MovieChat Forums > Deathtrap (1982) Discussion > What would Sidney and Clifford do if the...

What would Sidney and Clifford do if there was no heart attack?

posted 9 years ago by Edward_de_Vere
5 replies | jump to latest

Sidney and Clifford's plan basically required Myra to be scared into having a fatal heart attack. I wonder what their strategy would have been if Myra did not die, assuming they thought through some sort of backup plan? Their options for plan B:

1. Kill Myra outright with any means handy - in which case they don't have the advantage of having it look like death by natural causes, and they'd have a lot of explaining to do as to why she's disappeared (assuming they could conceal the body successfully).

2. Play dumb with Myra and say that it was just an over the top rehearsal for one of Sidney's plays, or try to laugh it off as a bad gag gone wrong.

[–] Danespina 9 years ago

Interesting question. I don't think they'd kill her through non 'natural' causes. Too risky. Maybe they'd have to figure out some other way to terrify her?

[–] Edward_de_Vere 9 years ago

Interesting question. I don't think they'd kill her through non 'natural' causes. Too risky. Maybe they'd have to figure out some other way to terrify her?

Killing her outright would be very risky. But leaving her alive after having seen their would have been risky as well, since even Myra wasn't stupid enough to fall for an "it was just a bad joke" excuse, and she would immediately suspect that they were plotting something.

[–] cheapfrill 9 years ago

Agreed... big problem. And actually witnessing her husband murder a man didn't scare her enough?

[–] Edward_de_Vere 8 years ago

And actually witnessing her husband murder a man didn't scare her enough?

They were probably hoping that the first "murder" would have been enough to induce a heart attack, and when it didn't work, I'm sure that because of this, Sidney and Clifford were concerned that the whole plan would fall apart even when it escalated with Clifford's later "attack" on Sidney.

[–] snelling 8 years ago

They probably had more and more elevated plans of terror each time Myra possibly survived. Notice how many times Sidney had to ask Myra to go to the window before Cliff attacked.

"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Sim--" - Frank Grimes