''Deadly Illusion'' is a 1987

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Black Caesar (film), Black Caesar'' and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becomin ...

and William Tannen. It stars

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...

, and Morgan Fairchild.

Plot

Hamberger is a freelance private eye without a license and without a car, who hangs out at delis looking for potential work. He is approached by a businessman claiming to be Alex Burton who offers him $100,000 to kill his wife Sharon who knows too much about his business dealings. Hamberger accepts a down payment of $25,000 but instead decides to inform Sharon of the plot and helps her flee by plane. Nevertheless Mrs. Burton is soon found shot dead in the house with Hamberger's fingerprints all around the crime scene. After escaping from Detective Lefferts at his apartment Hamberger confronts the businessman at a party. The man attacks him with a scythe and Hamberger throws him out a window. The party guests inform Hamberger that the man was not Mr. Burton at all so Hamberger returns to his apartment where he explains the situation to Detective Lefferts and is taken to view the body of Sharon Burton, who is not the woman he met either. Hamberger uncovers a heroin distribution operation through a link to a modeling agency and seeks to find the real killer before the police take him in for a crime he did not commit. The film ends in a final armed showdown at

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

as Hamberger *

as Rina * Morgan Fairchild as Jane Mallory / Sharon Burton * John Beck as Alex Burton * Dennis Hallahan as Alex Burton Impostor * Joseph Cortese as Detective Paul Lefferts * Joe Spinell as Hitman (as Joe Spinnel)

Production

Filming took place at

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and at

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Release

''Deadly Illusion'' premiered in the United States on October 16, 1987, and in the Philippines on July 6, 1988.

References

External links

* * {{Larry Cohen 1987 films 1987 action films 1987 crime thriller films American crime thriller films American detective films CineTel Films films Films about the illegal drug trade Films directed by Larry Cohen Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Larry Cohen Films scored by Patrick Gleeson 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language crime thriller films English-language action films