Deathtrap

Director: Sidney Lumet Sidney Lumet

Overview

Playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is having a tough time coming up with a successful work, but then an admiring young fan (Christopher Reeve) sends him a masterpiece. With the help of his wife (Dyan Cannon), Sidney plans to kill the man and steal his script.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2016
UPC:	0888574445492
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	PG
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	3,301

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michael Caine	Sidney Bruhl
Christopher Reeve	Clifford Anderson
Dyan Cannon	Myra Bruhl
Irene Worth	Helga ten Dorp
Henry Jones	Porter Milgrim
Joe Silver	Seymour Starger
Tony DiBenedetto	Burt, the Bartender
Al LeBreton	Handsome Actor
Francis B. Creamer Jr.	Minister
Stewart Klein	Stewart Klein
Jeffrey Lyons	Jeffrey Lyons
Joel Siegel	Joel Siegel
Jenny Lumet	Stage Newsboy
Jayne Heller	Stage Actress
George Peck	Stage Actor
Perry Rosen	Stage Actor

Technical Credits

Jay Presson Allen

Sidney Lumet	Director
Jay Presson Allen	Executive Producer,Screenwriter
Bran Ferren	Special Effects
Burtt Harris	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Sidney Lumet's cinematic adaptation of Ira Levin's Deathtrap is reminiscent of Sleuth. A great number of plot twists happen to very few characters in more or less a single location. Those that dislike the film will dismiss it as uncinematic, stagy, and talky. Those that admire Deathtrap will describe it as literate, claustrophobic, and tense. Both groups are correct. The film lives and dies on the strength of its performances and the quality of the gasps triggered in the audience from the shocking plot twists. Michael Caine is solid as the blocked mystery writer, Dyan Cannon does a fine hysterical routine, and Christopher Reeve is fiendishly enjoyable playing far against type. The first big surprise works beautifully, but the "big twist" at the end fails to measure up with the power of what came before. Deathtrap works more often than it doesn't, making it an enjoyable if slight experience.