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Rehearsal for Murder

"Where the curtain comes up on Terror"

A year after his fiancée's death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.

Top Cast

  • Robert Preston

    Robert Preston

    Alex Dennison

  • Lynn Redgrave

    Lynn Redgrave

    Monica Welles

  • Patrick Macnee

    Patrick Macnee

    David Mathews

  • Lawrence Pressman

    Lawrence Pressman

    Lloyd Andrews

  • William Russ

    William Russ

    Frank Heller

  • Madolyn Smith Osborne

    Madolyn Smith Osborne

    Karen Daniels

  • Jeff Goldblum

    Jeff Goldblum

    Leo Gibbs

  • William Daniels

    William Daniels

    Walter Lamb

  • John Finnegan

    John Finnegan

    Damon

Overview

A year after his fiancée's death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.

Rating

6.1 / 10
18 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • Wuchak
    Wuchak
    6 Nov 13, 2025

    **_A playwright stages a play to flush out the murderer of his fiancé_** This was released to TV in the spring of 1982 and made into a play the next year for regional & community theaters in which it skyrocketed into popularity (with school plays later being based on it). The plot is reminiscent of the 1966 Gilligan’s Island episode “Not Guilty” in which the castaways reenact events in Hawaii just prior to their tour in the SS Minnow to determine which of them murdered Randolph Blake. Of course, this movie is a serious whodunit and not a goofy comedy but, nevertheless, the similarities are there. To appreciate it, you have to roll with the contrived nature of the story. It’s something that would never happen in real life. So, just enjoy the dialogue-driven dramatics carried by Robert Preston’s charisma. Statuesque brunette Madolyn Smith is jaw-dropping on the feminine front and it’s interesting seeing Jeff Goldblum in his youth, four years before his breakout with “The Fly.” It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes. GRADE: B-

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