A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

***A Kiss Before Dying*** is a 1991 erotic thriller film directed by James Dearden, and based on Ira Levin's novel of the same name, which won the 1954 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The drama features Matt Dillon, Sean Young, Max von Sydow, and Diane Ladd. The story had been previously adapted under the same name in 1956.

## Plot:

A copper refinery owned by Thor Carlsson (Max von Sydow) ships metal on Carlsson Copper trains, watched by a young boy from his home beside the tracks.

Decades later in 1987, at the University of Pennsylvania, Dorothy Carlsson (Sean Young) doodles her wedding. Changing into a formal outfit, she runs into her friend Patricia Farren (Martha Gehman), but denies she is meeting her "mystery man".

Dorothy meets Jonathan Corliss (Matt Dillon) at city hall. Finding the marriage license bureau closed for lunch, they discuss how Dorothy’s father would disown her if he knew what she was doing. Convincing Dorothy to wait on the building’s roof, Jonathan throws her over the edge, taking her cigarette lighter. Mailing a letter in the lobby, he calmly walks past her body as a crowd gathers.

Thor and his daughter Ellen (also played by Sean Young), Dorothy's twin, are shocked to learn Dorothy was pregnant, and read what appears to be her suicide note, mailed the day she died. Ellen cannot believe her sister would kill herself. Jonathan returns to his working class home in Pittsburgh with clippings about the Carlsson family, particularly the suicides of Thor's wife and son. Promising his mother to make something of his life, Jonathan hitchhikes to New York, accepting a ride from Jay Faraday (Adam Horovitz), a bohemian drifter whose parents died on Korean Air Lines Flight 007.

Four months later, Ellen is working at Castle House, a shelter and outreach program. Investigating Dorothy's death, Ellen meets Detective Dan Corelli (James Russo) in Philadelphia. Showing him the drawing Dorothy made of her wedding, dated the day of her death, and noting she died outside the marriage license bureau, Ellen suggests Dorothy was lured with the promise of marriage and killed by a boyfriend, but Corelli dismisses her theory.

Ellen goes to campus, where Patricia reveals Dorothy was dating someone. Ellen finds Dorothy's ex-boyfriend Tommy Roussell (Ben Browder), who explains he had a breakdown after his relationship with Dorothy and was out of school when she died. Remembering she then dated another student, Tommy takes Ellen to his apartment to show her the man’s yearbook photo. Ellen waits outside, while Jonathan stalks her in his car. Tommy finds Jonathan's photo, but Jonathan strangles him and types a suicide note on Tommy’s computer admitting to killing Dorothy, and stages his suicide. Ellen is left convinced that Tommy killed Dorothy.

Ellen returns home to New York, and her boyfriend arrives – Jonathan, who has assumed Jay Faraday’s identity. Their relationship develops, working together at Castle House, and “Jay” impresses Thor with his ambition. Ellen and Jay marry, and he joins Carlsson Copper. Intercepting a call from Patricia, heading to New York after remembering the identity of Dorothy's boyfriend, Jay arranges for Patricia to wait in her hotel room for a call from Ellen the next day. There, he strangles Patricia, dismembering her in the bathtub and stuffing her corpse in a suitcase before going out on a date with Ellen. After driving her home, he dumps the suitcase in the East River.

A police detective investigating Patricia’s disappearance informs Ellen that her name and number were in Patricia’s diary. Suspicious, Ellen confirms with Tommy's parents that he was institutionalized at the time of Dorothy's death. Ellen asks Corelli to reopen the investigation, with no results.

At a bar with Ellen, Jay is recognized as Jonathan Corliss by an acquaintance from Philadelphia but insists he is mistaken, eventually hitting him. Unsettled, Ellen digs up a UPenn yearbook and finds a picture of Jonathan. She tracks down Jonathan's mother, who says that Jonathan had committed suicide three years earlier, though his body was never found. Visiting her in the house where he grew up, Ellen learns about his childhood. His mother leaves, and Ellen sneaks inside to search Jonathan's room, finding his suitcase of clippings about her family and her sister's lighter. Jonathan, having followed her, confesses that he killed Faraday and assumed his identity. He schemed to marry into the Carlsson lineage, but Dorothy’s unplanned pregnancy meant she would be disinherited. Jonathan prepares to strangle Ellen, who escapes from the house to the train tracks. Giving chase, Jonathan is run over by a Carlsson train, at the same spot he watched the trains pass as a child.

## Cast:

* Matt Dillon as Jonathan Corliss
* Sean Young as Ellen/Dorothy Carlsson
* Max von Sydow as Thor Carlsson
* Diane Ladd as Mrs. Corliss
* James Russo as Dan Corelli
* Ben Browder as Tommy Roussell
* Martha Gehman as Patricia Farren
* Jim Fyfe as Terry Dieter
* Lachele Carl as Reporter
* Shane Rimmer as Commissioner Malley
* Adam Horovitz as Jay Faraday