Reflections of Murder

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.^[1] John Badham directed, from Carol Sobieski's script.^[2][3] 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.

Reflections of Murder
Title card
Genre	Horror Thriller Mystery
Based on	She Who Was No More (Celle qui n'était plus) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac
Written by	Carol Sobieski
Directed by	John Badham
Starring	Tuesday Weld Joan Hackett Sam Waterston
Music by	Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Aaron Rosenberg
Cinematography	Mario Tosi
Editor	David Rawlins
Running time	97 minutes
Production companies	ABC Circle Films Aaron Rosenberg/Charles Lederer Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	November 24, 1974 (1974-11-24)

Plot

Claire Elliot is the abused wife of vicious schoolmaster Michael, 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, who 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.

Cast

• Tuesday Weld as Vicky
• Joan Hackett as Claire Elliott
• Sam Waterston as Michael Elliott
• Lucille Benson as Mrs. Turner
• Michael Lerner as Jerry Steele
• R.G. Armstrong as Mr. Turner
• Ed Bernard as Coroner
• William Turner as Mr. Griffiths
• Lance Kerwin as Chip

Remakes

Two more remakes followed. The first was House of Secrets, another made-for-TV adaptation that was broadcast in 1993, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner, Kate Vernon, and Cicely Tyson.^[4] In 1996 Warner Bros. released a theatrical reworking of the material under the title Diabolique, scripted by Don Roos, directed by Jeremiah Chechik, and starring Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, Chazz Palminteri, and Kathy Bates.