Deadly Illusion (1987)

A detective is framed for a murder he didn't commit.

Directors:

Larry Cohen, William Tannen

Writer:

Larry Cohen

Stars:

Billy Dee Williams, Vanity, Morgan Fairchild

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Dee Williams	...	Hamberger
Vanity	...	Rina
Morgan Fairchild	...	Jane Mallory / Sharon Burton
John Beck	...	Alex Burton
Joe Cortese	...	Detective Paul Lefferts (as Joseph Cortese)
Michael Wilding Jr.	...	Costillion
Dennis Hallahan	...	Burton Impostor
Jenny Cornuelle	...	Gloria Reid
Allison Woodward	...	Nancy Costillion
Joe Spinell	...	Crazy Man in Gun Bureau (as Joe Spinnel)
Harriet Rogers	...	Mrs. Bains
George Loros	...	Levante
Charlie Malcolm	...	Assistant District Attorney
Thom Curley	...	Wexler
Richard Triggs	...	Toll Booth Attendant

Storyline

A stranger pays Billy Dee Williams to kill his wife. But instead Billy, who is a Private Detective, tells the wife her husband tried to do. When she turns up dead anyway, Billy is suspected. Hopefully with the assistance of his secretary/girlfriend he can solve the case before the police catch up to him.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | private detective | independent film

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Taglines:

If the killer isn't really a killer... and his victim isn't really a victim... why do people keep turning up dead?

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Genres:

Adventure | Thriller | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love You to Death

Filming Locations:

Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$626,724 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pound Ridge Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Larry Cohen started the film, was fired halfway through it and replaced by William Tannen.

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Connections

Referenced in Shakedown (1988)

User Reviews

Never seen it, but...

I was hired as an extra and was waiting on the set for the day to start when Cohen called me over. "Hey kid - you an actor?" I thought, well that's why I'm here, but he added "I mean can you do lines?" I said sure, and he handed me two pages and said "Learn this." It was the Assistant District Attorney's scene with Billy Dee William's character

• and I was beside myself with excitement - and fear, as it included a

fairly long rip-him-a-new-one monologue. Apparently, the actor they'd hired was a no show. But about 15 minutes into my "star is born" opportunity, the actor showed - he'd been stuck in traffic. The director promised to "throw me a bone", and I ended up upgraded to playing the dead body on the slab next to the naked girl in the morgue scene.

Later in the filming, I came on again as Joe Cortese's stand-in, but had to leave the set later in the day with a 102-degree fever. But before falling ill, had a good time with BDW (one of the nicest guys ever on set) and playing cards with the Teamsters between shots.

Heard later that this film production managed to get the Staten Island Ferry stuck on a sandbar during filming - a first in the Ferry's history!