"Honeymoon Killers" is a 1970 cult exploitation movie based on a true story about fifties serial killer couple, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez.
The 1970 exploitation film “Honeymoon Killers” was based on the true life crimes of late forties serial killer couple Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck. This super-low budget, stark black-and-white film was cited by legendary French director Francois Truffaut as one of his favorite American films.
Unlike the glamour of Arthur Penn’s 1967 film about killer couple “Bonnie and Clyde” starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, “Honeymoon Killers” was gritty, creepy, and devoid of anything resembling sex appeal and glamour. “Honeymoon Killers” was the lurid pages of fifties tabloid “Confidential Magazine” brought to life.
A True Story
The actual Martha Beck was a murderous 300-pound nurse, and her real-life sleazy lover Raymond Fernandez was a toupee-ed gigolo and con artist who bilked scores of widows in “lonely hearts club correspondence” schemes. In the film, the two psychotic and hollow losers were superlatively played by then unknown actors Tony LoBianco and Shirley Stoler.
For some critics, the most shocking moment in the film was a single profile shot of the hulking Martha Beck waiting for an unsuspecting victim, her hammer poised to strike.
"Lonely Hearts"
In 2006, “Lonely Hearts”, a much higher budget and sexually charged take on the Fernandez-Beck serial murders, starred sultry Salma Hayek and Gen-X boy toy Jared Leto. Although this version concentrated on the case’s two police detectives, played by John Travolta and James Gandolfini, the glamorized portrayal of the real-life couple, contemporaries of the Black Dahlia murderer, rang false when compared to the “Honeymoon Killers.” After all, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez murdered at least 17 women.
The Real-Life Execution
In 1951, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez were put to death in the electric chair.
A strange side note: Beck’s execution had to be delayed because her body was too big to fit in the electric chair.
Martin Scorsese
Another side note: a young Martin Scorsese was originally set to be the director of “Honeymoon Killers”, however, he was fired after only ten days on the job by the producer because he only shot the film in master shots -- no close-ups --, making the film impossible to edit.
Screenwriter Leonard Kastle replaced Scorsese as director. “Honeymoon Killers” was the only film that he ever directed.
Shirley Stoler
As for Shirley Stoler, if possible, she went on to play an even creepier role as a concentration camp commandant in Lina Wertmuller’s “Seven Beauties.” Infrequent appearances on “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” were some of her few comedic roles. She died in 1999, a great actress underutilized by Hollywood.
Tony LoBianco
Tony LoBianco went on to star in television dramas like “Police Story” and has never stopped working as a character actor on both stage and screen.
