Reflections of Murder

Reflections of Murder
Directed by John Badham
Produced by Aaron Rosenberg
Written by Carol Sobieski
Based on Celle qui n'était plus by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac
Starring Tuesday Weld
Joan Hackett
Sam Waterston
Music by Billy Goldenberg
Cinematography Mario Tosi
Edited by David Rawlins
Distributed by American Broadcasting Company
Release dates
November 27, 1974
Running time
100 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Reflections of Murder is a 1974 made-for-TV movie that was produced by ABC. A suspense-thriller film, it is a remake of the classic 1955 French film Les Diaboliques. John Badham directed, from Carol Sobieski's script. The cast was led by Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett and Sam Waterston in the primary roles. Reflections of Murder was released to home video on the VHS format in the 1980s, but has not yet received an official DVD release.

Plot

Claire (Hackett) is the abused wife of vicious schoolmaster Michael (Waterston), who takes great delight in belittling and emotionally abusing her both in public and in private. Michael is also openly carrying on an affair with one of the school's teachers, Vicky (Weld), whom he sometimes physically assaults. Having grown tired of his cruelty, the two women conspire to murder him and stage the act to look like an accident. But after committing the deed his body disappears, and the women begin to fear that someone might be trying to drive them mad.

Remakes

Two more remakes followed. The first was House of Secrets, another made-for-TV adaptation that was broadcast in 1993. In 1996 Warner Bros. released a theatrical reworking of the material under the title Diabolique. This adaptation was scripted by Don Roos and directed by Jeremiah Chechik and starred Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Chazz Palminteri in the lead roles.