Crime Cult Classic

A wealthy family's world unravels when next-door hippies introduce them to free love and a new way of living.

LOVE IN A 4 LETTER WORLD

1970 · 1h 33m · R · Crime / Drama · IMDB TMDB

A family have become disillusioned with one another. The father has an affair and is caught by his daughter, who has already hooked up with the free-love hippies who live next door. When her mother realizes, she too travels next door.

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Quick Answer

What is Love in a 4 Letter World about?

Love in a 4 Letter World is a 1970 Canadian crime drama directed by John Sone about a wealthy family whose lives are disrupted when a hippie commune moves in next door, drawing them into a world of free love and bohemian values.

Programmer's Pick

If you like your sexploitation with a side of generational angst and suburban scandal, this 1970 drama offers a front-row seat. Expect a parade of hippie counterculture, free love, and enough family dysfunction to fill a commune. The nudity and period details are as unabashed as its critique of bourgeois ennui.

— SassyFlix Programmer

Overview

In Love in a 4 Letter World, the buttoned-down existence of Harry and Vera Haven is upended when a group of free-spirited hippies set up a commune in the house next door. Their daughter Susan is the first to be drawn in, captivated by the enticing lifestyle and philosophy of free love championed by their new neighbors. As the family's internal rifts widen, even Vera finds herself pulled toward the bohemian allure of the commune, challenging the family's traditional values. This drama uses its 1960s setting to explore generational divides, sexual liberation, and the consequences of breaking from societal norms, all through the lens of a family facing change they never anticipated.

Details & Specs

Director: John Sone
Writers: John Sone, Arthur Veronka
Release: 1970
Runtime: 1h 33m
Genres: Crime, Drama
Also Known As: Sex Isn't Sin, Original title: Love in a 4 Letter World

Why This Matters

This film stands out as an early English-Canadian softcore production that deliberately distanced itself from the traditional 'National Film Board-CBC look,' and its withdrawal from the Canadian Film Awards highlights tensions over sexual content in Canadian cinema during the era.

— SassyFlix Curator

Cast & Crew

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Director: John Sone Writers: John Sone +1 more

Michael Kane Harry Haven

André Lawrence Walt PL Pierre Létourneau Pierre

Monique Mercure Louise HW Helen Whyte Vera Haven

Cayle Chernin Sam TG Terence G. Ross DY David Yorston FV Francine Vivant SY Sarie Yorston DM Don Macintyre

Explore More

Sexploitation Female Nudity Female Rear Nudity Female Frontal Nudity Lesbian Lesbianism Male Frontal Nudity Family Relationships Adultery Love Triangle 1960s Hippie Filmmaking Generation Gap Free Love Intentionally Misspelled Title Communes