Product: Murder by Death (1976)
Rating: 2.0
Parody of a Murder Mystery
Murder By Death, 1976 filmA man sends invitations to famous detectives (from fiction) to visit his mansion. [No mention of fees, so you know this isn't real.] Lionel Twain lives on an island. A rickety bridge connects to this island. The detectives arrive and are shown to their rooms. The new cook cannot speak, hear, or read English. The butler can't see. They try to communicate. Sam Diamond arrives with his secretary Tess. Next Dick and Dora Charleston. Inspector Wang arrives with his son Willy. Inspector Perrier arrives with his chauffeur Marcel. Is Wang wrong? Miss Jessica Marbles arrives with her nurse. Why five detectives? Perrier explains the test with Wang. Blind people have a keen sense of smell. "Tacky?" The blind butler talks to the deaf cook. The lights go dead. "Franks and beans?" Then Lionel Twain appears. [No joke here.] "You look like number two."Can the five greatest detectives solve a murder in a locked mansion? Two million cash plus film rights? Charades? The cook draws their attention. "This man is dead." "Where is everyone?" A voice speaks to them. "Say your pronouns." They find the butler again. Then the dining room is empty again. [A cheap trick?] "Two dining rooms." The cook disappeared. Midnight passes. They find a body, as predicted. "Nobody move!" Dick Charleston offers a solution, but Inspector Wang trumps him (and exposes a character). "I'm a Belgie!" There are more exposures and confessions from the others. [Believable?] There are threats for the occupants of each bedroom. [More silliness here.] Sidney Wang solves the crime! Who did it? A plastic body. Others have their solution. "How did you know?" There is a final surprise! When the show is over the detectives all leave. There is a final unmasking to end this story. Believable?This is a parody of Agatha Christie's famous murder mystery "Ten Little Indians". Those who write parodies are usually less talented than the original writer, as shown by this story. If you don't know of the other fictional detectives you will miss the point of this story. A parody is limited to the original story. The ending with the switching of identities damages this story, as if they don't know when to end this joke.Dashiell created "Nick and Nora Charles" and "Sam Spade"("The Thin Man", "The Maltese Falcon"). "Mr Wong" was a copy of "Charlie Chan". Agatha Christie created "Hercule Poirot" and "Miss Marple" for many mystery novels.