Wanda

Wanda Goronski is a young, uneducated woman living in a steel town in Pennsylvania who walks away from her husband and children. Drifting through rural Pennsylvania, she moves from one encounter to the next until she falls in with a petty criminal, Mr. Dennis, and is drawn into his world of small-time robbery. A botched bank job then pushes her life in another direction.

Released in 1970, the film is the only feature Barbara Loden directed. She also wrote the screenplay and stars in the title role, working from a production by Harry Shuster. Michael Higgins plays Mr. Dennis, and the credited cast runs to 23 performers, among them Dorothy Shupenes, Peter Shupenes, Jerome Thier and Marian Thier.

Made on a modest independent budget through the Foundation for Filmakers and Televentures, the film drew little attention on its first release and was later reassessed. It now holds an 8.1 out of 10 film critics' rating from 39 reviews, compared with 7.1 on IMDb from around 6,900 votes and 6.8 on TMDB from roughly 164 votes. The gap suggests that critics rate it more strongly than general audiences do, while its steady vote count over the decades points to a lasting reputation.