Death of a Saleswoman (2005)

User Rating:

3.4/10   

Director:

Donna Wheeler

Writer:

Donna Wheeler (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

6 housewives. 1 dead body. A trunk full of plastic storage wear.

Plot:

Saleswoman Agatha J. Ruby was brutally beaten and shot on her morning jog by an unknown assailant. Over...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Cynthia Mann	...	Sally Simpson-Kanger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Samuel Adams	...	Ron Kanger
Darrell Bryan	...	Elmer Lundman
Gabrielle Burton	...	Zydie Rimbauld
Maria Burton	...	Mildred Swain
Ursula Burton	...	June Bass
Jake Chapman	...	Elias Ruby
Victoria Charters	...	Mayor Delta Tripp
Jenna Davis	...	Det. Erica Erickson
Katie Dawson	...	Ginger Lundman
Alicia Gallagher	...	Kay Gooch
Jay Gibson	...	Jelby Gritts
Mary Harris	...	Ranger Mary Green
Shayna Hill	...	Hillary Dunlevy
Kim Hopkins	...	Det. Wild Bill
Mike Hughes	...	Ben Heft
Jim Jenkins	...	Bert Swain
Ed Keaveny	...	Fred Ruby
Steve Kemp	...	Hooded figure
Charlie Kranz	...	Special Agent Reed Elvin
Brian Lally	...	Jersey Jenkins
Katherine Lessner	...	Connie Eagle (as Kathy Lessner)
David Madera	...	Kelton Bass
Brenda Malley	...	Stg. Charlie
Mark McCracken	...	Abel Gunk
Anthony Meindl	...	Ethan Capperlog
Justin Melvey	...	Geyer O'Brian
Gary O'Brien	...	Partygoer (as Gary O'Brien)
Melissa Papp	...	Agatha (Swain) Ruby
Courtney Pennington	...	Floreanna Ruby
Don Richardson	...	Det. Smitty Smith
Marci Simon	...	Dot Capperlog

Runtime:

USA:77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Filming Locations:

Angeles National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Girl Next Door Productions

Movie Connections:

References Death of a Salesman (1951)

A good low-budget Donna Reed black comedy

Death of a Saleswoman played at the Kansas International Film Festival on Sep 18, 2006 in Kansas City. The writer-director, Donna Wheeler was in attendance and gave a Q&A after the film.

Death of a Saleswoman is about the murder (and over six thousand dollars worth of plastic storage ware stolen from her trunk) of Agatha Ruby, the top seller and regional sales manager of plastic storage (not Tupperware).

The movie is a Donna Reed black comedy of obsession and envy in a small town. One really nice aspect of the film was nearly every single person in the small town was a suspect (one of my favorite scenes was the last one where the town population was carefully changed from 200 to 199).

The cast was very good for a ultra-low budget film. Several actors I've seen on network television (Friends, ER, Law & Order).

The Director, Donna Wheeler mentioned all of the flashbacks were shot in B&W while everything else was in color. The photography wasn't really that great and the lighting was a problem but you have to expect things like that with low-budget films (think of all the low-grade horror films you've seen). I think the lead (the murder victim) Melissa Papp has a future in movies. She is extremely pretty and has IT (whatever IT is). Her personality really shines through and her face can really show what her character is feeling. I'm going to look for other stuff she's been in.

Who actually did it doesn't matter so don't spend time in the movie trying to figure out who killed her and stole all of the plastic ware. Just enjoy all of the twisted motivations in this small town and the outsider cops trying to piece everything together.

No it's not a great film but I liked it. Well worth a rental if it every hits NetFlixs.