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Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness ... see more see more... , Elsa Lanchester , David Niven , Peter Sellers , Maggie Smith , Nancy Walker , Estelle Winwood , James Cromwell , Richard Narita , Dog: Myron

As penned by Neil Simon, this satire of movie mysteries is set in motion when several prominent detectives are invited to the mansion of the reclusive Lionel Twain (Truman Capote). In Ten Little India... read more read more...ns fashion, the gathered sleuths are locked into the forbidding mansion, and subject to various death-dealing devices. While struggling for their lives, the vainglorious gumshoes continue to try to one-up one another. Each character is broadly based on a famous literary detective: Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is an aphorism-spouting Charlie Chan clone: Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are patterned on the protagonists of the Thin Man flicks; Milo Perrier (James Coco), a Hercule Poirot takeoff, stalks through the proceedings declaring "I'm a Belgie, not a Frenchie!"; Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) is Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade rolled in one; and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) is a dottier variation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Best bit: a "conversation" between blind butler Jamessir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and deaf-mute maid Yetta (Nancy Walker). The fade-out gag of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson showing up late for Lionel Twain's party was edited from the theatrical version of Murder by Death, but was restored for TV. The film marked the big-screen directorial debut of Robert Moore, who'd previously directed several of Neil Simon's Broadway productions. Moore went on to direct another Simon spoof, The Cheap Detective (1978), before his untimely death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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83% liked it

12,201 ratings

Critics

69% liked it

16 critics

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Robert Moore

Release Date: January 1, 1976

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DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (1,069)

  • kenstachnik
    March 17, 2012
    kenstachnik
    Really really enjoyable. Perfect Sunday afternoon faire. And Maggie Smith is smokin hot. Oh Minerva McGonagall!
  • blkbomb
    December 28, 2011
    blkbomb
    Sidney Wang: No pulse, no heartbeat. If condition does not change, this man is dead. 

    "You are cordially invited to dinner... and a murder!"

    I really loved this stupid spoof of the murder mystery genre. Murder by Death is hilarious film that is pure fun from start to finish. Al... read morel of the characters were funny, but the two I loved the most were Wang and Diamond. Wang is an Asian played by Peter Sellers. How is that not going to be hilarious? Diamond is played by Columbo himself, Peter Falk. Both of these actors and a great supporting cast featuring Maggie Smith, Truman Capote and James Cromwell make for one hell of an entertaining comedy. 

    The five best detectives are invited to a mansion where the owner, Lionel Twain promises them dinner and a murder. Each detective and their second are greeted by someone trying to kill them by making a piece of the building fall. Then they are shown to their rooms by a blind butler. And their meal will be cooked by a woman who can't speak or hear, and the butler doesn't know this because he can't see he note cards saying she can't speak. This is the type of humor you should be expecting throughout the whole film.

    Murder by Death is perfectly paced and also has a perfect runtime. It knows, like all the good spoofs do, not to overstay its welcome. Comedy like this can only be funny for so long, and when Murder by Death ends it is still funny. This film combines slapstick humor and stereotype humor into the murder mystery plot with great results. There is very little that the characters say that isn't at least mildly amusing, and a great deal of the time, hilarious. 

    This is kind of a forgotten and under appreciated comedy from the 1970's. I would give it a recommendation on Seller's alone, but everything else about it is great too. The ending wasn't as funny as it should have been or as funny as Neil Simon probably thought it was, but overall I can't say enough about the film.

    Sidney Wang: And you Mr. Charleston, did not approve of Mrs. Charleston dying her hair blonde?
    Dick Charleston: What do you mean? 
    Sidney Wang: Mrs. Charleston's hair red. You have blond hairs on shoulder. This means she has dyed red hair blonde, then back again to red, or else you have been... So sorry, Wang is wrong. 
  • phubbs1
    November 1, 2011
    phubbs1
    Some legendary names in this line up such as Sellers, Guinness, Falk, Lanchester, Niven and Maggie Smith but that can't quite stop it from being rather silly and slightly disappointing in my humble view. If you think along the lines of 'Clue' then you will know the angle of this ... read morefilm, its just a bit more off the wall and with, I think, poorer characters.

    You might think that's impossible with this cast but the characters are rather cliched and disappointing, especially Sellers and his now rather racist old Chinese man character. Brennan is here too in what is almost a prequel performance as she was in 'Clue' as well but again shes not as fun in this old film, same can be said for Guinness who seems wasted.

    Its not terrible but its not great either, nice sets and a lovely film poster illustrated by Charles 'The Addams Family' Addams.
  • FilmFanatik
    August 11, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    Being a big fan of Clue, I was sure to get a kick out of this one. This has one sensational cast of characters - surprisingly and unbelievably even all the way through without stepping on each other's toes. The comedy doesn't come fast and furious but it's full of wit and slapsti... read moreck. The ending isn't very satisfying, but everything before it is comedy gold. I love that they got Peter Sellers, David Niven, Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, Peter Falk, etc, into the same movie. I have a feeling I'll be seeing this one a lot more. :)
  • fb100002359227440
    May 11, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Funny. Another good work of Simon, and a great cast.
  • ajv2688
    January 3, 2011
    ajv2688
    A hilarious murder mystery spoof, although there were many of them in the 70s, I think this was the best.
  • theylovealexis
    October 11, 2010
    theylovealexis
    If you liked Clue or It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World you'll like this one. I only ended up seeing it because it shares its name with my favorite band (if you've never heard Murder By Death, you should) ..it was just okay and I think I'll always like Clue better.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Nice piece some LOLs Scenes too.
  • webalina
    September 16, 2009
    webalina
    The last time I saw this movie, I hated it. I assumed it was because I was 15 at the time and didn't get a lot of the jokes. I had hoped that in the last 33 years I would have learned enough that my wiser self would have enjoyed it more. Nope.

    Yes, being a Classic film fan (e... read morespecially The Thin Man movies and Humphrey Bogart), I got the parodies of the detectives, and I understood the double entrendres that I didn't get as a teen. But other than that, it did absolutely nothing for me. It felt totally stagebound (maybe it was supposed to...Neil SImon wrote the screenplay).The jokes fell flat, the whole blind butler/deaf cook plotline was a complete waste of time, and Iin general I'm not a fan of any of these people, except for Niven and Smith, who I like a little better.

    The whole thing feels like a drawn-out variety show sketch. It did remind me also of the film Sleuth, except that Sleiuth is a lot better. One good thing....I can scratch if off the list of films I need to rewatch.
  • imrealgod
    February 11, 2009
    imrealgod
    If I had the faintest "clue" that CLUE was inspired from this one, I'd have avoided it. However, it was a kind of relief when I found it passable. It wasn't that boring though not very interesting too. Okay for some time pass, avoidable otherwise.

    One more disappointment was th... read moree revelation of "who's the murderer" and "who's who"... It sounded completely nonsense and illogical which should not be the case with thrillers.

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Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
October 3, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

Murder by Death is a very good silly-funny Neil Simon satirical comedy, with a super all-star cast cavorting as recognizable pulp fiction detectives gathered at the home of Truman Capote, wealthy hedo... Full Review

Dave Kehr
October 3, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Stunningly unfunny. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

As light and insubstantial as one could wish. Full Review

October 3, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This spoof of the great fictional-film detectives offers consistently funny scenes. Full Review

Mark Bourne
June 27, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

So it all doesn't amount to much, and -- some knuckle-dragging 'he's gay'/'no I'm not' humor aside -- it's more Scooby Doo than Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Still, it's an amusing tea-cozy of a spoof wi... Full Review

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Director Moore and writer Neil Simon seem to have no real affection for either the characters they plunder mercilessly for laughs, or the locked room puzzle they turn on its head. Introductions over, ... Full Review

Ken Hanke
June 16, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Generally successful send-up of classic mysteries with a lame finale.

Bob Bloom
January 2, 2003
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

A sometime funny satire on the old murder-mystery detective series of the 1930s and '40s. Some jokes hit, while others just bomb.

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Hit & miss mystery spoof hits more often than it misses.

Jeremy Heilman
March 5, 2002
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

Far from great. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Dora Charleston: Where's my Dickie? ...Sorry. Where's my husband?
    • Sam Diamond: That can only mean one thing...and I don't know what it is.
    • Tess Skeffington: He was my uncle. He was very good to me, he used to take me to the circus and give me candy. We stopped going when I was...about twenty-six.
    • Sam Diamond: Twenty-six? What the hell kind of circus was it?
    • Tess Skeffington: Twain picked up Sam in a gay bar.
    • Sam Diamond: I was working on a case! Working.
    • Tess Skeffington: Every night for six months?
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Murder by Death Trivia

  • In Neil Simon's Murder By Death who played oriental detective Sidney Wang?  Answer »
  • What British Sir played the blind butler in Neil Simon's Murder By Death?  Answer »
  • Peter Falk played detective Sam Diamond in this 1976 film...  Answer »
  • In what movie does Peter Sellers star with both Alec Guinness, and David Niven?  Answer »
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