Lifetime television, on VHS. Of course, it was edited for time, but years later I realized the importance of the message in this movie. This is a film that stars six actresses that would have been considered TV actresses, or only B-list actresses. These ladies are as good, or better in some cases, than the A-listers of the time but never got the right role or break that others did. Most of these actresses attended the Actors Studio, studied, and began acting on stage or film in the 1950's. The film surrounds the story of an aborted baby being found in the airshaft of the old sorority house that only six young women shared one fateful summer in 1957. Twenty years later, in their early forties, the skeleton of said baby has been found and the six women are treated like suspects of a murder in their small town. In 1979 (present day in this film), abortion was legal but was not when this baby was buried in the walls of their sorority house. We meet the six women in current day, all of whom have moved on but each of whom have different secrets and sorrows. BJ (Loretta Swit) is the homemaker and ultimate mother, Sandy (Paula Prentiss) is the free spirit feminist, Joan (Tina Louise) is the former beauty and privileged one with a bit of an alcohol problem, Edyth (Stella Stevens) is the naive, goodhearted one, Mary Alice (Shelley Fabares) is the subdued, withdrawn lady and Martha (Cathryn Damon) is the woman forced into a career because her husband abandoned her. Great acting, lots of drama (and melodrama). Have a blast watching these actresses at the top of their game, trying to guess who actually had to make this decision, and remember, that the message is that women didn't have the right to choose until the early 1970's. Sondra Locke co-stars as a nosy reporter who ends up realizing the importance of her role in advocating women's rights. A great movie with a message and a tour de force for these great, underrated actresses.

I remember watching this made- for -TV movie as a kid back in the seventies because it had "Ginger" from Giliigan's Island in it. And man, does Tina Louise give it her all! In fact the entire cast does! For those who don't remember the seventies, it's an all star cast. Each actress a star in her own right; and it shows in every line! FUN! FUN! FUN!What I didn't realize or was unaware of , til I watched it on this DVD, is that this film covers every women's issue of the day; from single motherhood, spousal abuse, to abortion and more!! Also, just like Cukor's "The Women", not a man in the film anywhere... just women.. interesting choice.Anywho, the DVD-R looks really good.. in fact surprisingly good.. I hesitiated to purschase this movie for that reason but decided what the heck.. and it looks really great! Good job guys!So... if you're looking for some fun 70s TV melodrama- it's not going to get any better than this!

I saw this movie when it came out and I would have been either 12 or 13 at the time. As a kid I didn't really pick up on the very pro-abortion stance the movie takes, all I remembered was the mystery. Since I hadn't seen it since then, it was a bit of a shock to see the blatant political message thinly disguised as a mystery and frankly it completely turned me off. I could barely watch all of it and only finished it because I couldn't remember which character was guilty. While I am pro-choice, I simply don't want my entertainment to push political crap at me, even forty years later.

Hard to find movie. You were the only one who had it at a great price. Thank you!

its ok

I haven't seen this movie in years so when I saw it on amazon I had to purchase it.

Sorry but this proabortion film, made by women and starring women, is just a melodramatic mess. Tina Louise does shock viewers with her manic boardering on psycho , character.It's really flat, depressing, and drawn out. Why sit through this?The big question is why does it take the whole film for these woman to recall what happened that night? Why did the woman in question allow the others to suffer so? What's her motive for confessing in the last three minutes of the film?I believe that this had waisted the talents of s lot of people.

a great movie

was very happy