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 | Deathtrap | Psychic | Scared To Death

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)
• Argentina Video Home (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• 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)
"Deathtrap" - International (English title) (informal short title)
"Armadilha Mortal" - Brazil, Portugal (imdb display title)
"Piège mortel" - Canada (French title), France
"Dödsfällan" - Sweden
"Dødsfælden" - Denmark
"Das Mörderspiel" - West Germany
"Halálcsapda" - Hungary
"La trampa de la muerte" - Spain
"Moordkuil" - Netherlands (informal literal title)
"Murhaleikki" - Finland
"Smiertelna pulapka" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Thanasimi pagida" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Trampa mortal" - Argentina (imdb display title)
"Trappola mortale" - Italy

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 | Argentina:16 | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

10 Hook Pond Lane, East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The actors on Broadway who played the parts played in the movie by Christopher Reeve (Clifford Anderson) and Dyan Cannon (Myra Bruhl) were nominated for Tony Awards but the part played by Michael Caine (Sidney Bruhl) was not. The Sidney Bruhl character is the central character of this piece but John Wood was not nominated for a Tony Award for playing him on Broadway.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Sidney has the Deathtrap script and threatens to throw it into the fireplace, the fire isn't lit.

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)

Twist upon twist makes an absorbing mystery even better...

Nothing's more enjoyable for me than a who-dun-it or suspense tale that keeps you guessing throughout as to how the whole thing will end. 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. Let's just say that what we know in the beginning is all you have to know about the film for the present. MICHAEL CAINE is an insanely jealous playwright whose latest play has failed miserably. 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.