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Murder By Death [1976]


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Editorial
Amazon.com

Neil Simon wrote this 1976 spoof in which virtually every famous fictional detective of the 1930s and 1940s congregate at the home of a mysterious fellow (Truman Capote) to try and solve the mystery of who's trying to kill them all. Simon's jokes are mostly obvious, and the film's real appeal is the clever concept matched with fine--sometimes legendary--actors. Peter Falk plays a very Bogart-like Sam Spade equivalent, James Coco is a Hercule Poirot wannabe, Peter Sellers does a Charlie Chan bit, David Niven and Maggie Smith are reflections of Nick and Nora.... You get the picture. Light-hearted and silly, this is cotton-candy comedy for the cast as well as viewers. --Tom Keogh


A firm old favourite!
Review date: 2008-08-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

We had this on VHS recorded from Channel 4 or some such, so I was thrilled to find it on DVD here.

What a film - the cast itself is worth the price - Maggie Smith (with some hilarious one liners), David Niven, Peter Falk, and a very non-pc Peter Sellars as an oriental detective. Alec Guinness steals the show as the butler.

The script is really quite clever, allowing the competition between detectives to reveal the plot. It may be a 1976 film, but the material is fresh, and the whole combination makes for a very enjoyable film.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys laughing.

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Reviews


Over-rated, dated and at times offensive, "CLUE" IS BETTER WATCH THAT INSTEAD!
Review date: 2008-02-03 Rating: 2 out of 10

This hasn't dated well and I'm at a bit of a loss as to why other than nostalgia that this film has received so many glowing reviews.

With Peter Sellers appearing with his eyes taped down rather than hiring an oriental actor for his role is by today's standards unacceptable. As are indeed very tasteless cheap jokes that are racially related.

There are some humourous lines but they are rather sparse and more jokes are misses than hits. But for me personally - it was only the nostalgia factor and all the glowing reviews that made me think this was good (it sadly isn't).

What's good are the actors themselves. What a pity the story never really amounts to very much and all seems rather pointless at the end.

Trust me when I say - "CLUE" IS BETTER! Well worth buying that film - but just watch this one on TV and save yourself the price of a DVD that you'll end up giving away.

A REALLY FUNNY AGATHA CHRISTIE STYLE COMEDY BY NEIL SIMON.
Review date: 2007-07-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

This classic movie which is a clever parody of all the great detective genre over the years. We have Peter Sellers as Wang and Peter Falk as Sam Spade more of a mix of Columbo and Dirk Bogart. Then there is Maggie Smith as a Miss Maple style detective with her dotty old aunt in tow. But best of all is Alec Guiness playing a blind Butler who manages to 'Warm' up a bed for the guest by setting fire to it !. Then there is Mr Twain plyed by the creepy Truman Capote who has been the centre point of many movies himself. Not forgetting the deaf maid played by Nancy Walker named Yetta which causes many a slapstick moment. Even David Niven is here playing private Eye Dick Charlston which is more a parody of James Bond. The clueless detectives have been given invitations to go the remote mansion of Mr Lionel Twain to solve his Murder. And whoever survives the night and discovers the Murderer wins One Million Dollars. Once they move in through thick fog across a ford to the house they are trapped by steel shutters. Then Twain announces his scheme over dinner in the classic Christie style then they all retire to sleep. During the night Twain has set up various ways to kill the Detectives and fails with hilarious results. Neil Simon is a true genius at comedy writting with such classics as ' The out of Towners ' & 'The Odd Couple'. There is a brief interview with Neil Simon but it's quite poor but still better than nothing !. This is a must buy and like all Simon comedy's a real treat to watch time and time again

Star Studded Spoof
Review date: 2006-12-30 Rating: 8 out of 10

A rich millionaire invites the greatest living detectives to his castle (complete with fog, lightning and rain etc) for dinner - and a murder. The surviving detective who figures it out is promised one million dollars.
OK, so it is not the plot or the inherently stagey nature of the movie that is classic - but the mixing of such a fine ensemble cast. A brilliant cast play similes of literatures great detectives - Peter Falk playing Bogart's Sam Spade crossed with Columbo (Sam Diamond in the movie), David Niven playing The Thin Man, Peter Sellers playing Charlie Chan (Wang in the movie), and Agatha Christies Poirot and Marples give rise to the hysterically monikered Milo Perrier and Miss Marbles. Add to that the iconic Truman Capote as the millionaire, and Alec Guinness as the blind butler as well as various sidekicks, and you have possibly the biggest set of scenery chewers crammed into one dining room.
The jokes are thick and fast, always farcical, but never straying too far into slapstick. Any misses are quickly forgiven as the next joke comes along.
Predictably perhaps the ending is not entirely satisfactory - a simple but clever ending would have been more effective than the over elaborate series of revelations which don't quite tie up. But lets face it, when you're having this much fun, who cares.
The 91 minute running time makes this a satisfactorily tight little movie that is ideal for a rainy Sunday evening...

All the best detectives under one spoof.
Review date: 2004-06-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

What do you mean spoof? This is a real mystery. You are invites to join in and out guess all the famous detectives played by famous actors.

I will not go through the whole list of actors and whom they play. However they have carefully chosen names and personalities of your favorite 1930s and 1940s detectives.

Murder runs rampant. Who or what is doing this? Why? Can it be stopped before it is too late? If you are good at detective movies you should be able to figure this out. This is a very punny movie.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Eileen Brennan
Truman Capote
Peter Falk
Alec Guinness
Peter Sellers

Creators:
Peter Falk (Primary Contributor)
Alec Guinness (Primary Contributor)
David M. Walsh (Cinematographer)
John F. Burnett (Editor)
Ray Stark (Producer)
Roger M. Rothstein (Producer)
Neil Simon (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822000735
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-03-10
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1976-06-23
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Czech (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Hebrew (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)

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