History Literature / AKissBeforeDying

* GoldDigger[=/=]SocialClimber: Jonathan. Too the point where he's willing to essentially murder his unborn child because he knows that Dorothy's father will disown her for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy and detail his plans to get his hands on the Carlsson money.

* {{Bookends}}: The film begins with Jonathan as a boy staring out of his window at the Carlsson freight trains passing, obviously fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. It ends with him chasing Ellen on to those same tracks--and being hit by one of those trains.

* RailroadTracksOfDoom: How Jonathan meets his demise.

* GoldDigger[=/=]SocialClimber: Jonathan.

''A Kiss Before Dying'' is a 1953 novel written by Ira Levin. The book is about a young man named Bud Corliss who meets Dorothy Kingship, the daughter of a wealthy copper tycoon. Once she finds out she's pregnant with his child, Bud kills Dorothy and makes it look like a suicide. He then hooks up with Dorothy's sister Ellen. When Ellen finds out that he murdered Dorothy, Bud kills Ellen. He then dates the last of the sisters, Marion. Bud's deception is eventually revealed and falls to his death into a vat of molten copper.

* DeathByIrony: In the 1956 film, Bud perishes when he falls into a copper pit during a visit to the plant while (a) trying to kill Ellen and (b) evade the cops. This was the original ending for the 1991 film, but test audiences hated it, so a an ending was reshot that offered an IronicEcho of the film's beginning--Jonathan is shown as a little boy watching the Carlsson trains going past his house, fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. At the end, in his desperate attempt to kill Ellen after she learns his secret, he chases her onto the train tracks--she's able to get out of the way, while he isn't.

* FinallyFoundTheBody: In the 1991 film, when Patricia Fearing's remains wash up a year after she went missing. Ellen realizes that this is one too many horrifying coincidences and finally begins to seriously suspect Jonathan knows more than he's telling.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Jonathan's murder of the hitchiker and assumption of his identity is based on [[http://unsolved.com/archives/phillip-innes-fraser the murder of Phillip Fraser]]

* CaliforniaDoubling: The 1991 film. While set in Philadelphia and New York City, it was mostly filmed in London.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kiss_before_dying_poster_1956.jpg]]

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Jonathan murders the driver who picks him up while hitchhiking and assumes his identity. It's never seen onscreen, but given (a) what the viewer already knows of Jonathan's murderous personality, and (b) that he's using the man's name and reciting the identical story that the man told him (that he has no relatives, having lost his parents in a plane crash), it's obvious what's happened.

* FinallyFoundTheBody: When Patricia Fearing's remains wash up a year after she went missing. Ellen realizes that this is one too many horrifying coincidences and finally begins to seriously suspect Jonathan knows more than he's telling.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Determined to marry into the Carlsson family, Jonathan decides one sister is as good as the other after killing Dorothy.

''A Kiss Before Dying'' is a 1953 novel written by Ira Levin. The book is about a young man named Bud Corliss who meets Dorothy Kingship, the daughter of a wealthy copper tycoon. Once she finds out she was pregnant with his child, Bud kills Dorothy in order to make it look like a suicide. He then hooks up with Dorothy's sister Ellen. When Ellen finds out that he murdered Dorothy, Bud kills Ellen. He then dates the last of the sisters, Marion. Bud's deception is eventually revealed and falls to his death into a vat of molten copper.

The second, made in 1991, is completely different, though it eliminates the third sister as well. Matt Dillon plays Jonathan Corliss and Creator/SeanYoung plays twins Ellen and Dorothy Carlsson. In this version, Dorothy was killed by Jonathan during the first few minutes of the film, and at the end, Jonathan was run over by a train after Ellen learned the truth.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Jonathan murders the driver who picks him up while hitchhiking and assumes his identity. It's never seen onscreen, but given (a) what the viewer already knows of Jonathan's murderous personality, and (b) that he's using the man's name and reciting the identical story that the man told him--that he has no relatives, having lost his parents in a plane crash, it's obvious what's happened.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Or "they", rather. Jonathan kills everyone--Tommy, Patricia--who can tell Ellen that he's the one Dorothy was dating before she supposedly killed herself and tries to kill Ellen when she finds out everything.

* DeathByIrony: In the 1956 film, Bud perishes when he falls into a copper pit during a visit to the plant while (a) trying to kill Ellen and (b) evade the cops. This was the original ending for the 1991 film, but test audiences hated it, so a an ending was reshoot that offered an IronicEcho of the film's beginning--Jonathan is shown as a little boy watching the Carlsson trains going past his house, fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. At the end, in his desperate attempt to kill Ellen after she learns his secret, he chases her onto the train tracks--she's able to get out of the way, while he isn't.

* ManipulativeBastard: Jonathan, also hands down. It's almost sad that he didn't use his penchant for hard work and genuine intelligence for good, rather than pure evil.

The second, made in 1991, is completely different, though it eliminates the third sister as well. Matt Dillon plays Jonathan Corliss and SeanYoung plays twins Ellen and Dorothy Carlsson. In this version, Dorothy was killed by Jonathan during the first few minutes of the film, and at the end, Jonathan was run over by a train after Ellen learned the truth.

The book has been filmed twice. The first, made in 1956, stars Robert Wagner as Bud, Virginia Leith as Ellen, and JoanneWoodward as Dorothy. This version eliminates the third sister Marion.

* ActingForTwo: Though they're never onscreen together, Sean Young plays Dorothy and her twin sister Ellen.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Jonathan murders the driver who picks him up while hitchhiking and assumes his identity. It's never seen onscreen, but given (a) what the viewer already knows of Jonathan's murderous personality, and (b) that he recites the identical story that the man told him--that he has no relatives, having lost his parents in a plane crash, it's obvious what's happened.
* DeathByIrony: In the 1956 film, Bud perishes when he falls into a copper pit during a visit to the plant while (a) trying to kill Ellen and (b) evade the cops. This was the original ending for the 1991 film, but test audiences hated it, so a an ending was reshot that offered an IronicEcho of the film's beginning--Jonathan is shown as a little boy watching the Carlsson trains going past his house, fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. At the end, in his desperate attempt to kill Ellen after she learns his secret, he chases her onto the train tracks--she's able to get out of the way, while he isn't.

* DeathByIrony: The beginning of the 1991 film shows Jonathan as a little boy watching the Carlsson trains going past his house, fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. At the end, in his desperate attempt to kill Ellen after she learns his secret, he chases her onto the train tracks--she's able to get out of the way, while he isn't.

The second, made in 1991, is completely different. Matt Dillon plays Jonathan Corliss and SeanYoung plays twins Ellen and Dorothy Carlsson. In this version, Dorothy was killed by Jonathan during the first few minutes of the film, and at the end, Jonathan was run over by a train after Ellen learned the truth.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sort of. The beginning of the 1991 film shows Jonathan as a little boy watching the Carlsson trains going past his house, fueling his obsession with marrying into the family. At the end, in his desperate attempt to kill Ellen after she learns his secret, he chases her onto the train tracks--she's able to get out of the way, while he isn't.

* ActingForTwo: Sean Young as twins Ellen and Dorothy, even though they're never onscreen together.