Deathtrap (1982)

Better Late Then Never

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

... and about as much fun as a stale Colombo episode. I don't know about the original play but it appears much too stagey a story to be compelling from the start.From the very sluggish start I think I can point the finger at the adaptation. Deathtrap is utterly boring for about 30-45 minutes. Maybe if I hadn't read the premise I would have been a tad more patient but the setup really wears down the plot in the first act.The twisty second act is no more clever than a routine Agatha Christie whodunit. You are so well trained to think ahead of the characters by then that only the very ending can surprise you. And it is not really a surprise that lifts the lot above the pedestrian level of its trodden murder mystery snail-path.So Deathtrap seems to me as the inopportune adaptation of weak stage material. The cast do their best but they can't make up for the lack of effective tension, resulting mainly from too much direct talk about death and traps.

I am usually more than happy to include spoilers in my reviews. However, this is a film which I so thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it that I would not wish to cheat the unsuspecting viewer out of any of the treats which are in store for him. So let me just offer the briefest synopsis of the set-up: Sidney (Michael Caine) is a successful playwright who has hit such a comprehensive writer's block that his career is pretty much over, although no-one knows this at present. He receives a manuscript from unknown writer Clifford (Christopher Reeve) who is looking for advice. When he discovers that it is brilliant, he begins to ponder how he might manage things so as to get his own name on it as author...Ira Levin's play rightly retains a high level of theatricality, particularly given its subject matter. It is essentially a three hander (the third character being Clifford's wife Myra, played by Dyan Cannon, and the three principals have seldom been better.Most of all, though, the viewer will enjoy the ride as this movie goes in directions which are never anticipated and elicits performances which are completely unexpected.Enjoy!

I've bought certain films on disc even though the second rate presentation wasn't an option. A certain company I won't identify here has put out several pan and scan dvds ("Clean and Sober", "Star 80", and this one, to name just three!) of films I don't think anyone wants to see in this compromised format. Some discs give the viewer a choice of 16x9 or full screen and others are just in their theatrical release 1.66:1 ratio.That off my chest, I'll say "Deathtrap" was a spooky and oddly enough, amusing picture. My only complaints are the tinny score (what IS that f____g instrument that is usually dragged out for films set in 18th century France?) and Dyan Cannon screaming at regular intervals. Couldn't her character have been an asthmatic who grabbed for an inhaler when she was stressed? Minor complaints, both. 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. Before Broadway tickets cost an arm and a leg, the theatre was more affordable to average people. Now, anyone paying less than a king's ransom to get live entertainment probably isn't going to a hit show on the great hyped way.Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve were both large, virile specimens in the early 80s and that's integral to how we'll react to their profession and overall image here. They're definitely not bookish men who can't fight or will back down from an obstacle. The two are equally great as their criminal stubbornness becomes their ultimate "deathtrap".

Ira Levin's Deathtrap is one of those mystery films in the tradition of Sleuth that would be very easy to spoil given any real examination of the plot of the film. Therefore I will be brief in saying it concerns a play, one man who is a famous mystery playwright, another man who is a promising writer, the playwright's wife who is much younger and sexier than the role should have been, and one German psychic along for the ride. Director Sidney Lumet, no stranger to film, is quite good for the most part in creating the tension the film needs to motor on. The dialog is quick, fresh, and witty. Michael Caine excels in roles like these. Christopher Reeve is serviceable and actually grows on you the more you see him act. Irene Worth stands out as the funny psychic. How about Dyan Cannon? Love how Lumet packaged her posterior in those real tight-fitting pants and had her wear possibly the snuggest tops around, but she is terribly miscast in this role - a role which should have been given to an older actress and one certainly less seductive. But why quibble with an obvious attempt to bribe its male viewers when nothing will change it now? Deathtrap is funny, sophisticated, witty, and classy. 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.