Rehearsal for Murder (1982)

★ 6.1 1h 36m 17 votes IMDb
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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.

Rehearsal for Murder

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Cast

Robert Preston
Robert Preston as Alex Dennison Died 1987 · Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA Robert Preston (June 8, 1918 – March 21, 1987) was an American stage and film actor and singer, best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson and originating the role of Professor Ha...
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave as Monica Welles Died 2010 · London, England, UK Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee as David Mathews Died 2015 · Paddington, London, England, UK Patrick Macnee was an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers (1961-1969)..
Lawrence Pressman
Lawrence Pressman as Lloyd Andrews Age 86 · Cynthiana, Kentucky, USA Lawrence Pressman was born on July 10, 1939 in Cynthiana, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for 9 to 5 (1980), American Pie (1999) and Shaft (1971)..
William Russ
William Russ as Frank Heller Age 75 · Portsmouth, Virginia, USA Handsome 6-foot-1 European-American businessman, entrepreneur, actor and television director. William Russ was born on October 20, 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA as William Hardy Russ IV. He is kn...
Madolyn Smith Osborne
Madolyn Smith Osborne as Karen Daniels Age 69 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Madolyn Smith Osborne (born January 1, 1957, Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American actress. Madolyn Smith Osborne may be best-known for her roles in the TV miniseries If Tomorrow Comes and the feat...

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 6/10 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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