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The People Next Door streaming

1970 Movie United States Drama 92 min Ages 17+
By: David Greene With: Stephen McHattie, Robert Gass, Deborah Winters, Jane Culley, Anthony D. Call

Comfortable New York suburbanites Arthur and Gerrie Mason discover one night that their seemingly perfect 16-year old daughter, Maxie has been tripping on LSD. Arthur, a smug, bullying braggart, immediately suspects his 17-year old (long-haired) son, Artie of supplying the drug to his sister, and immediately kicks him out of the house. Whereupon (suitably) confused Harris runs next door to seek advice from high school principal David Hoffman whose wife, Tina is an alcoholic, and whose son Sandy has his own problems. Very sensibly, he advises love and understanding on the part of the parents, which all but goes out the window when Maxie confesses she has been tripping for quite a while now, is also sexually active and on the pill. Meanwhile, she just keeps getting worse--she's found by her father high on cocaine and in bed with a biker. From there, it's straight to family therapy where, among other things, it's revealed that Dad is having an affair with his lusty secretary and Mom knew it all the time. After another lamentably useless therapy session, the Masons decide to throw a party which comes to an abrupt halt when one of the hired musicians is discovered puffing pot. Maxie then gets hold of more LSD, does a nude dance on her lawn and trips herself into a mental hospital. The sight of her near-catatonic daughter in this horrible place drives Mom right to bed, where she remains until the film's climax.

Filmium rating
64%

Mood

Dark
Serious
Thoughtful

Cast & Crew

David Greene
J.P. Miller
Bobby Sandler
Anthony D. Call
Rue McClanahan
Ron Panvini
Eli Wallach
Jim Hodder
Jane Culley
Joseph Leon
Mike Kellin
Ben Yaffee
Nehemiah Persoff
Janet Sarno
Philip Suriano
Stephen McHattie
John Batiste
Anita Dangler
Kenny Westland-Haag
Robert Gass
Cloris Leachman
Matthew Cowles
Marilyn Chris
Lassie Sachs
Deborah Winters
Hal Holbrook
Sandy Alexander
John Sheldon
Bruce Scott
Rutanya Alda
Julie Harris

Director

David Greene

Cast

Deborah Winters
Eli Wallach
Julie Harris

Author

Jp Miller

Crew

Jp Miller (Screenplay)

Adaptation

Based On Teleplay

Budget

Mid-Budget

Narrative Structure

Dialogue-Driven

Time-Period

1970S

Central Conflict

Drug Addiction
Family Struggle
Rehabilitation

Characters

Drug Addict
Married Couple
Teenage Daughter

Ending

Bittersweet
Tragic

Historical Context

1970S Drug Culture
Lsd Use

Key Plot Points

Daughter Committed To Mental Ward
Parents Fight To Save Daughter
Teenage Daughter Uses Lsd

Setting

Suburban New York

Theme

Drug Addiction
Family Dynamics
Mental Health

Genre

Drama

Audiences

Adult Viewers
Drama Enthusiasts

Titles

The People Next Door

Critical Reception

Mixed Reviews

Ratings

Letterboxd 3.27 Out Of 5

Production Countries

United States

Release Year

1970
mowizz ID: cee6753c-ee7b-49a8-aa4e-f98a0e43ddf4
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