Four months later, Ellen is working at Castle House, a shelter and outreach program.

Investigating
Dorothy's death, Ellen meets Detective Dan Corelli in Philadelphia. Showing him the drawing
Dorothy made of her wedding, dated the day of her death, and noting she died outside the marriage
license bureau, Ellen suggests Dorothy was lured with the promise of marriage and killed by a
boyfriend, but Corelli dismisses her theory.
Ellen goes to campus, where Patricia reveals Dorothy was dating someone. Ellen finds Dorothy's ex-
boyfriend Tommy Roussell, who explains he had a breakdown after his relationship with Dorothy and
was out of school when she died. Remembering she then dated another student, Tommy takes Ellen
to his apartment to show her the man's yearbook photo. Ellen waits outside, while Jonathan stalks
her in his car. Tommy finds Jonathan's photo, but Jonathan strangles him and types a suicide note
on Tommy's computer admitting to killing Dorothy, and stages his suicide. Ellen is left convinced that
Tommy killed Dorothy.
Ellen returns home to New York, and her boyfriend arrives – Jonathan, who has assumed Jay
Faraday's identity. Their relationship develops, working together at Castle House, and "Jay"
impresses Thor with his ambition. Ellen and Jay marry, and he joins Carlsson Copper. Intercepting a
call from Patricia, heading to New York after remembering the identity of Dorothy's boyfriend, Jay
arranges for Patricia to wait in her hotel room for a call from Ellen the next day. There, he strangles
Patricia, dismembering her in the bathtub and stuffing her corpse in a suitcase before going out on a
date with Ellen. After driving her home, he dumps the suitcase in the East River.
A police detective investigating Patricia's disappearance informs Ellen that her name and number
were in Patricia's diary. Suspicious, Ellen confirms with Tommy's parents that he was
institutionalized at the time of Dorothy's death. Ellen asks Corelli to reopen the investigation, with no
results.
At a bar with Ellen, Jay is recognized as Jonathan Corliss by an acquaintance from Philadelphia but
insists he is mistaken, eventually hitting him. Unsettled, Ellen digs up a UPenn yearbook and finds a
picture of Jonathan. She tracks down Jonathan's mother, who says that Jonathan had committed
suicide three years earlier, though his body was never found. Visiting her in the house where he
grew up, Ellen learns about his childhood. His mother leaves, and Ellen sneaks inside to search
Jonathan's room, finding his suitcase of clippings about her family and her sister's lighter. Jonathan,
having followed her, confesses that he killed Faraday and assumed his identity. He schemed to
marry into the Carlsson lineage, but Dorothy's unplanned pregnancy meant she would be
disinherited. Jonathan prepares to strangle Ellen, who escapes from the house to the train tracks.
Giving chase, Jonathan is run over by a Carlsson train, at the same spot he watched the trains pass
as a child.

Cast[edit]
 Matt Dillon as Jonathan Corliss
 Sean Young as Ellen/Dorothy Carlsson
 Max von Sydow as Thor Carlsson
 Diane Ladd as Mrs. Corliss
 James Russo as Dan Corelli
 Ben Browder as Tommy Roussell
 Martha Gehman as Patricia Farren
 Jim Fyfe as Terry Dieter
 Lachele Carl as Reporter
 Shane Rimmer as Commissioner Malley
 Adam Horovitz as Jay Faraday
Production[edit]
The producers of A Kiss Before Dying wanted River Phoenix to play Jonathan. They approached
him several times for the role, and kept increasing their offers, but he didn't feel a connection to the
material and felt he was unsuitable to play the part, so he repeatedly turned it down and Matt
Dillon was then cast. Diane Lane and Penelope Ann Miller were each considered for the dual roles
of Ellen and Dorothy, but both rejected it. Bridget Fonda was originally cast, but quit the production
due to scheduling conflicts and Sean Young signed on to replace her.

Locations[edit]
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The film was primarily shot in Great Britain, with secondary locations in the United States.
British locations include: Port Talbot steelworks, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, (opening
sequence at "Abbey Coke Ovens area of Port Talbot Steel works, with Main Pumphouse, cooling
tower and water storage towers in the background"); Brocket Hall, Welwyn Garden City,
Hertfordshire, England; Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England; Lee
International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England; and London, England.
United States: Charlottesville, Virginia; New York City; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.