Lipstick (1976 film)

Last updated
Lipstick
LipstickFilm.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lamont Johnson
Screenplay by David Rayfiel
Produced by Freddie Fields
Starring
Cinematography Bill Butler
Edited by Marion Rothman
Music by Michel Polnareff
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • April 2, 1976 (1976-04-02)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8.3 million

Lipstick is a 1976 American rape and revenge thriller film directed by Lamont Johnson and starring Margaux Hemingway, Chris Sarandon, Perry King, and Anne Bancroft. Mariel Hemingway also has a supporting role as Margaux's onscreen sister. The film follows a fashion model who is raped by her teenage sister's music teacher. Upon his acquittal in court, he rapes her sister, leading her to enact a brutal revenge.

Contents

Plot

Christine "Chris" McCormick is a highly paid fashion model whose image serves as the driving force of the ad campaign for a popular brand of lipstick and can be seen in magazines and on billboards all around the world. Gordon Stuart, a part-time composer and full-time music teacher, eagerly accepts an invitation from Chris's 13-year-old sister Kathy to come to a secluded beachside photo shoot, so Chris can listen to some of his music. He arrives at her apartment one day to visit her, but is interrupted by a phone call from her lover, Steve Edison.

As Chris talks to Steve, Gordon begins to fume at the thought of Chris's obvious rejection. His hurt soon turns to anger and he enters her room, assaults her, smears her face with the lipstick she helps promote, and then brutally rapes her. Toward the end of the ordeal, Kathy returns home from school, walks in on Chris and Gordon, and flees. Gordon gets up and suggests Kathy join them and "have some fun", but instead cuts Chris free and leaves.

Gordon is arrested, but as Chris learns from Carla Bondi, the prosecutor assigned to handle the case, Gordon's conviction is hardly assured and Carla asks Chris to testify against him. Gordon's attorney argues that the sex was consensual, and that its roughness was the result of Chris's "own twisted desires". He also suggests that even if Gordon acted without her consent, she provoked him by appearing naked in front of him at the photo shoot where they first met and by the inherent sensuality of the photographs from which she makes her living. Gordon is ultimately acquitted.

Chris leaves her job modeling for the lipstick company and plans to relocate to Colorado with Kathy after her last photo shoot. The photo shoot takes place at the same abandoned building where Kathy's school is rehearsing a new ballet orchestrated by Gordon. Kathy encounters Gordon and flees when he starts fondling her, but Gordon chases her down and rapes her.

Kathy returns to the photo shoot and tells Chris what happened. Gripped in a murderous frenzy, Chris runs outside to her car and grabs a rifle she had intended to take to Colorado with her. She spots Gordon driving his car in the parking lot and shoots at it, causing it to crash. As Gordon climbs out of the wreck, Chris keeps shooting him until the rifle is empty. Later, Carla Bondi speaks to a jury, telling them that their acquittal of Gordon earlier resulted in Chris losing faith in the law. The jury ultimately finds Chris not guilty of murder.

Cast

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 18% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. [1]

Lipstick was met with negative critical reception upon release, with much of the criticism focused around the film's treatment of rape, which was perceived as purely exploitative. Roger Ebert called it "a nasty little item masquerading as a bold statement on the crime of rape. The statement would seem a little bolder if the movie didn't linger in violent and graphic detail over the rape itself, and then handle the vengeance almost as an afterthought." However, Ebert did single out the performance of Mariel Hemingway, writing that "like a veteran, she's unaffected and convincing on camera and, whether she knows it or not, she can act." [2] Vincent Canby of The New York Times remarked the film's glamorous photography, but said it was "anti-intellectual in the ways that B movies always have been." [3]

Variety reviewed the film with a similar sentiment, declaring: "Lipstick has pretensions of being an intelligent treatment of the tragedy of female rape. But by the time it's over, the film has shown its true colors as just another cynical violence exploitation." [4]

Harlan Ellison, writing in March 1977, said: "Lipstick panders to the basest, vilest, lowest possible common denominators of urban fear and lynch logic. It is the sort of film that, if you see it in a ghetto theater filled with blacks, will scare the bejeezus out of you. The animal fury this film unleashes in an audience is terrifying to behold. It gives exploitation a bad name; and it has less to do with rape, which is the commercial hook on which they've hung the saleability of this bit of putrescence than it does with the cynicism of Joseph E. Levine, a man who probably has no trouble sleeping with a troubled conscience." [5]

Soundtrack

Lipstick
Lipstick-michel-polnareff.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Michel Polnareff
Released1976
Length28:44
Label Atlantic

The soundtrack to the film was by French singer Michel Polnareff who released the album in 1976 on Atlantic Records. The soundtrack became a disco success on its own in the United States and internationally.

No.TitleLength
1."Lipstick"3:33
2."Lipstick Montage"12:37
3."The Rapist"10:57
4."Ballet"2:17
Total length:28:44

Remake

The film inspired an Indian remake in Hindi, titled Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980). [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Manhattan</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Woody Allen

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.

<i>Thelma & Louise</i> 1991 film by Ridley Scott

Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt. Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaux Hemingway</span> American fashion model and actress (1954–1996)

Margaux Louise Hemingway was an American fashion model and actress. She gained success as a supermodel in the 1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Time.

<i>Star 80</i> 1983 film by Bob Fosse

Star 80 is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film's title is taken from one of Snider's vanity license plates. The film was Fosse's final film before his death in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariel Hemingway</span> American actress (born 1961)

Mariel Hemingway is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in Lipstick (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979).

<i>White Palace</i> (film) 1990 film by Luis Mandoki

White Palace is a 1990 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Luis Mandoki. It stars Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Steven Hill, Jeremy Piven, and Renée Taylor. It was written by Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent, based on the novel of the same name by Glenn Savan.

<i>Pretty Baby</i> (1978 film) 1977 American historical drama film by Louis Malle

Pretty Baby is a 1978 American historical drama film directed by Louis Malle, written by Polly Platt, and starring Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, and Susan Sarandon. Set in 1917, it focuses on a 12-year-old girl being raised in a brothel in Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, by her prostitute mother. Barbara Steele, Diana Scarwid, and Antonio Fargas appear in supporting roles. The film is based on the true account of a young girl who was sexually exploited by being forced into prostitution by her mother, a theme which was recounted in historian Al Rose's 1974 book Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District. It is also based on the life of photographer Ernest Bellocq, who photographed various New Orleans prostitutes in the early twentieth century. The title, Pretty Baby, is derived from the Tony Jackson song of the same name, which is featured on the film's soundtrack.

<i>Falling from Grace</i> (film) 1992 film by John Mellencamp

Falling from Grace is a 1992 American drama film directed by and starring John Mellencamp, in both his feature film directorial and film acting debut.

<i>Personal Best</i> (film) 1982 American drama film by Robert Towne

Personal Best is a 1982 American drama film written, produced and directed by Robert Towne. It stars Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly, along with Scott Glenn as the coach. The film is about the lesbian relationship between two track-and-field teammates whose relationship might interfere with their performance.

<i>Down in the Valley</i> (film) 2005 American film by David Jacobson

Down in the Valley is a 2005 American neo-western drama film starring Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse and Rory Culkin. The film made its debut in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, and made its limited theatrical release in North America on May 5, 2006.

<i>Dead Man Walking</i> (film) 1995 American drama film

Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the 1993 non-fiction book of the same name.

<i>Switchblade Sisters</i> 1975 film

Switchblade Sisters is a 1975 American exploitation action film detailing the lives of high school-aged female gang members. It was directed by Jack Hill and stars Joanne Nail, Robbie Lee and Monica Gayle. The film is also known as The Jezebels, Maggie's Stiletto Sisters and The Warriors II: Las Navajeras.

<i>Tempest</i> (1982 film) 1982 film by Paul Mazursky

Tempest is a 1982 American adventure comedy-drama romance film directed by Paul Mazursky. It is a loosely based, modern-day adaptation of the William Shakespeare play The Tempest. The picture features John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Raúl Juliá and Molly Ringwald in her feature film debut.

<i>Insaf Ka Tarazu</i> 1980 Bollywood revenge drama film

Insaf Ka Tarazu is a 1980 Hindi revenge drama film produced and directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Zeenat Aman, Raj Babbar, Deepak Parashar, Padmini Kolhapure, Iftekhar, Simi Garewal, Shreeram Lagoo, and Dharmendra in a guest appearance. The music of the film was composed by Ravindra Jain. It is a remake of the American film Lipstick, starring real-life sisters Margaux Hemingway and Mariel Hemingway playing as sisters in the film. The film was remade later in Telugu as Edi Dharmam Edi Nyayam? (1982), and in Tamil as Neethi Devan Mayakkam. The film became a box office success upon release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Hemingway</span> American writer, son of Ernest Hemingway

John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway was a Canadian-American fly fisherman, conservationist, and writer. He was the son of American novelist and Nobel Prize-laureate Ernest Hemingway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dree Hemingway</span> American model and actress

Dree Louise Crisman Hemingway is an American fashion model and actress. She gained attention playing the lead in American director Sean Baker's feature Starlet (2012). She has since become known for her high-profile fashion campaigns and her extensive work in independent film.

<i>In Time</i> 2011 American science fiction action film

In Time is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, co-produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried star as inhabitants of a society that uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, with each individual possessing a clock on their arm that counts down how long they have to live. Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, Matt Bomer, Johnny Galecki, and Alex Pettyfer also star. The film was released on October 28, 2011, and grossed $174 million against a $40 million budget. It received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which praised the premise but called the execution heavy handed. On Metacritic, it received mixed reviews.

<i>Running from Crazy</i> 2013 American film

Running from Crazy is a 2013 television documentary film by director Barbara Kopple about the family of Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway. Through the eyes of Mariel, who received an Oscar nomination for her role in Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan, and who has spoken for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, it chronicles the story of three of the author's grandchildren; Mariel, Margaux Hemingway and Joan "Muffet" Hemingway, daughters of Jack Hemingway, and their struggles with the family history of substance abuse, mental illness and suicide. First shown at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary was promoted on the Oprah Winfrey Network, which aired its premiere on April 27, 2014.

<i>A Boy and His Dog</i> (1975 film) 1975 film

A Boy and His Dog is a 1975 American black comedy science fiction film directed by actor L. Q. Jones, from a screenplay by Jones based on the 1969 novella of the same title by fantasy author Harlan Ellison. The film stars Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Alvy Moore, and Jason Robards. It was independently produced and distributed by Jones' company LQ/Jaf Productions. The film's storyline concerns a teenage boy, Vic, and his telepathic dog, Blood, who work together as a team in order to survive in the dangerous post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Southwestern United States. Shout! Factory released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in August 2013.

Little Men is a 1998 Canadian family drama film starring Mariel Hemingway and Chris Sarandon. It is based on the 1871 novel of the same name written by Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women. It is a loose sequel to Little Women (1994).

References

  1. ↑ "Lipstick". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 6, 1976). "Lipstick Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved April 16, 2016– via RogerEbert.com.
  3. ↑ Canby, Vincent (April 3, 1976). "The Screen: 'Lipstick': Glamorous Film About Raped Model Arrives". The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lipstick". Variety . December 31, 1975. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ Ellison, Harlan (1990). The Harlan Ellison Hornbook . New York: Penzler Books. p. 275. ISBN   978-0-89296-239-6.
  6. ↑ Dhawan, M. L. (December 2, 2001). "When substance was more important". The Tribune . Retrieved November 3, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.