Honeymoon Killers

*NOTE - This review may contain spoilers*

"The Honeymoon Killers" is an odd little film in that though filmed in 1969, has more in common with Independent Film of the '90s than the era from which it came.

Lensed in black-and-white and possessing a quasi-documentary feel, it's based on a true-crime story of the '40s in which a charming but shady gigolo (Tony LoBianco) meets lonely but bitter nurse (Shirley Stoler) through a lonely hearts club called "The Friendship Club". LoBianco preys on spinsters and widows, promising hearts and flowers. As soon as they're hooked, he proposes marriage so that he can get hold of their money and dump them. His plans are constantly hampered by Stoler, who has dumped her elderly mother into a nursing home to run away with him. She poses as his sister, but begins to get increasingly jealous, causing things to get complicated.

Along the way, they steal from a school teacher, poison a pregnant woman, murder an annoying old lady, and kill a widow and her young child. It's during the last incident that things reaching a breaking point for Stoler and she cracks.

The action moves very swiftly, which makes the film unique. The way it's written, the dialog let's us know the duo have long since moved on to their next conquest.

There's some comedic moments from the annoying frugal old woman (Mary Jane Higby) and some famous character actresses show up. There's Barbara Cason, and even a young Doris Roberts! Actually, it's Roberts who sets the whole plot in motion because she's the one who placed Stoler's ad in the Friendship Club in the first place. She also utters the memorable line "You're a little on the heavy side, but you're not an old bag, you know", when Stoler frets that no one will want her.

The audio on the DVD is very poor and it becomes somewhat frustrating to make out what is being said.

This film is like a cross between "Multiple Maniacs" and "Natural Born Killers", but I didn't find it as entertaining as either of those and doubt I would watch it a second time. There's not very much violence shown onscreen , so I wouldn't say it's objectionable despite the subject matter.

Stoler acts the same here as she did playing Big Aggie in the "Caged Angel" episode of "Charlie's Angels", and LoBianco looks great in his swim trunks during the lake scene.

An oddity you may want to watch for curiosity sake, but IMO it doesn't have much replay value.

This movie is alot of fun especially if you like bad acting and a good script. The DVD's picture quality is excellent especially compared to this VHS I bought about 6 years ago the sound is not very good but that is because of the film's extremely low budget.

Honeymoon killers is based on the true events that took place during the late 40s when a heavy nurse, Martha Beck begins to exchange letters with the sly and manipulative Raymond Fernandez who she met through an add in a Lonely Hearts club. Raymond uses the club to con lonely women, but it turns out that Raymond and Martha have something in common. Together the two begin to pick victims and steal women's savings, which eventually leads to murder. Honeymoon Killers is a monstrous story that reveals the dark nature of Martha's passion for Raymond as they tour east USA leaving a trail of corpses. Yet, it is a sad story as Martha is incapable of recognizing their failing love as she desires the need to feel loved by Raymond. Honeymoon Killers is a black and white drama-documentary that leaves the audience with a good, yet mind numbing cinematic experience.