Rehearsal for Murder (1982)

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-