MovieChat Forums > The Stepford Wives (1975) Discussion > The most unbelievable part

The most unbelievable part

posted 12 years ago by flobiwan-1
22 replies | jump to latest

I know this film is satire, but the one part i find unbelievable is how Walter could be convinced to kill his wife within a month or so. Even given that he's a chauvinist, to actually kill another person is not something most people can do - even if they hate the person. And this wasn't even someone he hated. He apparently really did love his wife.

What would the men's association do if Walter had refused? I imagine they would have to do something with Walter to keep him from going to the cops. How would they explain it when the cops (not Stepford ones) started investigating the missing people?

[–] TrangPak2 12 years ago

They probably would have snuffed him out and replaced him with a replica as well. That's why they weren't afraid of getting caught.

[–] mandy-woods 12 years ago

i agree i think it is too this is one part i do not understand, i mean they must have been married for sometime as they lived in new york for how long???, and in the space of how long, did he decide he was going to kill his wife which couldn't have been that long. I think when the first time they show you walter is seriously considering killing joanna is when she finds him sitting in the chair drinking after she asks him "how did the initiation go" and he answers "this is not a collage fraternity" its then I anyway realized this is what he intended to do.

[–] gamespy-1 12 years ago

Perhaps in his mind, it wasn't so much 'killing' his wife but instead 'improving her'.

He gets the pleasure of having the woman he loves every single day, without the arguments, the nagging, the womens lib opinions (which he felt threatened by).

All wrapped up in a package no-one would ever know was 'different' (especially those in Stepford).

So to him, it's not about what he's losing, it's about ALL the things he's gaining.

[–] DisturbedPixie 11 years ago

It's hard to believe other people aren't friends with their spouses, and they'd think a robot is just as good if not better.

If all you want is a maid, nanny and a hooker, you can get that for around the same price as keeping a high maintenance woman happy. Maybe less if she is a real gold digger, and you take advantage of illegal immigrants.

I think this only works for men who would be going through a divorce, and think the aftermath would be too difficult to handle. The kind of guys that would literally think to kill their wives over money or the stigma.

I much preferred the idea that any man that would do this is a real loser, like the ones in the remake. And their wives were just upgraded with a mind control chip and ... an ATM somehow... yeah, that movie isn't perfect.

[–] kaskait 12 years ago

I think Walter was hanging around Diz and his crowd for quite awhile before he decided to join their cult/move to Stepford. The catalyst most likely being that he thought or suspected that Joanna wanted to leave him. He was also jealous of her growing success in photography.

So he whisked her away to Stepford. I don't believe he learned murder was involved until he was a full member of the club. The fates only know how they managed to talk him into murder because the film clearly showed that he did have second thoughts. I guess greed and selfishness won the day over love for Walter.

[–] damiensbride666 11 years ago

that is the bit that is so strikingly like rosemary's baby. The fact that guy would have used rosemary to get a baby for the devil/worshipers. Maybe greed was a strong emotion as love for these men?? In the book of stepford wives the chareceter of walter was seen crying and very upset as well as aroused by it all and far better explained...

[–] kaskait 11 years ago

In the book, Walter wanted the robotic, playboy bunny fantasy version of his wife and yet he knew that he would be killing his real wife. He was conflicted. I think it was weaker in the book because the Eberharts have a harmonious marriage and Joanna is definitely not thinking about divorce.

In the film the marriage is clearly in trouble. Joanna wants out. When Walter finds out about the murder part there is no conflict. He loves his wife with all her faults.

But what tips him finally? Well the film prominently features Joanna winning a gallery opening and presentation for her photography. He was jealous of that. And of course Diz and the rest were there to take advantage of that jealousy.

[–] juleereeves-891-550333 8 years ago

Agree completely. When Walter walked out by the mail box right after the move to Stepford, and talked to Ted briefly, it seemed that they knew each other already. First names. "She looks as good as she cooks Ted." I think Walter had been briefed to some extent on the Stepford plan. They approached men who were having a hard time dealing with their feminist wives (this was the era of women's lib taking hold and some men were not liking it) and wanted a better deal for themselves. Also I think they limited men's assoc membership to men who had money and could contribute in some way. I don't think the grocery store/gas station guys had robot wives. And I agree that perhaps the men did not know it was going to be murder until it was too late. Thus the scene with Walter drinking after the meeting and also the bit with Ed looking so freaked out in the car after handing over Charmaine.

[–] Siriry 11 years ago

Walter already knew what was going on in Stepford when he moved there, that's why went there to live. In an early seen he tells neighbor Van Sant that his robotic wife Carol "cooks as good as she looks". Walter isin the know all along.

Siri

Don't Make Me Have to Release the Flying Monkeys!

[–] whitespirit26 11 years ago

I don't find that in the least realistic. Why then would he earnestly, almost desperately at one point tell Joanna he loves her? Or even bother getting angry with her? It's clear his fussy temperament draws him ever closer to the idea of joining the other gutless wonders.

[–] Blonde2291 11 years ago

1. He was dealing with the scientists who can create life-size human look-alike and full functioning androids or cyborgs. They can easily give him some chemical (among many other things) to affect his brain, so he starts favoring android women over his wife.

2. Police officer was also mixed in this. Going to cops is useless.

3. Missing people? They replaced all women with exact replicas. Who would even begin to investigate for missing persons, when they are in front of their eyes?

I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. - Charles Dickens

[–] SampanMassacre 11 years ago

True. At least with Cassavetes in ROSEMARY'S BABY he was put in a demonic spell of sorts. By the way, I felt the husband was miscast. He looked more like he'd be Lloyd's accountant.

[–] Melton (3443) a month ago

At least with Cassavetes in ROSEMARY'S BABY he was put in a demonic spell of sorts

No he wasn’t. He offered his wife up to be raped by Satan out of pure greed, because the witches would use spells to blind and maim his acting competition so that he would get the best parts and become rich and famous.

[–] OKCRay 11 years ago

How about this... Walter apparently cared for his daughters, yet by partaking in the sinister secret of the Mens Club, didn't he (or any of the other men who had daughters) ever stop to think that eventually the same fate would befall his daughters once they were settled in their future married life?