Experiment At New Life (1970)

A widow (Vera Miles) and her daughter (Sue Lyon) reside in a rural commune where the men outnumber the women by a considerable number. So when the commune leaders pass a law that the women of the community must become the wives to more than one man in order to keep the community growing, they attempt to leave the community only to be forcibly held against their will. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc (SOMEWHERE IN TIME), this feature length telefilm was originally shown as an episode of the TV series THE MEN FROM SHILOH. Although a western, it works equally well as an intense slice of suspense. The subject of forced polygamy is an unusual one and director Szwarc keeps squeezing the tension. The acting is good, especially Miles and Ralph Meeker makes for a frightening bad guy as the commune leader who turns the community's good intentions into a warped plan to get the woman he wants. With James Drury, Lyle Bettger, Chris Robinson and Michael McGreevey.