Deathtrap (1982)

A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Ira Levin (play), Jay Presson Allen (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Sidney Bruhl
Christopher Reeve	...	Clifford Anderson
Dyan Cannon	...	Myra Bruhl
Irene Worth	...	Helga ten Dorp
Henry Jones	...	Porter Milgrim
Joe Silver	...	Seymour Starger
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Burt - the Bartender
Al LeBreton	...	Handsome Actor
Francis B. Creamer Jr.	...	The Minister (as Rev. Francis B. Creamer Jr.)
Stewart Klein	...	Himself
Jeffrey Lyons	...	Himself
Joel Siegel	...	Himself
Jenny Lumet	...	Stage Newsboy
Jayne Heller	...	Stage Actress
George Peck	...	Stage Actor

Storyline

To make Sidney's slump all the more painful, Clifford Anderson, a student of one of Sidney's writing seminars, has recently sent his mentor a copy of his first attempt at playwrighting for Sidney's review and advice. The play, "Deathtrap," is a five character, two act thriller so perfect in its construction that, as Sidney says, "A gifted director couldn't even hurt it." Using his penchant for plot, and out of his desperate desire to once again be the toast of Broadway, Sidney, along with Myra, cook up an almost unthinkable scheme: They'll lure the would-be playwright to the Bruhl home, kill him, and market the sure-fire script as Sidney's own. But shortly after Clifford arrives, it's clear that things are not what they seem! Indeed, even Helga Ten Dorp, a nosey psychic from next door, and Porter Milgram, Sidney's observant attorney, can only speculate where the line between truth and deception lies.

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Plot Keywords:

playwright | deathtrap | murder | psychic | playwriting | 

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Taglines:

A wickedly amusing who'll do it. [USA Theatrical]

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ira Levin's Deathtrap

Filming Locations:

10 Hook Pond Lane, East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$17,385,291 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exteriors of the beautiful home of Sidney and Myra Bruhl in the film was portrayed by a lavish mansion on Long Island complete with its own old-world windmill. Interiors of the house were filmed at the Pathe Studios in New York's East Harlem. The stage scenes that bookend the film were filmed at Music Box Theatre on 239 West 45th Street, New York where the 'Deathtrap' stage-play was still running. The 'Deathtrap' play's set was used for the two theatrical stage sequences in this film.

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Goofs

When Sidney has the Deathtrap script and threatens to throw it into the fireplace, the fire isn't lit.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[the actor on stage delivers an unintelligible line]
First Audience Member: It's the worst play I've ever seen.
Second Audience Member: I can't believe Sidney Bruhl wrote it.

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Crazy Credits

Murderous weapons by Eoin Sprott.

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Connections

References Donahue (1970)

User Reviews

The closest thing to modern Hitchcock...

No one better spoil this piece of work! Awesome movie! Written expertly by the likes of Ira Levin and depicted with the best performance of Christopher Reeve's career and one of Caine's very best, this is simply excellent. I wish I could catch a staged version somewhere...maybe someday I will. I hope this grossly underrated, overlooked film has not become too difficult to locate because it a 'must' for any Hitchcockian, Agatha-phile or lover of great film. One of very few movies I couldn't instantly solve or predict and worth a second or even third viewing, "Deathtrap" gets a 9/10 and earns every iota of it. We need and deserve more movies like this!