The Honeymoon Killers

1970

Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller

4
IMDb Rating 7.0/10 10 6232 6.2K

nurse widow alabama lonely hearts ad based on true story con artist

Plot summary

Martha Beck, an obese nurse who is desperately lonely, joins a "correspondence club" and finds a romantic pen pal in Ray Fernandez. Martha falls hard for Ray, and is intent on sticking with him even when she discovers he's a con man who seduces lonely single women, kills them and then takes their money. She poses as Ray's sister and joins Ray on a wild killing spree, fueled by her lingering concern that Ray will leave her for one of his marks.

Director

Martin Scorsese Photo
Martin Scorsese

Top cast

Doris Roberts Photo
Doris Roberts as Bunny
Tony Lo Bianco Photo
Tony Lo Bianco as Ray Fernandez
Shirley Stoler Photo
Shirley Stoler as Martha Beck
Ann Harris Photo
Ann Harris as Doris
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
990.76 MB
1280*690
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds ...
1.8 GB
1920*1034
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by LeaBlacks_Balls 7 / 10

Disturbing

Based on the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, who met through a lonely-hearts correspondence club, Ray (Tony Lo Bianco) is sleazy and untrustworthy; Martha (Shirley Stoler) is obese, compulsive, and needy. Together, they play out a horrifying scheme in which he lures lonely women out on dates and proposes marriage to them, while she pretends to be his sister. After the marriage ceremonies, they take the womens savings and then murder them in cold blood.The way this film is shot, with its grainy black and white footage, murky sound, bright whites and dark shadows, only adds to its incredibly unsettling nature. Watching this is almost like watching a documentary, and occasionally, a snuff film.Though the acting from the supporting cast is a bit iffy at times, the two leads are excellent. Particularly Shirley Stoller. While Lo Bianco creates one of the most hateful slime-balls I've ever seen, Stoller dominates this film. Her Martha is a frightening, unpleasant, disgusting woman, who is as ugly on the inside as she is on the outside. Her evil nature fills the frame whenever she is on screen.If you're looking for a fast paced thriller, look elsewhere. The pacing in this movie is slow, which only adds to the disturbing documentary feel. But if you want to see a movie where character comes first, and action second, seek this classic out.
Reviewed by eyecandyforu 7 / 10

Gritty, over the top and unintentionally campy

I had to add a comment after reading so many on here comparing The Honeymoon Killers to John Waters. If Waters had made a serious attempt at true crime, this would be it. Based on a true story, two sociopaths come together through a "lonely hearts" dating service and discover they are mutually compatible serial killers. Tony Lo Bianco plays Raymond Fernandez, a greasy con-man and loser preying on naive women looking for love. Lo Bianco manages to be sexy even as such a pathetic jerk. Shirley Stoler is Martha Beck, his accomplice and apparent true love. Probably best known as the evil Nazi commandant in Seven Beauties, Stoler steals the film and in my humble opinion is really the only reason to check the movie out. Stoler and Water's star Divine are so similar, they could be "sisters". Stoler eats the scenery with gusto in an angry, bitchy way and it's fascinating just to watch her mouth move. The film is surprisingly watchable with some shockers and a parade of character actresses as victims. To contrast this grim black and white film against the Oscar winner for best picture that year (Patton) only adds to it's bizarreness. The director, Leonard Kastle presents the story bleakly with no bells and whistles. Sadly this is the only film he directed, it would have been great to see how his career would have progressed.
Reviewed by AlsExGal 8 / 10

The true story is even more interesting than this film

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