Dead of Winter
| Dead of Winter | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Arthur Penn |
| Produced by | John Bloomgarden Marc Shmuger |
| Written by | Marc Shmuger Mark Malone |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Richard Einhorn |
| Cinematography | Jan Weincke |
| Edited by | Rick Shaine |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
MGM Entertainment Co. United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,413,427 (USA) |
Dead of Winter is a 1987 American horror thriller film directed by Arthur Penn and is a loose remake of the 1945 film My Name Is Julia Ross. It stars Mary Steenburgen, who plays three roles.
On a snowy night, a woman enters a train station on New Year's Eve to retrieve a satchel full of cash, from a coin-operated storage locker. Later that night, she drives into an empty parking lot, and exits the car to place a call. As she anxiously smokes, she makes a phone call, and tells the other party she'll wait only a few more minutes. After she gets back in her car, a man is seen in the rear-view mirror, in the backseat, unbeknownst to her. When she catches sight of hin, she's strangled, and her left ring finger is removed.
In New York, struggling actress Katie McGovern (Mary Steenburgen) lives in a cramped apartment, with her out-of-work photographer husband, Rob Sweeney (William Russ). Her visiting brother, Roland (Mark Malone), makes the small space even more confining. The couple's behind on rent and other bills, so, Katie feels the pinch to get an acting job which will help them, financially.
Looking through a list of casting calls, Katie circles one: a vaguely-worded description for a lead actress, who must be available immediately, and willing to travel. At the open-call audition, in a room full of other women aspiring for the job, Katie's called in to be interviewd by a Mr. Murray (Roddy McDowall), who hires her immediately.
The pair drive upstate into the midst of a raging snow storm. When they arrive at the secluded home of Dr. Joseph Lewis (Jan Rubeš), he graciously welcomes her. Dr. Lewis is a parapalegic, confined to a wheelchair. He gives her a cursory tour of the house, which features a number of trophies from his hunting days, including 2 massive, stuffed polar bears. Katie asks to use the phone to call Rob, but finds it has no dial tone. Dr. Lewis surmises the storm must've downed the lines, and Mr. Murray would drive her into town in the morning to make her call, if necessary.
Dr. Lewis explains that Katie's been hired to replace Julie Rose, an actress who had a nervous breakdown during a film shoot, and was picked due to her physical resemblance, as the plan is to still utilise the footage shot by Julie, with new footage of Katie.
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Wikipedia