X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Playing Dead

James Blagwin leads the life of the country-club sophisticate until his wife Jeanne succumbs to the influences of Proctor Maddox, a socialist agitator and self-proclaimed champion of women's rights. Jeanne turns away from her husband to follow Maddox, and James, recognizing her change of heart, but loving her no less, concocts a scheme whereby she can marry Maddox without the shame of a divorce. Faking the symptoms of glaucoma, he procures a doctor's diagnosis, then writes Jeanne a letter explaining his desire to end his life and leave her his estate. After devising a phony steamship drowning, James books passage to Germany under another identity only to discover that his will cannot be located. Remembering that he stuck it in a book, he disguises himself as a burglar, breaks into his own home and is "caught" by Jeanne. Full of remorse and new-found love, Jeanne reunites with James.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Sidney Drew
James Blagwin
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Jeanne Blagwin
Donald Hall
Proctor Maddox

You May Also Like See All

Three Colors: Red
Boyhood
Vertigo
Tokyo Story

Popular Movies See all movies

That Thing You Do!

1 hr 48 mins
A Pennsylvania band scores a hit in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as it can, with lots of help from its manager.
71   Metascore
1996 Comedy, Drama, Music

Blue Film

1 hr 22 mins
Fetish camboy Aaron Eagle agrees to spend the night with an anonymous client, only to discover a disturbing tie to his past.
2025 Drama

Elemental

1 hr 41 mins
Set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together, Elemental introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.
58   Metascore
2023 Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Drama

Tombstone

2 hr 10 mins
In 1879, Wyatt Earp and his family arrive in the violent town of Tombstone with the intention of running a bar. But Earp is elected sheriff of the place and will have to face the Clantons, a gang that intends to dominate the town.
50   Metascore
1993 Documentary, Drama, Action & Adventure

The Kitchen

1 hr 42 mins
The wives of New York gangsters in Hell's Kitchen in the 1970s continue to operate their husbands' rackets after they're locked up in prison.
35   Metascore
2019 Action & Adventure, Suspense, Drama

Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story

1 hr 25 mins
While he's out fishing with his Mennonite friend Jeremiah Peters on the morning of 2 June, Amish Eli Weaver receives a message via a call to Jeremiah's cell phone that Eli's wife, 29-year-old Barbara Weaver, has been found shot dead in their bed. While the Amish elders want to deal with the issue solely within their community, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department is forced to investigate in the murder having taken place in their jurisdiction, the two investigators being Detectives Bruce London and Mike Maxwell. What is subsequently shown is the current investigation interspersed with flashbacks of Eli and Barbara's life, which Eli admits to the investigators was not always perfect. Those flashbacks show that prior to their marriage, Barbara wanted to marry for romantic love, which is not the Amish way. Eli seemingly wanted the same; he was the black sheep of his family in not always adhering to Amish strictures. London and Maxwell have their theories of who the murderer is; they suspect Eli, who isn't reacting like a typical grieving husband and father, but they know they'll have problems finding evidence because the Amish Eli will have no digital footprint; and the community's sole telephone is a public one for emergencies, usable by anyone. They hope that the unofficial traditional Amish communication network, rampant gossip, will provide some clues. They find that some talk emerges in the form of a collection of women not in the community who were a part of Eli's secret life as the Amish Stud.
2023 Documentary, Suspense, Drama