- Mass Market Paperback: 112 pages
- Publisher: Viking Pr; Reprint edition (Nov 1982)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140481796
- ISBN-13: 978-0140481792
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.7 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,254,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
What makes this play superb is captured right in the title: "Deathtrap: A Thriller in Two Acts." This is because the thrill of the first act is replaced by a twistedly different thrill in the second act. In Westport, Connecticut, we find playwright Sidney Bruhl and his loving wife Myra. Unfortunately, the well has run dry for Sidney who desperately needs a hit play and come not come up with anything. But then Sidney shows Myra "Deathtrap." It is, he explains, "A thriller in two acts. One set, five characters. A juicy murder in Act One, unexpected developments in Act Two. Sound construction, good dialogue, laughs in the right places. Highly commercial." With that blatant self-description author Ira Levin gives us the first of many nudge-nudge, wink-winks. You see, the only problem with "Deathtrap" is that Sidney did not write the play. It was written by Clifford Anderson, one of the "twerps" from Sidney's playwriting seminar. But maybe Sidney can find a way of making the play his own, even if it is over young Mr. Anderson's dead body.
Of course, Levin has already told us what is going to happen in the play, but as to who will be the victim of the first act's juicy murder, well, that is just the beginning of the fun. After all, there are still two other characters to be met and one of them is a Dutch psychic. "Deathtrap" is a roller-coaster ride that alternately amuses and terrifies, which is exactly what you want from a thriller. Best of all, you never catch up to the twists and turns. If there is a lesson to be learned here, then it is simply that nothing is more dangerous than a good idea.
Format:Paperback
Fantastic. For anyone that has seen the play and could not get enough, having the script seems like never ending fun.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
An absolutely spellbinding play!
23 Jan 1999
Format:Paperback
Having played the part of Clifford Anderson in a local production of Deathtrap, I was fortunate enough to hear the audience's reactions to the plot's twists and turns night in and night out. This show combines terror and humor in a way that really keeps people on the edge of their seat. I very highly recommend this work, and if you have a chance to see it performed live, do so, or if that's not possible, rent the movie. You won't be disappointed!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
An Absolutely Outstanding Play
1 Aug 1998
Format:Paperback
Possibly Ira Levin's best play, this is up there with "Rosemary's Baby." It is a very suspenseful and surprising story of a down-on-his-luck playwright, his wife, and an amateur writer who plays an important role. Filled with plays within plays within plays, countless "heart-in-the-mouth" shocks, and a surprising amount of dark humor, you will never forget this play once you have read it.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
A classic thriller where fiction becomes fact and then . . .
9 April 2002
Format:Paperback
What makes this play superb is captured right in the title: "Deathtrap: A Thriller in Two Acts." This is because the thrill of the first act is replaced by a twistedly different thrill in the second act. In Westport, Connecticut, we find playwright Sidney Bruhl and his loving wife Myra. Unfortunately, the well has run dry for Sidney who desperately needs a hit play and come not come up with anything. But then Sidney shows Myra "Deathtrap." It is, he explains, "A thriller in two acts. One set, five characters. A juicy murder in Act One, unexpected developments in Act Two. Sound construction, good dialogue, laughs in the right places. Highly commercial." With that blatant self-description author Ira Levin gives us the first of many nudge-nudge, wink-winks. You see, the only problem with "Deathtrap" is that Sidney did not write the play. It was written by Clifford Anderson, one of the "twerps" from Sidney's playwriting seminar. But maybe Sidney can find a way of making the play his own, even if it is over young Mr. Anderson's dead body.
Of course, Levin has already told us what is going to happen in the play, but as to who will be the victim of the first act's juicy murder, well, that is just the beginning of the fun. After all, there are still two other characters to be met and one of them is a Dutch psychic. "Deathtrap" is a roller-coaster ride that alternately amuses and terrifies, which is exactly what you want from a thriller. Best of all, you never catch up to the twists and turns. If there is a lesson to be learned here, then it is simply that nothing is more dangerous than a good idea.
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