Deathtrap (1982)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Ira Levin (play)
Jay Presson Allen (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 March 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Join us for an evening of lively fun...and deadly games. [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.

Plot Keywords:

Playwright | Murder | Writing | Deathtrap | Psychic

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

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.	...	The Minister (as Rev. Francis B Creamer Jr.)
Stewart Klein	...	Himself
Jeffrey Lyons	...	Himself
Joel Siegel	...	Himself
Jenny Lumet	...	Stage Newsboy
Jayne Heller	...	Stage Actress
George Peck	...	Stage Actor
Perry Rosen	...	Stage Actor

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Ira Levin		(play)
Jay Presson Allen		(screenplay)

Produced by
Alfred De Liagre Jr.	....	associate producer
Burtt Harris	....	producer
Jay Presson Allen	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Johnny Mandel

Cinematography by
Andrzej Bartkowiak		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Fitzstephens		(as John J. Fitzstephens)

Production Design by
Tony Walton

Art Direction by
Edward Pisoni

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.

Costume Design by
Tony Walton

Makeup Department
Colleen Callaghan	....	hair stylist (as Coleen Callaghan)
Joseph Cranzano	....	makeup artist (as Joe Cranzano)
Tony Lloyd	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	unit manager
Jennifer Ogden	....	unit production manager (as Jennifer M. Ogden)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Burtt Harris	....	first assistant director
Mark McGann	....	second assistant director
Duncan Scott	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.	....	props (as Joseph Caracciolo Jr.)
George DeTitta Jr.	....	set dresser
Edward Garzero	....	scenic artist
John Oates Jr.	....	prop master (as John Oates)
Carlos Quiles	....	construction foreman (as Carlos Quiles Sr.)
Joe Williams Sr.	....	construction grip
Richard Shelton	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Al Nahmias	....	sound editor
James Sabat	....	sound mixer
Louis Sabat	....	boom operator
Rick Shaine	....	sound editor
Jess Soraci	....	sound editor
Mel Zelniker	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bran Ferren	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Von Deming	....	stunts (uncredited)
Andy Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Donna Garrett	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Garrett Brown	....	Steadicam operator
Louis Goldman	....	stillman
Michael Green	....	second assistant cameraman
Dave McClean	....	rig electrician
Richard Reis	....	assistant cameraman
William H. Steiner	....	camera operator (as William Steiner)
Louis S. Toth Jr.	....	dolly grip (as Louis Toth)
Dusty Wallace	....	gaffer
Robert Ward	....	key grip (as Bobby Ward)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marilyn Bishop	....	wardrobe
Dona Granata	....	assistant: Mr. Walton
Ron Knopf	....	wardrobe
James Roberts	....	wardrobe (as Jim Roberts)

Editorial Department
Andrew Mondshein	....	assistant editor (as Andrew S. Federman)

Music Department
Angela Morley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Michael Fennell	....	transportation captain (as Michael J. Fennell)

Other crew
Alfred De Liagre Jr.	....	stage producer (as Alfred de Liagre Jr.)
Lilith Jacobs	....	assistant: Mr. Lumet
Gabrielle Kelly	....	assistant: Mrs. Allen
Ellen Levene	....	unit publicist
Martha Pinson	....	script supervisor
Randee Lois Smith	....	production office coordinator
Roger L. Stevens	....	stage producer

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures A TimeWarner Company)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia-EMI-Warner (1982) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1986) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1984) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Michael Sporn Animation  titles
• Panavision  lenses and Panaflex camera

Also Known As:

Ira Levin's Deathtrap (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:PG | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Victor Garber was nominated for the 1978 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actor in a Drama for "Deathtrap" as Clifford Anderson.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Frasier: Deathtrap (#9.19)" (2002)

An excellent mystery movie soaked in wit

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.