A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.
Director:
Sidney Lumet
From metacritic.com
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Title: Deathtrap (1982)
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6 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Michael Caine | ... | ||
| Christopher Reeve | ... | ||
| Dyan Cannon | ... | ||
| Irene Worth | ... | ||
| Henry Jones | ... | ||
| Joe Silver | ... | ||
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Tony DiBenedetto | ... |
Burt - the Bartender
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Al LeBreton | ... |
Handsome Actor
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Francis B. Creamer Jr. | ... |
The Minister
(as Rev. Francis B. Creamer Jr.)
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Stewart Klein | ... | |
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Jeffrey Lyons | ... |
Jeffrey Lyons
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| Joel Siegel | ... |
Joel Siegel
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| Jenny Lumet | ... |
Stage Newsboy
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Jayne Heller | ... |
Stage Actress
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George Peck | ... |
Stage Actor
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Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (106) »
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. Written by Craig C. Bailey
Plot Keywords:
battle of wits | scared to death | surprise ending | gay protagonist | student |Taglines:
The trap is set... for a wickedly funny who'll-do-it. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
19 March 1982 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ira Levin's Deathtrap See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$2,238,977, 21 March 1982, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$19,282,134Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
[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.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Michael Caine was cast in this film as Sidney Bruhl, having previously appeared in the successful related mystery-thriller genre piece, Sleuth (1972), for which he was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award Oscar. Caine also appeared in its remake Sleuth (2007), playing the role played by Sir Laurence Olivier in the original. See more »Goofs
When Sidney has the Deathtrap script and threatens to throw it into the fireplace, the fire isn't lit. See more »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.
See more »
Crazy Credits
Murderous weapons by Eoin Sprott. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Deathtrap runs like a play within a movie about who did what to whom, as it primarily takes place on one set. The premise is that an accomplished playwright, whose star is falling, receives a magnificent manuscript from a former student and so he plans to off his protege and appropriate his play, to the (loud) protests of his wife. Or so you think, for the first half of the movie. Past the halfway mark, Deathtrap begins to throw in twists and surprises that turn its premise on its head, then right around, and then in a mad spin, all the time keeping its title appropriate. It's an excellent mystery movie soaked in wit.
Michael Caine, as the senior playwright, plays himself in this movie - a slightly loony and very dramatic Brit. No surprises here - he does his usual good work. He gets the best line of Deathtrap, which he executes perfectly: "What is your definition of success, being gang-banged in a state penitentiary?"
Christopher Reeve, on the other hand, juggles comedy and drama in a surprisingly strong performance playing the ambitious (and psychopathic) young playwright. He also gets to show off his very toned body, which he must've retained coming off the Superman movies.
Caine and Reeve have collaborated in another movie that's one of my favorite comedies - Noises Off. It similarly revolves around a play as well, although this time Caine is the director and Reeve is an actor. They are joined by comic veterans Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Marilu Henner (Taxi) and Mark Linn-Baker (Perfect Strangers). Together, they demonstrate the calamities that befall the bed-hopping cast and crew of a play. On the surface, the movie looks to be mostly slapstick but upon watching you find that they are many subtle jokes that require more than one viewing to catch. Wish this underrated movie was available on DVD.