A once great playwright (Michael Caine) is nursing his latest Broadway flop when he receives a script in the mail from an admirer and aspiring writer (Christopher Reeve) who hopes his idol will have the time to glance it over. In a flash of diabolical inspiration, he invites his devotee over in a plot to knock him off and present his play as his own. Working with screenwriter Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Ira Levin's twisty, popular stage production opens up well (perhaps too well) on the screen with a delicious first act followed by a belabored second. Caine, Reeve, and Dyan Cannon are all on point.
** 1/2 out of ****
