Themes: Single Parents, Suburban Dysfunction, Whistleblowers
Main Cast: Barbara Eden, Ronny Cox, Nanette Fabray, Susan Swift, Louis Nye
Release Year: 1978
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
Plot
This low-budget expansion of the popular Tom T. Hall/Jeannie C. Riley song "Harper Valley PTA" is surprisingly good, boasting lively performances by star Barbara Eden and everybody else in the cast. Eden plays Stella Johnson, a widowed single mom whose gaudy makeup, miniskirts and tight jeans are a source of scandal for the smug, self-righteous members of the local PTA. Forced to leave town with her teenaged daughter Dee (Susan Swift), Stella gets revenge with photographic evidence revealing the sexual peccadilloes and drunken misbehavior of the oh-so-righteous PTA members. The supporting cast includes such seasoned comic pros as Nanette Fabray, Louis Nye, Pat Paulsen and Audrey Christie, all performing above and beyond the call of duty. A weekly-TV version of Harper Valley PTA, also starring Barbara Eden, soon followed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Far too many movies in the 1970s were based on hit songs, and Harper Valley PTA is one of them. All of them faced one common problem: taking a three-minute single and expanding it into a full length story. Harper's approach to solving this problem is to go through the "plot" of the entire song in about 15 minutes (including quoting liberally from the lyrics) and then spend the rest of the film creating stock sitcom revenge scenarios that are tiresomely repetitive. Viewers who get enjoyment out of seeing hypocrites get what's coming to them over and over and over again will find Harper just their cup of tea, but those who desire some spark of originality or, at the least, some progression in the sequence of events will be bored stiff. The level of humor is also set pretty low, and there's precious little in the screenplay that hasn't been seen or heard before. Richard Bennett's direction is trite and clearly based on the assumption that every point must be presented in as obvious a manner as possible so that the audience can't possibly miss anything. Fortunately, Harper has a game cast of talented actors. Barbara Eden brings as much spunk and sparkle to the lead role as she can muster, and such able supporting players as Nanette Fabray, Louis Nye, John Fiedler and Pat Paulsen are a big help in keeping viewer interest. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
John Fiedler - Bobby Taylor; Audrey Christie - Flora Simpson Reilly; DeVera Marcus - Holly Taylor; Irene Yah Ling Sun - Myrna Wong; Louise Foley - Mavis Schroeder; Clint Howard - Corley; Jan Marie Teige - Reilly Twin; Laura Teige - Reilly Twin; Fay deWitt - Willa Mae Jones; Molly Dodd - Olive Glover; Ron Masak - Herbie Maddox; Amzie Strickland - Shirley Thompson; Brian Cook - Carlyle Ridley; Tobias Anderson - Barney; Bob Hastings - Skeeter; Arlen Stuart - Bertha Harper; J.J. Barry - Nolan; Royce D. Applegate - Dutch; Whitey Hughes - Stunt Man; Woody Harrelson; Pitt Herbert - Henry Reilly; Pat Paulsen - Otis Harper, Jr.
Credit
Tom Rasmussen - Art Director, Bob Breen - Art Director, Michael Economou - Associate Producer, Joan Carson - Associate Producer, Tom Rasmussen - Costume Designer, Richard Bennett - Director, Michael Economou - Editor, Nelson Riddle - Composer (Music Score), Tom T. Hall - Songwriter, Willy Kurant - Cinematographer, Joan Carson - Production Manager, George Edwards - Producer, Bob Breen - Set Designer, George Edwards - Screenwriter, Barry Schneider - Screenwriter
