The People Next Door (1970)

Every parent's worst nightmare comes to life in The People Next Door (1970) a film whose message and tactics are so hopelessly dated, it plays like an After School Special from the same era. Arthur (Eli Wallach) and Gerrie (Julie Harris) are two affluent suburbanites living the American dream in Upstate New York. Their dream turns into a nightmare, however, when their 16 year old daughter Maxie (Deborah Winters) gets hooked on LSD! Arthur suspects that Maxie's burn out older brother Artie (Stephen McHattie) is the one supplying her with the acid and kicks him out of the house. Desperate for answers, he turns to his next door neighbor and local high school principal David (Hal Holbrook) for advice, knowing that David's wife Tina (Cloris Leachman) is an alcoholic and their son Sandy (Don Scardino) has severe emotional problems. Rather than taking the lesson that things are tough all over and every family has its problems, Arthur becomes even more determined to snuff out the bad influence in his family, not ever taking a moment to realize that his authoritarian control over his loved ones—not to mention his own extra marital affairs—might be the root cause of his family's problems. Like a great many mainstream movies of the era, the only nudity is of the female variety, though there is a scene where Don Scardino is shirtless in some basketball shorts and his parents confront him with the various drugs they've found in his room! We think that maybe The People Next Door would've been better off installing a Peep Hole Next Door!