Murder by Death

Murder by Death is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood.^[2][3]

The plot is a broad parody or spoof of the traditional country-house whodunit, familiar to mystery fiction fans of classics such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The cast is an ensemble of British and American actors playing send-ups of well-known fictional sleuths, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan, Nick and Nora Charles, and Sam Spade. It also features a rare acting performance by author Truman Capote.

The film was presented at the

Plot

A group of five renowned detectives, each accompanied by a relative or associate, is invited to "dinner and a murder" by the mysterious Lionel Twain. Having lured his guests to his mansion managed by a blind butler named Jamessir Bensonmum, who is later joined by a deaf, mute, and illiterate cook named Yetta, Twain joins his guests at dinner. He presses a button which seals off the house. Twain announces that he is the greatest criminologist in the world. To prove his claim, he challenges the guests to solve a murder that will occur at midnight; a reward of $1 million will be presented to the winner.

Before midnight, the butler is found dead. Twain disappears, only to re-appear immediately after midnight, stabbed twelve times in the back with a

When they retire to their guest rooms for the night, the guests are each confronted by things that threaten to kill them: a deadly snake, a venomous scorpion, a descending ceiling, poison gas, and a bomb. They all survive, and in the morning, they gather in the office, where they find the butler waiting, very much alive and not blind. Each detective presents a different piece of evidence with which they each independently solved the mystery, and in each case, they accuse the butler of being one of Twain's former associates.

At first, the butler plays the part of each person with whom he is identified, but then he pulls off a mask to reveal Lionel Twain himself, alive. Twain disparages the detectives—and metafictionally, the authors who created them—for the way their adventures have been handled. He points out such authorial misdeeds as introducing crucial characters at the last minute for the traditional "twist in the tale" (something the assembled detectives had been doing a few minutes earlier) and withholding clues and information to make it impossible for the reader to solve the mystery. Each of the detectives departs the house empty-handed, none of them having won the $1 million. When asked whether there had been a murder, Wang replies, "Yes: killed good weekend."

Alone, Twain pulls off yet another mask to reveal Yetta, who lights a cigarette and laughs maniacally while rings of tobacco smoke fill the screen.

Cast and characters

The story takes place in and around the isolated country home populated by eccentric multi-millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote), his blind butler Jamessir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness), and a deaf-mute cook named Yetta (Nancy Walker). "Lionel Twain" is a pun on "Lionel Train".^[4] The participants are all pastiches of famous fictional detectives:

• Inspector Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is based on Earl Derr Biggers' Chinese/Hawaiian police detective Charlie Chan and is appropriately accompanied by his adopted Japanese son Willie (Richard Narita). Wang wears elaborate Chinese costumes, and his comically broken English is criticized by Twain and others.
• Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are polished, sophisticated society types modeled on Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man film series. The Charles' wire-haired terrier "Asta" is also lampooned, appearing here named "Myron".
• Milo Perrier (James Coco) is a take on Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and arrives at the house with his heavily French-accented chauffeur Marcel Cassette (James Cromwell in his first feature film role). The demanding, portly Perrier is overly fond of food and appears annoyed that he must share a room with the lowly Marcel, although the two are later seen sharing not only a room but a bed, quibbling like a married couple. Perrier is repeatedly annoyed by being mistaken for a Frenchman as he is Belgian, saying, "I am not a 'Frenchie'...I am a 'Belgie'."
• Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) parodies another Dashiell Hammett character, The Maltese Falcon's hardboiled Sam Spade, and is a caricature of Humphrey Bogart in his Casablanca character. He is accompanied by his long-suffering, hard-boiled, sexy but needy secretary Tess Skeffington (Eileen Brennan), whom he continually denigrates and mistreats. Tess Skeffington's name is a riff on Spade's secretary Effie Perine.
• Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) parodies Christie's Miss Marple. In the film, Marbles appears as hearty, robust and tweed-clad, wheeling a frail, ancient-looking, seemingly senile companion—her ancient "nurse" Miss Withers (Estelle Winwood), for whom she is now caring—who everyone initially assumes is Miss Marbles.

Production

The film was shot entirely at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, then named "The Burbank Studios".^{[citation needed]}

Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family, drew the art and caricatures displayed at the beginning, during the end credits, and on the poster.^[5]

Deleted scenes

An additional scene, not in the theatrical version but shown in some television versions, shows

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, Murder by Death holds a rating of 68% from 22 reviews.^[8]

Domestic reviews

"Murder by Death" is one of those rare things—a completely silly prank movie that also happens to be funny. Very funny. Really very funny.

Most often, when an all-star cast is assembled to put the spoof on a famous set of characters, the writers and directors seem to think comic results will be automatic and don't bother to give the biggies anything solidly funny to say or do. Such humor as is fabricated for the occasion generally overshoots satire, tries to settle for burlesque and winds up as sophomoric travesty.

In this case, with Neil Simon writing the script, comedy isn't taken for granted. Simon knows what's a joke and what isn't. It is burlesque, and very broad burlesque at that, but with a sure touch to it: the terrible jokes are put in because they are terrible (not because some hack thinks they are really amusing). The gaping holes in the plot are part of the silly fun and give you bonus giggles afterwards when you ponder the grand illogic of it all.

The Atlanta Journal remarked that "the movie often doesn't make much sense and the trick on the identity of the real Lionel Twain ends on a murky note. However, it's quite possible one wouldn’t notice such a substantial flaw for all the puns and comedy afoot. There are a few clues to add to spice up the plot. [...] The screenplay is an original from Simon, a favorite of folks who like their laughs quick and obvious. It’s among the better of his works and serves as the basis for a delightful film."^[24] Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe wrote that "none of the plot and incident, in fact, is important in this movie: they exist as opportunities to give big-name actors a lot of showy opportunities. Director Roger Moore made his name by creating the superb ensemble playing in the original stage production of "The Boys in the Band," but there is little ensemble here just a series of star turns. Falk's broad Bogart burlesque has its moments, but Niven and Smith consistently fare best because they appreciate the value of understatement; James Coco certainly does not. Capote, in his screen debut—but hardly his acting debut—lisps mechanically through his role (is his real name Lionel Train?) and he looks like a malevolent mongoose. Essentially, though, this is Neil Simon's movie his name, in fact, is part of the title. No one writes a better gag-line than he does: some of the movie is hilarious."^[25]

The Toronto Star, saying that "Murder by Death seems to me to offer three or four good laughs and half a dozen chuckles. True enough, that’s a lot better than no laughs at all. But it’s still a deplorably thin cargo of mirth in a 93-minute entertainment from the pen of the erstwhile merry fellow who gave the world Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. Not to mention his new smash-hit on Broadway, California Suite."^[26]

International reviews

Arthur Thirkell of the Daily Mirror in the UK called the film "a clever, fun-filled parody of five well-known fictional detectives Charlie Chan, The Thin Man, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and Hercule Poirot. Mr. Simon has altered the names, but retained the flavour of each tec's individual style and dialogue. The result is a movie that will tickle the fancy of Agatha Christie and Dashiell Hammett fans and get chuckles from those usually cynically disposed towards corny, contrived sleuthing in fog-shrouded mansions."^[27] Eric Shorter of The Daily Telegraph said that "the pleasure lies in the acting, or rather the impersonations, of legendary sleuths such as Charlie Chan (Peter Sellers), Humphrey Bogart (Peter Falk), Miss Marple (Elsa Landbester), and so on, rather than in the relentless verbal gagging of Mr Simon or his teasing of thriller conventions."^[28] Alexander Walker of the London Evening Standard said that "the high risk that critics run in reviewing Nell Simon screenplays Is an addiction to reviewing every Joke, which means taking down the whole dialogue verbatim. The risk eminently worth running, for this is a prime piece of malice aforethought that debunks the genre and, like its title, turns expectations back to front in that arrogant that detective-story authors do to reader-addicts."^[29] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian described the film as having "a lot of crisp, semi-witty lines from one and all and a great deal of slightly over-ripe characterisation. It's all very theatrical and none too cinematic, since Robert Moore, a director new to me, is no George Cukor—and that splendid veteran is the only person can wins of who could turn this type of clever charade into something more than a series of actorly turns."^[30] Romola Costantino wrote in The Sun-Herald that the "picture reinforces a trust that top performers don't let you down. An amazing performer in authorship, is playwright Neil Simon, who has brought enough laughter into the world in recent years to deserve some special award. Here he tackles a. tricky subject, because murder story spoofs can turn out tedious; but Simon's magic touch ' doesn't fail him in this screenplay. Silly though they may sound, he makes the following angles hilariously funny: eerie old Gothic house, murder on the stroke of 12, screams in the night, a sinister butler, black-gloved hands groping around corners, guests trapped with no way out, gathering of famous detectives modelled on the best fictional master-minds, and a series of red-herring solutions to the mind-boggling whodunit mystery. Backing up Simon's brilliance is an unbeatable cast of stylish actors whose names guarantee entertainment. [...] Absurdity is very amusing when it is topped off with this kind of elegance."^[31] Colin Bennett of The Age wrote that "by the end, after automatic daggers and shrinking rooms, scorpions and poisoned wine, and unmasked plastic corpses, the whodunit revelations have grown hopelessly tortuous. We can’t follow them. We are not meant to care and we don’t. For once, Neil Simon is writing his jokes without point or social observation, simply for the sake of easy laughter, comic pastiche at the expense of detective authors who cheat their readers. His characters are as thin as the Charles Addams cartoons that accompany the credits. Which is why I call Murder by Death a throwaway. You will chuckle for most of the hour and a half then forget it."^[32]

Award nominations

Year	Award	Category	Subject	Result
1977	Golden Globe Awards	Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture – Male	Truman Capote	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen	Neil Simon	Nominated

See also

• The Cheap Detective, a 1978 film featuring Falk, Brennan, Coco, and Cromwell, also written by Simon and directed by Moore
• Clue, a 1985 murder-mystery comedy featuring Brennan
• Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie, a mystery novel with similar setting
• "And Then There Were Fewer", Family Guy episode with similar setting
• List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing

References

1. ^ "Murder by Death, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
2. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Murder by Death". AllMovie.
3. ^ Canby, Vincent (June 24, 1976). "Murder By Death (1976) Simon's Breezy 'Murder by Death'". The New York Times.^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Mystery Film Baffles Master Sleuths". The Indianapolis Star (film review). June 25, 1976. p. 38. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
5. ^ Tagudin, Angel (January 22, 2013). "Murder by Death (1976)". Art of the Title. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
6. ^ De Waal, Ronald B. "The Universal Sherlock Holmes". University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
7. ISBN 0-8108-1061-1
8. ^ "Murder by Death". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
9. ^ Canby, Vincent (June 24, 1976). "Simon's Breezy 'Murder by Death'". The New York Times. 26.
10. ^ Murphy, Arthur D. (June 23, 1976). "Film Reviews: Murder By Death". Variety. 16.
11. ^ Champlin, Charles (June 23, 1976). "A Potshot at Mystery Genre". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 1, 14.
12. ^ Siskel, Gene (June 25, 1976). "'Murder' is a comedy—and why it works is no mystery". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 1.
13. ^ Arnold, Gary (June 23, 1976). "'Murder by Death' or, the Case of the Super-sleuth Spoof". The Washington Post. B1.
14. ^ Simon, John (1982). Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Film. Crown Publishers Inc. p. 257.
15. ^ Carroll, Kathleen (June 24, 1976). "Old "Killer" Simon". Daily News. New York, New York. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
16. ^ Stevens, Dale (June 23, 1976). "Summer starts well with 'Murder'". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
17. ^ Eichelbaum, Stanley (June 23, 1976). "Simon's sleuth spoof—funniest film of the year". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
18. ^ Blank, Edward L. (June 23, 1976). "Simon's 'Murder By Death' Fine Spoof About Super Sleuths". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
19. The Kansas City Times
    . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
20. ^ Patrick, Corbin (June 25, 1976). "Mystery Film Baffles Master Sleuths". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
21. ^ Stark, Susan (June 23, 1976). "The Simonized Sleuths Shine". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
22. The Minneapolis Star
    . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
23. The Gazette
    . Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
24. The Atlanta Journal
    . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
25. ^ Dyer, Richard (June 23, 1976). "'Murder' is simple Simon". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
26. The Toronto Star
    . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
27. ^ Thirkell, Arthur (August 27, 1976). "Taking the mickey out of murder". Daily Mirror. London, England, United Kingdom. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
28. ^ Shorter, Eric (August 27, 1976). "Ghoulish line of fun". The Daily Telegraph. London, England, United Kingdom. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
29. ^ Walker, Alexander (August 26, 1976). "Guess who's coming to murder". Evening Standard. London, England, United Kingdom. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
30. ^ Malcolm, Derek (August 26, 1976). "Vacant premise". The Guardian. London, England, United Kingdom. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
31. The Sun Herald
    . Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
32. ^ Bennett, Colin (December 10, 1976). "Ace detectives done to death". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

External links

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