A Kiss Before Dying
Short description
Jonathan Corliss, a college student from a modest background, is determined to marry into wealth and sets his sights on Dorothy Carlsson, the daughter of a powerful industrialist. When Dorothy becomes pregnant and fears her father will cut her off, Jonathan kills her and arranges the scene to look like a suicide. He then turns his attention to Dorothy's twin sister, Ellen, who did not know him and who refuses to accept that her sister took her own life. As Ellen looks into the death, Jonathan works to keep his secret buried.
The film is a crime mystery thriller directed by James Dearden, who also wrote the screenplay; it is the first of the two features he directed, ahead of Rogue Trader in 1999. Matt Dillon plays Jonathan, with Sean Young in the dual roles of the twins, Max von Sydow as Thor Carlsson, Diane Ladd, James Russo and Adam Horovitz among the credited cast of 31. Produced by Robert Lawrence for Universal Pictures with Initial Pictures and Kellgate Limited, it runs 95 minutes and was released in April 1991.
It took about 15 million dollars worldwide. Audience scores are low and close to each other, at 5.7 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 6,400 votes and 5.6 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller number of votes, while the critics' rating stands at 4 out of 10 from 13 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Matt Dillon was the third choice on director James Dirden’s list for the lead role. Initially, Dirden wanted River Phoenix (1970-1993) for the part, but he declined to play the character. Dirden then turned to Kiefer Sutherland, but he was unavailable. Ultimately, the role went to Dillon, and his performance impressed Dirden so much that he once said he should have cast Dillon from the start.
- When it became clear that Bridget Fonda was busy with other projects, Sean Young was cast in her place.
- Initially, the ending was filmed at a copper factory, where Jonathan falls into a vat of molten copper, as described in Ira Levin’s (1929-2007) book. However, due to audience reactions at previews, the ending was reshot to show him being hit by a train in his hometown of Pittsburgh.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
