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Deathtrap (film)

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For the 1977 horror film also known as Death Trap, see Eaten Alive.

Deathtrap
Theatrical release poster by Bill Gold
Directed bySidney Lumet
Screenplay byJay Presson Allen
Based onDeathtrap
1978 play
by Ira Levin
Produced byBurtt Harris
StarringMichael Caine
Christopher Reeve
Dyan Cannon
CinematographyAndrzej Bartkowiak
Edited byJack Fitzstephens
Music byJohnny Mandel
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 19, 1982 (1982-03-19)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[1]
Box office$19 million

Deathtrap is a 1982 American black comedy suspense film based on the 1978 play of the same name by Ira Levin. It was directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by Levin and Jay Presson Allen, and stars Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon. Critics gave the film mostly favorable reviews while noting its plot similarities to Caine's 1972 film Sleuth.[2][3][4]

The film narrates the tale of a famous playwright, who has not had any hits in recent years. After his student entrusts him with the manuscript of a promising play, the writer tells his wife that if the student has not told anyone else about his play, he could kill the student and claim the manuscript as his own.

Plot

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Playwright Sidney Bruhl debuts his latest in a series of flops and returns home. He reveals to his wife Myra that he has received an excellent manuscript from a student, Clifford Anderson, asking for his input. He says the best idea he has had lately is to murder its author and produce the play as his own.

Sidney invites Anderson to their home to discuss the script, Deathtrap. Myra tries, to no avail, to convince Sidney to work with Clifford as equal partners. Sidney entices Clifford to try on a pair of Harry Houdini’s handcuffs, then strangles him with a chain.

Sidney removes the body but still has to convince Myra to conspire with him. She reveals nothing during an unexpected visit from psychic neighbor Helga Ten Dorp. Helga senses pain and death in the house, and warns Sidney about a man in boots who will attack him.

As the Bruhls prepare for bed, Clifford bursts through the bedroom window and beats Sidney with a log, then chases Myra through the house until her weak heart gives out and she dies.

Sidney descends the stairs, uninjured, and joins Clifford. They discuss what to do with Myra's body, then kiss. The previous events have been a ruse to kill Myra without laying a hand on her.

Clifford moves in and the two work at a partner's desk. Sidney suffers writer's block, but Clifford types page after page of a play that he keeps under lock and key. Sidney manages to switch Clifford's manuscript with a fake.

Sidney is horrified to read that Clifford is using Myra's murder as the basis of a new play called Deathtrap. He confronts Clifford, who boasts about the play's potential and insists he will write it with or without Sidney's approval. He offers to share the credit with Sidney, who plays along with collaborating while he plots a solution. Helga stops by for candles in anticipation of a thunderstorm, and warns Sidney that Clifford is the man in boots.

Sidney asks Clifford to arm himself with an axe to demonstrate a bit of stage business, then produces a gun. He intends to shoot Clifford, claim it was in self-defense and dispose of the Deathtrap manuscript. But the gun is empty. Clifford, in anticipation, had loaded the bullets into a different gun. He manacles Sidney to a chair and warns him not to try to stop the production of the play.

Clifford is unaware the manacles are trick shackles. Sidney releases himself, grabs a crossbow, and shoots Clifford in the back. The storm hits and the house suffers a blackout. A flash of lightning illuminates Helga scurrying through the room, thinking Sidney is in danger and coming to help.

She realizes it is Sidney that actually poses the threat and grabs a gun while Sidney finds a knife. Clifford regains consciousness and trips Helga. A struggle for the gun ensues. Clifford swings the axe at Sidney. In that moment, the scene transitions to a stage version of itself, with actors before a full house. The on-stage struggle culminates with "Clifford" stabbing "Sidney" and both dying, leaving "Helga" victorious. The opening night audience erupts in applause, and at the back of the theater stands an exultant Helga Ten Dorp, author of hit Broadway play Deathtrap.

Cast

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Real-life film and theatre critics Stewart Klein, Jeffrey Lyons and Joel Siegel have cameo appearances as themselves.

Reception

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Critic Roger Ebert gave it three stars out of four, calling it "a comic study of ancient and honorable human defects, including greed, envy, lust, pride, avarice, sloth, and falsehood."[2] Ebert, along with Janet Maslin, and Gary Arnold of The Washington Post noted the similarities to Caine's 1972 film Sleuth,[2][4][3] and similarities have subsequently been noted by film historians.[5][6][7]

Cannon was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance.

The kissing scene between Sidney and Clifford is not in the original play (although they are revealed to be lovers). In his book The Celluloid Closet, gay film historian Vito Russo reports that Reeve said that the kiss was booed by preview audiences in Denver, Colorado, and estimated that a Time magazine report of the kiss spoiled a key plot element and cost the film $10 million in ticket sales.[8] (The film earned more than $19 million at the box office.)[9] In his book Murder Most Queer (2014), Jordan Schildcrout describes attending a screening at which an audience member screamed, "No, Superman, don't do it!" at the moment of the Caine–Reeve kiss.[10]

Deathtrap has a positive rating of 74% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[11]

Home video release

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Deathtrap was released on Region 1 DVD on July 27, 1999. It was re-released on November 8, 2003, as half of a two-pack with the Henry Winkler/Michael Keaton buddy film Night Shift. Warner Home Video released Deathtrap on Blu-ray Disc on November 20, 2012, as part of the Warner Archive Collection.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Deathtrap (1982)". AFI Catalog. Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  2. ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1982). "Deathtrap". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (March 19, 1982). "FILM: 'DEATHTRAP' WITH MICHAEL CAINE". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Arnold, Gary (March 18, 1982). "A Winning 'Deathtrap'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Carlson, Matthew (1993). Deathtraps: The Postmodern Comedy Thriller. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0253208262. sleuth deathtrap.
  6. ^ Dick, Bernard (2008). Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty. Jackson, Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-1604730876.
  7. ^ Field, Matthew (2014). "Deathtrap". Michael Caine: You're A Big Man. London, England: Pavilion Books. ISBN 978-1849942515.
  8. ^ Meslow, Scott (March 17, 2017). "Will Moviegoers Ever Be Comfortable Watching Two Dudes Kiss?". Archived from the original on June 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Box office/business for Deathtrap". IMDb. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  10. ^ Schildcrout, Jordan (2014). Murder Most Queer: The Homicidal Homosexual in the American Theater. University of Michigan Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780472072323.
  11. ^ "Deathtrap entry". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Deathtrap on Blu-Ray". WBShop.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
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