“And then send his little masterpiece off under my own name.”
Why it's great
The line joins murder and theft in one calm breath, which is what makes it chilling.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
He would send the design off under his own name.
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Sidney Plots to Steal a Play, Explained
Deathtrap · 1982
Chapter 3 of 30 · 3'00"
A washed-up playwright reads a young rival's script and jokes that it is "flawless" — then talks, half-seriously, about killing the author and sending the masterpiece out under his own name. His wife keeps steering him toward a less lethal option: collaboration, with a 50-50 split and top billing for him.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:05–0:52
❝ Monologue · 4 lines The Murder Fantasy
47s - 0:54–1:38
❝ Monologue · 6 lines Myra Suggests Collaboration
43s
Sidney Plots to Steal a Play, explained
What happens
Sidney Bruhl and his wife Myra read a play by a young writer, Clifford Anderson. Sidney calls it 'flawless' — which, for him, is a problem. He jokes about killing the author with a mace and publishing the play under his own name. Myra suggests a cleaner plan: collaborate, and split the profit.
What's really going on
The scene is a comedy about envy, and it plays the murder as a running gag. Sidney's first verdict on the rival script is 'It's worse than I thought. It's flawless' — the joke being that quality is the threat. From there he spins out a fantasy of violence ('beat the fat bastard on the head'), then immediately hides behind his own cowardice: 'I am not up to the criminal behavior of a Broadway producer.' Myra supplies the practical answer — collaboration, a 50-50 split, and top billing — which is the plot's real trap in disguise. The scene asks the audience to laugh along while quietly setting up a deathtrap.
Key lines & what they mean
- “And then send his little masterpiece off under my own name.”
- The fantasy's punchline: steal the script and let the world credit Sidney for it, which is the real motive behind the joking.
- “I am not up to the criminal behavior of a Broadway producer.”
- Sidney's self-deprecating excuse: he can imagine murder but claims he lacks the guts to be a real producer.
- “I thought he was finally coming out of the closet.”
- A throwaway joke about a guest who was really just imitating someone else, letting the scene drift into gossip.
- “It's worse than I thought. It's flawless.”
- The verdict on the rival play: it is so good that it is a catastrophe for Sidney.
- “You sure you don't mean who I was?”
- Sidney's bitter aside: praise of him now is really nostalgia for the famous writer he used to be.
Theme
- Ambition — Sidney's envy of a better writer turns into a fantasy of theft and murder, all in the name of reviving his career.
- Dark humor — A murder plot is treated as dinner-table banter, complete with jokes about a mace and blood on the carpet.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level0/5
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Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“I am not up to the criminal behavior of a Broadway producer.”
Why it's great
The joke lands by ranking murder below the morals of a Broadway producer.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
I am not up to that kind of office politics.
“I thought he was finally coming out of the closet.”
Why it's great
A mistaken guess turns idle gossip into a punchline about coming out.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I thought he was finally quitting that job.
“It's worse than I thought. It's flawless.”
Why it's great
It sets up bad news and then turns it into the strongest praise possible.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
The demo is worse than I feared. It is flawless.
“You sure you don't mean who I was?”
Why it's great
A light question exposes the ache of a has-been clinging to past glory.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You sure you don't mean the player I was ten years ago?
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Myra's gentle pitch
Have you thought about collaborating on the play on Deathtrap? If it's as good as you say it is... It wouldn't hurt if it got some of that Sidney Bruhl polish and pizzazz. What do you think, my darling darling? Don 't tell me that an absolute amateur wouldn 't be thrilled... At the chance of working with you.
She turns collaboration into a favour, and soft persuasion proves more tempting than any threat.
❝ Sidney's murder fantasy
What I should do is beat the fat bastard on the head... With that mace over there... Burying him in a hole big enough to accommodate his bloat... And then send his little masterpiece off under my own name.
The mace, the hole and the stolen credit roll out as casually as a shopping list.
Up next · 04a god-sent opportunityThe scene: Myra Urges Sidney to Call AndersonTakeaways
What you walk away with- Murder is floated here as casually as a business plan.
- Top billing reveals what Sidney really cares about.
- The psychic talk lets the couple avoid the dangerous subject.
- Dry agreement can be more cutting than open doubt.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Sidney want to kill Clifford Anderson?
Because Clifford's play is better than anything Sidney can write now. Stealing it — even by killing the author — looks like the only way back to success.
What does Myra suggest instead of murder?
Collaboration. She proposes that Sidney polish the play, split the profits 50-50, and take top billing, which becomes the plan the film runs with.
Does Sidney actually plan to murder Clifford?
The talk stays cloaked as a joke here, but the details are specific: a mace, the carpet, burying the body, then publishing the play. The film later turns the joke into the plot.
Who is Helga Ten Dorp?
A Dutch psychic the Bruhls discuss. She is renting a cottage nearby, and Myra says she has told neighbors private details about them.