the trick to create a good and solid mystery story be as much a matter of timing a it about plot contrivance and colorful character or surprising twist . anyone who have ever labor in frustration with an un finishable sunday new york time crossword know that any puzzle that take too long to solve cease to be any fun . the best murder mystery and be they on film or in print and be slight affair that get to the point and spell out their clue and line up their suspect and and hopefully and zap u with a few surprise while be complicate without be unduly confuse . and they play fair while on second and third and fourth viewing of the clue and red herring we should be just as pleased to marvel at how well it all come together a we be at be surprise in the first place . indeed and good thriller should get good on repeated viewing a we anticipate the double and triple cross . sidney lumet comedy thriller deathtrap and a derive from ira levin hit broadway play and be a great example . it move along at a tidy clip and skillfully juggle it clue and be ( almost ) totally honest with u ( even when it be lie to u ) and yet never reveal where it be go ( even when it be tell u where it might go ) . it be less a murder mystery movie in the traditional vane than it be a movie about murder mystery and derive from a play about playwriting . rather than go backward a murder and then an investigation to explain why everything happen deathtrap lead u through the crime ( s ) step by step and leave ample room for the unexpected while a the ad advise it be less a whodunit than a who willdoit . deathtrap be often compare ( unfavorably and oddly enough ) to the play and movie version of sleuth and though in reality it have much more in common with scream and the self mock essay on teeny bopper horror flick . like that clever film and deathtrap label itself ( a thriller about thriller ) and set it parameters ( a one set and five character moneymaker ) and then proceeds to deconstruct it genre by reveal itself a the most outlandish and preposterous set of circumstance entertain enough to persuade an audience to suspend it disbelief . deathtrap bravely give u a mystery with only five major character and two of which be of minimum importance . henry jones a a cagey lawyer be on hand mostly for exposition ( and to supply u with his penchant for folksy charm ) and irene worth be all quirk and comic relief a a psychic cum sleuth who act a the nominal detective . that leave three main character to be the killer ( s ) and or or the victim ( s ) represent it be a testament to michael caine ability that a sidney bruhl and a down on his luck author of mystery play and he create a character who we intrinsically like and trust and even a we recognize immediately that almost everything he say be a lie . a his adoring and if somewhat ditzy wife and myra and dyan canon flirt with be over the top by give a roller coaster ride of a performance with a character that by turn seem to be frail or overbear and crafty or hysterical and timid or bold and uncompromisingly in love with a less than reciprocate sidney . the third angle of this unexpected triangle be a fledgling playwright name clifford anderson play by christopher reeve in such a way that we never quite get a handle on just who his character be represent enthusiastic preppie wannabe writer and semi innocent victim or cunningly charming sociopath . a the various character dance around each other and the cleverly dour script adapt by ace scribe jay presson allen manage to be consistently amuse and even a it build suspense . and even after the final twist ( an improvement over the play finale ) and it may not be quite clear just who have manipulate who to do what . lumet be by no mean a master of comedy and so he let his able cast have free reign to flesh out the character and they all give sharp and theatrical and yet subtle work and with reeve be particularly noteworthy . but what lumet do so well be to work skillfully in tight quarter . a he do brilliantly in 12 angry men and he take a one set play and and with a minimum of open up and manages to make what could have be cramp and stagy and stagnant seem endlessly photogenic and spacious . the setting and a country home convert from an old windmill and be relatively small and but a design by tony walton it manage to be both cozy and charm and as well a spooky and treacherous . it be so truly difficult to tell where the studio set and the real country house cross boundary that to a degree the set become a sixth character . and a the scene of the crime and it be a most inviting deathtrap indeed .