Deathtrap

Plot synopsis:
Sidney Bruhl (Caine) is a playwright who is most famous for his mystery thriller "The Murder Game." Following the debut of the latest of a series of flops, he returns to his home in East Hampton and to his wife Myra (Cannon). He tells her that he's received a play called "Deathtrap" from a former student from a playwriting seminar. The play is ready for production and Sidney jokingly suggests that he murder the student and steal the play, a joke that becomes more serious when he learns, after calling the student, that no one else has read the play and no one else has a copy. Sidney invites the student up to Long Island.
The student, Clifford Anderson (Reeve), arrives shortly thereafter. Myra, who has a heart condition, becomes more and more agitated as the evening progresses, trying desperately to convince Sidney to work with Clifford on "Deathtrap" and share the revenue. Instead, Sidney attacks Clifford, strangling him with a chain. He forces Myra to help him drag Clifford into the yard to bury him.
Following the burial, the Bruhls get a visit from psychic Helga ten Dorp (Worth), who's staying with the Bruhls' neighbors. Helga wanders around the living room and study, sensing pain and death in various spots and associated with various prop weapons and handcuffs Sidney has displayed on the wall. She warns Sidney about a man in boots who will attack him. As she prepares for bed, Myra continues to be horrified, only slowly coming to see something of glamour in Sidney's act. Suddenly, Clifford bursts through the bedroom window and beats Sidney with a log. Myra flees and Clifford chases after her until her heart gives out; she collapses and dies. Sidney calmly descends the stairs, uninjured, and sidles unperturbed to Clifford's side. The men exchange a few words before their feelings emerge. They kiss, deeply and passionately. Their plan is a success: Myra is out of the way.
Immediately after Myra's funeral, Clifford moves in as Sidney's "secretary." Clifford works on a play which he says is about a welfare office but Sidney is suffering from writer's block. Sidney's lawyer Porter (Jones) comes over to settle some of Myra's affairs and notices Clifford is acting oddly about his manuscript pages. Sidney sends Clifford off on a pretext errand and breaks into his desk to read the manuscript. He is horrified to discover that Clifford is writing the true story of Myra's murder as a play called "Deathtrap." When confronted, Clifford offers to share the work and the credit. Sidney demurs: he wants to be remembered as the man who wrote "The Murder Game," not as "the faggot who knocked off his wife." When Clifford insists he'll write the play without him, Sidney reluctantly capitulates.
A few days later, Helga stops by again, ostensibly to borrow some candles in case the power goes out in a storm that's blowing in. She meets Clifford and, when Sidney returns from a dinner party a few minutes later, warns him that Clifford is the man in boots. Sidney assures her that he'll be sending Clifford away, and Helga leaves.
Sidney asks Clifford to help him act out some possible bits of business for the play, first by resisting a frontal assault, then by demonstrating how he might wield an axe. Finally, Sidney produces a gun he's secreted for this moment, trains it on Clifford and tearfully explains to him that he cannot allow completion of "Deathtrap" and can only stop him with a bullet. Sidney bids Clifford good-bye and pulls the trigger.
The gun doesn't go off, though, because Clifford has taken the bullets to load a different gun that he has at the ready. Now in control again, Clifford grabs wrist and leg manacles from the prop wall and has Sidney chain himself to a chair. Clifford tells him that he's going to leave soon but, just before, will unlock one of Sidney's cuffs to allow time for his escape. Clifford will complete "Deathtrap" and, if anyone asks, deny that it's inspired by Sidney's story. After Clifford exits to pack, Sidney slips out of the trick cuffs (once the property of Harry Houdini) and grabs a crossbow off the weapon wall. He stalks Clifford and fells him with a single shot.
There's a body to dispose of now, but the storm hits with full force, knocking out the power. Before Sidney can find a match to light a candle, a fleeting figure scurries through the living room in a flash of lightning. It's Helga, fully aware that she's in mortal danger. Sidney finds a knife, Helga grabs a gun. Clifford regains consciousness and trips Helga. The gun goes flying and a struggle for it ensues that...
...cuts to the same struggle played live by actors before a full house, where "Clifford" stabs "Sidney" and both die, leaving "Helga" victorious. The opening night audience erupts in thunderous applause, and at the back of the house stands Helga ten Dorp, now the author of a hit Broadway play called "Deathtrap."

Tags: paranormal, psychedelic, horror, murder

Review:
It is an appropriate image: originally written for the stage by Ira Levin, who authored such memorable works as ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE STEPFORD WIVES, the play was one of Broadway's most famous twisters, and under Sidney Lumet's direction it translates to the screen extremely well.DEATHTRAP is one of those films that it is very difficult to discuss, for to do so in any detail gives away the very plot for which it is famous.
But the opening premise is extremely clever: Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is the famous author of mystery plays, but these days he seems to have lost his touch.
And when Clifford visits to discuss the play, events suddenly begin to twist in the most unexpected manner possible.Like Anthony Shaffer's equally twisty SLEUTH, DEATHTRAP is really a story more at home on the stage than the screen--to reach full power it needs the immediacy that a live performance offers.
Michael Caine gives a truly brilliant performance, Dyan Cannon is funny and endearing as Sidney's relentlessly anxious wife, and Christopher Reeve gives what might be the single finest performance in his regrettably short acting career.
The comparison to Sleuth, the earlier stage-play-turned-film, is obvious and upon my first viewing I too thought Sleuth was better, but Deathtrap has, at least for me, many more repeat viewings in it than Sleuth.I purchased Deathrap in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart, figuring that it had Caine and the underrated Reeve and was worth the 6 bucks.
And it's totally worth repeat viewings.Though Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine turned in bravado performances in Sleuth, I was doubly impressed with Christopher Reeve as Clifford Anderson.
I've always felt Reeve was a type-cast actor who didn't get much of a chance to shine outside of the Superman films and a few other flawed but entertaining films like Somewhere in Time, but this film shows that his potential was truly tapped and put to use, thank goodness.I absolutely relished Michael Caine's performance.
And that's precisely what happens in DEATHTRAP, based on a chilling play by Ira Levin ("Rosemary's Baby").And in it, MICHAEL CAINE and CHRISTOPHER REEVE get to do the kind of stunt that Caine and Laurence Olivier pulled off in SLEUTH--with just about as much skill and as many puzzles as ever existed in that extraordinarily clever play.But because it's meant to scare you, surprise you, and keep you guessing as to the outcome, it's difficult to write a review about the plot.
When a young aspiring writer CHRISTOPHER REEVE sends him the manuscript of his play, Caine realizes that passing it off as his own would solve all his problems and get his reputation back.From that point on, it's a matter of fun and games for the audience as Ira Levin's story unwinds, managing to trump Agatha Christie for the number of twists.Caine and Reeve play off each other brilliantly, each bringing a certain dynamic tension to the tale as well as some humorous touches that come from a script that laces drama with humor.Summing up: Well worth seeing--but not everyone is pleased with the ending..
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.
Opened up in surprisingly simple and innovative ways, director Sidney Lumet wisely tags any "new" material onto the beginning and end of the film and leaves Levin's wickedly twisty center alone.The film's last scene is a major Hollywood departure from the boards, and slightly undermines one of Levin's plot points from earlier in the film [Helga (about a dagger): "Will be used by another woman BECAUSE of play."].
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.
I've seen quite a few of Ira Levin's adaptations - 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'The Stepford Wives' - and liked both them, but this just didn't appeal to me.When I read the plot outline - an award winning playwright (Michael Caine) decides to murder one of his former pupils (Christopher Reeve) and steel his script for his own success - I was excited.
I like thrillers, Michael Caine's a good actor, Sidney Lumet's a good director and Ira Levin's work is generally good.I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but all I'd say is there are LOADS of twists and turns.
Though I have to give Lumet credit for the very amusing ending which did make me laugh out loud.The main cast - Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon and Irene Worth - were all brilliant in their roles.
Not sure if Cannon's character was meant to be annoyingly funny but Dyan managed to annoy and amuse - at the same time.Anyone reading this - I don't want you to be put-off watching this because of my views - give it a chance, you may like it, you may not.
"Deathtrap" seems to try to send up every Agatha Christie - type concoction there's ever been, throwing in more twists than a Chubby Checker revival show, but seems to forget that Peter Schaffer's "Sleuth" got there before it a decade earlier.Caine's in on this of course, he now playing the Olivier role as the ageing dominating schemer of the two, with Reeve as the initially submissive but later resistant junior partner in the former's nefarious, ingenious if somewhat far-fetched plan to bump off ailing wife Dyan Cannon (who couldn't look healthier, as a matter of fact) and get his hands on her massive fortune.The initial twist is well staged and does come as a big surprise but subsequent events fail to repeat the trick and the insertion of the ludicrous Scandanavian medium Helga Ten Dorp (there must be an in-joke anagram in her name I've not yet deciphered) to sweep up the pieces with her thick-as-Nordic-snow accent takes it just too far over the top.For all that, it's directed at pace with no let up on the camp factor from the normally straight-arrow Sydney Lumet and features a slightly awkward full-on kiss between the leads with a complete lack of conviction on either side.
The mystery has some glaring flaws which do detract somewhat, and I was not wholly satisfied with the ending, but watching Caine and Reeve under Lumet's direction with Levin's elevated verbiage was enough to ensnare my interest and keep it captive the entire length of the film..
This one is not quite fun, nor is it as ingenious or beautifully written as "Sleuth." The source of "Deathtrap" is a fabulously successful Broadway play, and why it didn't quite transfer to film is something to argue about.
The trick to creating a good, solid mystery story is as much a matter of timing as its about plot contrivances, colorful characters or surprising twists.
Indeed, good thrillers should get better on repeated viewings as we anticipate the double and triple crosses.Sidney Lumet's comedy-thriller DEATHTRAP, as derived from Ira Levin's hit Broadway play, is a great example.
Rather than going backward -- a murder and then an investigation to explain why everything happened -- DEATHTRAP leads us through the crime(s) step by step, leaving ample room for the unexpected; as the ads advise it is less a "whodunit" than a "who'lldoit." DEATHTRAP is often compared (unfavorably, oddly enough) to the play and movie versions of SLEUTH, though in reality it has much more in common with SCREAM, the self-mocking essay on teeny-bopper horror flicks.
That leaves three main characters to be the killer(s) and/or the victim(s): It is a testament to Michael Caine's abilities that as Sidney Bruhl, a down-on-his-luck author of mystery plays, he creates a character who we intrinsically like and trust, even as we recognize immediately that almost everything he says is a lie.
The third angle of this unexpected triangle is a fledgling playwright named Clifford Anderson played by Christopher Reeve in such a way that we never quite get a handle on just who his character is: enthusiastic preppie wannabe writer, semi-innocent victim or cunningly charming sociopath.
And even after the final twist (an improvement over the play's finale), it may not be quite clear just who has manipulated who to do what.Lumet is by no means a master of comedy, so he lets his able cast have free reign to flesh out the characters and they all give sharp, theatrical, yet subtle work, with Reeve being particularly noteworthy.
Okay,it recalls "Sleuth" (1972).Okay ,it borrows the first part from Clouzot's 'Les Diaboliques" .But forget "sleuth"and "Diaboliques" and you can enjoy this armchair thriller:after all,Sidney Lumet has always been fond of these stories which take place in an enclosed space,and from the very start of his career,"twelve angry man" ,but also "the hill" "murder on the orient express" and his towering achievement "dog day afternoon".And anyway it's based on a play by Ira Levin ("the Stepford wives" and of course the brilliant "Rosemary's baby") Besides,in his preface to Agatha Christie's plays ,Levin mentions Anthony Shaffer .And Michael Caine's presence makes us think of Mankiewicz's celebrated movie.The main difference with "sleuth" lies in the fact that almost any social comment has disappeared:it's detective story for the sake of detective story.The actors overplay and their lines are a bit tongue-in-cheek (speaking of Reeve's character,Caine mumbles :"don't you think HE's one of them?)Actually,it's grand guignol,Punch and Judy all over the place and if you like the genre,you will not be disappointed.
Reeve particularly proves he was much more than Superman.The ending , on a stage ,is another nod to "sleuth" :the whole movie looks like a filmed stage production,but where's the problem?So did "twelve angry men".When Lumet comes back to "true" cinema,is he so convincing with the likes of "the firm"?People who enjoy a murder mystery peppered with humor should see this..
Time will tell.Clever dialog and numerous twists and turns in the plot keep this movie entertaining from beginning to end.
However, after Michael played the older man in Deathtrap--a film in which an older man invites a younger man to his house for a drink-there was no need to remake Sleuth at all!
Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon, and Christopher Reeve give incredible performances, each combining the necessary talents to perform in a play and a film.
In Deathtrap, the older character doesn't have to be posh and blueblood; he has an entirely different reason for his behavior, one that makes sense and that Michael Caine plays convincingly.
I saw this when it first came out in the theater, and it was so much fun, with so many plot twists and double-crosses--some you can see coming and some not.I've recently seen it on Turner Classic Movies a couple of times, and it is still entertaining as far as the performances, even if you know what is coming.
Sidney's analysis is that it is excellent, a sure fire hit, and then he starts to do and say little things that make the audience - and Myra - think that maybe Sidney is contemplating stealing the play, and doing away with the student who sent it in order to score a success for himself after a long stretch of flops.
Past that point I'll let you watch and see what happens.Now the student turns out to be played by Christopher Reeve, and given his devastating injury 13 years later that eventually took his life, seeing him walking around so young so healthy and never showing even a glimpse of his Superman persona - the only role he was really known for at the time - is worth the price of admission.
The benefits of discs include being able to fast forward to get beyond those things which you don't like.I never saw a staged version of "Deathtrap", so having these folks in the roles sets a great impression of their careers at the time.
Dyan Cannon is miscast as his wife (she's too smart and clever herself to be passed off as a ditz) and Christopher Reeve (in the middle portion of the film) seems extremely uncomfortable in the role of the better writer.
Michael Caine has received kind of a reputation for taking any role in any movie no matter what the quality or lack of same but he does a good turn in playing Sidney.
The film is based on a play by Ira Levin (who previously wrote Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives) and focuses on Sidney Bruhl; a playwright whose best days are behind him.
Deathtrap is a guaranteed commercial success, and Sidney soon begins hatching a plot of his own; which involves inviting round the amateur scribe, killing him, and then passing Deathtrap off as his own work.Despite all of its clever twists and turns; Deathtrap falls down on one primary element, and that's the characters.
This plan leads to a series of nervous conversations and startling acts all under the watchful eye of a nosy and purportedly psychic neighbor (Worth.)  This is a difficult film to review without giving away certain information that will spoil the story for a first-time viewer.
He has a copy of a play called Deathtrap written by his student Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve).
New York playwright Michael Caine (as Sidney Bruhl) is 46-years-old and fading fast; as the film opens, Mr. Caine's latest play flops on Broadway.
There, Caine and Ms. Cannon discuss a new play called "Deathtrap", written by hunky young Christopher Reeve (as Clifford "Cliff" Anderson), one of Caine's former students.
The couple believe Mr. Reeve's "Deathtrap" is the hit needed to revive Caine's career."The Trap Is Set For A Wickedly Funny Who'll-Do-It." Directed by Sidney Lumet, Ira Levin's long-running Broadway hit doesn't stray too far from its stage origin.
"Deathtrap" is a fun film to watch again; the performances are dead on - but, in hindsight, the greeting Reeve gives Caine at the East Hampton train station should have been simplified to a smiling "Hello." The location isn't really East Hampton, but the windmill and pond look similar.
But, the play was so good, "even a gifted director couldn't ruin it." And, Mr. Lumet doesn't disappoint.******** Deathtrap (3/19/82) Sidney Lumet ~ Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon, Irene Worth.
Playwright Sidney Bruhl (a wonderfully over-the-top Michael Caine) would kill for a hit play.
Weave into this Bruhl's overly hysterical wife (superbly played by Cannon) and a German psychic (a very funny Irene Worth) and you've got yourself a wonderfully funny suspense flick.While not up to "Sleuth" standards, "Deathtrap" is none the less a very capable, twist filled comical suspense ride based on a terrific play by Ira Levin.
The performers are obviously having a field day with the material, with Caine in particular delivering top notch lines with gusto.The film loses a bit of steam midway through and the ending is a lot less satisfying than the hilarious one in the original play but overall "Deathtrap" is solid, well acted and suspenseful fun..
Most noted for its on screen kiss between Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve (which was unfortunately cut from the televised version I saw), this movie has a great deal more to recommend it.Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is a very unhappy man.
I think it showcases what a fine actor he really was, before the unfortunate riding accident cut him short.Here Reeve plays Cliff Anderson, a young writer who had attended a mystery writing seminar put on by the famous playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine).
Very uneven with mediocre performances by Reeves, miscasting of Dyan Cannon,and even Caine, although good, couldn't carry this feeble performance.(Spoilers) Inexplicably, they change the two genuinely scary parts of the movie: the reappearance of "Clifford" both from the first "attempt" and the second attempt at murder.
Even Dyan Cannon - who I normally don't care for - is perfectly cast in a role that exploits her annoyance value as an actress.I'm not sure that comparisons of "Deathtrap" with "Sleuth" - another brilliant stage-to-screen adaptation featuring Michael Caine - are valid, or even fair.
Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Cannon who really likes to scream a lot team up to form the clever twists and the bitingly sarcastic humor.While not really a laugh-out-loud comedy, DEATHTRAP does manage to choke up some black humorous laughs.
FULL OF SPOILERS.This is a pretty fast and enjoyable crime thriller based on Ira Levin's play about two gay playwrights (Caine and Reeve) that plot the murder of one's rich wife (Cannon) to get the property and the insurance.
It will boost the revenues and his own Warhol quotient.Michael Caine is Sidney Bruhl, the megabucks-making playwright whose last four productions bombed and who would like nothing more than to quietly get back to working on a new play, perhaps with Reeve's input, that would redeem his reputation.
Playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) has had a series of flop plays after a huge hit.
Deathtrap is one of those films, by proxy of its stage play roots (both based upon and being a satire of), that not only gets better by the halfway point, it becomes something even more incredible when it focuses on two characters we wouldn't think would be like this together.
Dyan Cannon, too, is quite good, though somewhat overshadowed by her two male co-stars.Deathtrap might be too clever or not clever by half, but I couldn't see that the first time watching the film.
OK, so i like to think myself a somewhat intelligent viewer (who cannot spell)however the end of this movie confused me.It is obvious that the Helga took the idea of deathtrap and made it a successful play, but what happened to Sydney and Clifford?
Everybody is on their toes in this, sort of the murderous "Noises Off!", another comical play about the theater which would later be a movie starring none other than Michael Caine..