Michael Сaine’s 1982 Mystery Thriller Is Now Streaming for Free
The dark comedy was a box office flop, but got a chance to redeem its reputation more than 40 years later.
In the world of paid streaming services, Tubi has been the one that probably saved many of its users from an unnecessary waste, but the streaming platform isn’t the only one to grant the audience with free movies and shows.
As Variety reported recently, Warner Bros. also has some big offerings for movie lovers to enjoy completely off charge on the company’s Classics YouTube channel, and a dark comedy thriller with Michael Сaine in the leading role has just been added to the collection.
The movie in question also stars another DC vet Christopher Reeve and, despite its financial failures in the box office, remains a solid watch for fans of either of the actors.
Deathtrap Is Now Available for Streaming on YouTube
The film, directed by Sidney Lumet, joins an already vast collection of 30 movies helmed by Warner Bros. and from now on can be found on YouTube.
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Released back in 1982, the flick is based on Ira Levin’s 1978 play of the same name and follows Сaine’s Sidney Bruhl, a once-successful playwright whose new written work for Broadway is about to turn into a major failure and demolish Bruhl’s career once and for all.
A life-saving solution suddenly comes to his mind when Bruhl gets a message from his former student Clifford Anderson, receiving a package with a yet unproduced script which even looks better than anything Bruhl has ever come up with himself.
Desperate to save his career, he decides to invite Clifford to his country house where he would kill the latter and take the script as his own.
Deathtrap Got Critical Acclaim, but Not Box Office Success
Praised for its compelling plot and powerful performances, the movie became a critical darling, securing scores of 74% and 70% from critics and viewers respectively on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the audiences’ mostly favorable reviews weren’t enough for Deathtrap to break even, leaving the flick with only $19 million earned against the initial budget of $10 million.
Additionally, Deathtrap wasn’t really a good watch experience for Roger Ebert who gave it only 3 stars out of 5, which is probably the reason why the film didn’t get that much attention in the theatres after all. More than 40 years later, it might get another chance to shine.