Deathtrap

Ira Levin wanted to emulate the genius of Anthony Shaffer’s masterpiece Sleuth. He didn’t (I doubt anyone ever will) but he came close. This play ran on Broadway for 1,793 performances, a record for a comedy-drama. The film version stars Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Cannon. The plot is sufficiently twisty to satisfy the most discerning mystery buff, with several stunning surprises along the way. Like Sleuth, it is a one-set story, taking place in a really neat converted windmill lived in by Caine and Cannon. There was one scene that was very startling at the time, but if you haven’t seen the movie telling about that scene would give away a major plot point, and I don’t feel like raising a spoiler warning, so you’ll just have to find out for yourself. Highly recommended.

Must add, I don’t think I’ll ever get over feeling sad when I see the young, devilishly handsome Chris Reeve. He was one of the first ones on my growing list of gone too soon, which also includes people like Philip Seymour Hoffman, and of course, Robin Williams. At least they all left behind solid bodies of work.