Movie · 1976 · Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 1h 34m · PG · English
Curator score: 2.9/10 (46K ratings)
By the time the world's greatest detectives figure out whodunnit... you could die laughing!
Overview
Lionel Twain invites the world's five greatest detectives to a 'dinner and murder'. Included are a blind butler, a deaf-mute maid, screams, spinning rooms, secret passages, false identities and more plot turns and twists than are decently allowed.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.9/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Robert Moore
Production
Rastar Productions
Cast
Truman Capote, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Elsa Lanchester, Estelle Winwood, Nancy Walker, James Cromwell, Richard Narita, Fay Wray
Curator Review
Verdict
A brisk, starry spoof of classic whodunnits with a few genuinely funny bits and a clever premise, but its jokes are uneven and several dated caricatures seriously damage the experience. Best approached as a period parody artifact rather than a modern mystery-comedy benchmark.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy 1970s ensemble comedies
Fans of old-school detective pastiche and genre send-ups
People curious about the pre-Clue lineage of mystery parody
Audiences who can tolerate broad, dated humor in exchange for occasional sharp wit
Skip if
You want a polished, tightly plotted mystery
You are sensitive to racist, ableist, or homophobic humor
You prefer modern comedy-mysteries with warmer character writing
You want a film whose satire still feels fresh and broadly accessible
Overview
Murder by Death has a great setup: a millionaire gathers famous detectives for a night of dinner, danger, and escalating absurdity. The movie understands the pleasures of locked-room mysteries, and when it leans into wordplay, deadpan reactions, and the ensemble’s straight-faced commitment, it can be very funny.
Worth noting
The problem is that the film’s satire is uneven and often dated in ways that are hard to ignore now. Some of the broad caricatures and ethnic humor land as more embarrassing than mischievous, which blunts the charm of the parody and makes the whole thing feel less clever than it wants to be.
Bottom line
Still, there’s a certain appeal in seeing a 1970s cast attack a genre with this much confidence and silliness. If you’re interested in the evolution of mystery-comedy, it’s worth a look with caution; if you want the cleaner, sharper version of this idea, there are better options elsewhere.
Top Letterboxd reviews
demi adejuyigbe · 570 likes
Really bad idea to go into this thinking “I know it’s a parody, but it’ll still be a fun mystery.” Didn’t realize it was more the “fuck you” kind of parody. A stacked cast making the occasionally funny joke sandwiched between some good old fashioned Big Yikes moments. Clue did It better by leaving out all the Mr. Magoo shit. Above all, Christmas is about watching as many movies in a row with famous comedy actors doing unbelievably racist makeup characters.
eely (1★) · 452 likes
racism ✔️
ableism ✔️
homophobia ✔️
me wishing it was over in the first ten minutes ✔️
SilentDawn (2★) · 449 likes
35
Clue's problematic cousin - not nearly as charming or as inventive in its playful subversion of the whodunnit.
katya_zamo (3★) · 317 likes
A thoroughly stupid and often funny film that doesn’t hold up (Peter Sellers’ Ching Chong yellow faced Mr Wong is jaw droppingly racist) but does manage to provide some laugh out loud moments from its stellar cast. In particular, Maggie Smith’s line delivery of “who would want to steal a dead naked body ? …oh that’s tacky, that’s really tacky”
Kennoniah (4★) · 309 likes
"I don't understand pops, was there a murder or wasn't there?"
"Yes. Killed good weekend."
1963 · Comedy, Mystery, Romance · 1h 53m · NR · Curator 8.5/10 (289K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Pure Flix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Bloodstream
A glossy mystery-romance with light comic energy and a more elegant, crowd-pleasing rhythm.
2019 · Comedy, Crime, Mystery · 2h 11m · PG-13 · Curator 8.4/10 (4.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A modern ensemble whodunit that updates the genre with sharper character writing and cleaner satire.