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Differences between Book and Movie *Spoilers*


**Spoilers**


These were the main differences I noticed between the book and the movie. The book is excellent, by the way.

In the book, we have no idea what Dorothy's killer/boyfriends identity is until about halfway. He is never referred to by name.

In the movie, Dorrie's pills are for a stomach ache & then "prenatal vitamins." In the book they were to try to cause an abortion. The 1st set of pills Dorrie agrees to take but they do not work. The 2nd set (which were the arsenic) he convinced her to take but didn't because, at that point, she was so happy with the thought of marrying her boyfriend.

Bud was obsessed with the thought of marrying into money. He'd been obsessed with Kingship Cooper for years (hence, in the movie you see him clutching the Kingship Cooper pamphlets.)

In the book there were 3 sisters- Dorothy, Ellen and Marion. After Dorothy was killed Bud transferred schools and hooked up with Ellen. When she wants to investigate Dorothy's 'suicide' she corresponds with Bud (but we have no idea who this 'Bud' is, presumably a close friend.) She suspects Gordon Gant (a local disc jockey whom she comes to befriend) and Dwight Powell (a soda jerk.)
She faux dates Dwight Powell because she believes him to be the one who killed Dorothy. He convinces her otherwise, just like in the movie. After Bud kills Dwight, Ellen runs upstairs and sees Bud with the gun. He said "I had to follow you to make sure you were safe and Dwight was planning to kill you because you found out about Dorothy but I got the gun from him..." (something like that.) He and Ellen drive off and Ellen wants to go to the police and explain. Bud kills Ellen after telling her the whole story.

Bud then gets with Marion as his last shot of marrying into Kingship Cooper. Gordon Gant comes back into the picture, just before the wedding and exposes Bud. With evidence, Marion and Leo Kingship are convinced. They all drive out to the Cooper mine factory and after a showdown where Bud is forced to admit everything, Bud falls from the catwalk and meets his death.

The book ends with them coming back and Buds mother asking "Where's Bud?"

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Wow, thanks a lot for the info!!! Sounds like a great book!!!!!!!!!









Why So Serious?

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The book is good - like most of Levin's work, a tight little read with twists along the way.

I also saw the original after seeing the 1991 remake and the original is better because it has no pretensions. I think the 1991 version is awful; Robert Wagner is far more sinister than Matt Dillon could ever be.


"...truth against the world..." - attributed to Boudicca of the Iceni

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Totally agree. And I've loved the book for years. Not as famous as Rosemary's Baby or The Stepford Wives, but I still always loved it. Too bad it's pretty much impossible to make a completely faithful adaptation of the novel (how could we not know who Dorrie's murderer is?)

If you want to see a truly bizarre version, check out the Bollywood film Baazigar. Shah Rukh Khan plays the murderer, but despite killing a couple innocent people, he's really a very nice guy who loves to sing and dance. (I'm not joking.) Leave it to India to turn A Kiss Before Dying into a musical.

I don't care about money. I just want to be wonderful. - Marilyn Monroe

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I've got to see that one.

"...truth against the world..." - attributed to Boudicca of the Iceni

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AKBD is probably my favorite book. I've read it when I was 12 maybe, and I'm still in love with it (I'm 23 now).
I think both versions never made real justice to the book. I just don't understand why they always exclude the third sister Marion. I remember reading the book and feeling a great agony when Ellen's investigations failed, she was killed by Bud, and the he moved to Marion.

As for Matt Dillon, he was ok as Bud (they changed his name to Jonathan in the 91 version), the one that really stinks is Sean Young. She's incredibly beautiful, but a terrible actress. And they changed the story so much in that version that I really felt depressed when it was over.
This version is much better, but I also felt a hole in my stomach when it was over, like, a lot of the book was missing.
Maybe someday, a third adaptation will make justice to Ira Levin's masterpiece.

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Love love love the book!

<< AKBD is probably my favorite book...I just don't understand why they always exclude the third sister Marion. I remember reading the book and feeling a great agony when Ellen's investigations failed, she was killed by Bud, and then he moved to Marion. >>

I think it has to do with the convention of movie-making. It's difficult to break off the audience's attention and investment in the characters that much. The way it is in this version, it's okay, because the first part in one girl, then you meet a second girl after her murder who's trying to solve it. But for the audience to meet the supposed female lead character and see her die, meet and follow another girl and see her die, then meet a third girl and pick up her story is basically too "all over the place" for your average audience to stick with. It would work for a mini series or something with more time...but is hard to pull off in 90 minutes or two hours.

Marion (who's a borderline spinster) is a great character because you see her come out of her shell and start to trust, then she gets betrayed. Also Dorothy is sweeter in the book, because she's more euphoric than miserable (like Joanne Woodward seems.) And Ellen is neat because she's very quick and brave and sharp, like a Nancy Drew who's willing to make out with strangers to uncover the truth. All the movie versions flatten the characters out : (

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It first came out years ago. I've read it three times.

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It was the first Ira Levin I ever read. A great psychological thriller which made me his greatest fan.

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Too bad Marion is not in either movie. If would have made for a more interesting film.

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The sad thing about Marion is that she's the oldest, so was most affected by her mother's death. (The two other sisters were too young to remember her well.) And she's estranged from her brusque father. And when she meets Bud (who has saught her out) she can't believe someone that goodlooking would be interested in her.

So she's quite SHAKEN when she finds out he's only after her money, after all, just as her father warned her. BUT...there's also the implication in the book that she'll end up with Gordon Gant, the college student who investigates Bud after the middle sister is killed. (He once dated her, and was a suspect in her death, as well.) Gordon spends a lot of time with Marion and her father leading up to the exposure -- and death -- of Bud, and you get that the family has come to trust and appreciate him.

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Yes, eliminating the middle sister was a flaw. However, I don't see how this could have been portrayed on the screen once the audience has already seen the killer.

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