Product: Murder by Death (1976)
Rating: 3.0
Funny Murder Mystery Parody
Murder by Death is a hilarious film by playwright Neal Simon and frankly if you are not familiar with the mystery films of the 1940s - 1960s and are not much of a mystery reader, then the film will come across as nothing more than a fun film with a few silly jokes.All the characters from various films and books are gathered together in a single castle - similar to Agatha Christie's "And then there were None." The characters are all parodies of these characters, cleverly done.Charlie Chan is now Sidney Wang (and his son Willie - the metaphors are obvious!), played by Peter Sellers, himself an actor who played the detective in The Pink Panther.Marbles is based on Christie's character Marples, played by Elsa Lancaster, herself in a TV murder mystery series.Peter Falk of Columbo fame is Sam Diamond, clearly the parody of Bogart's Sam Spade.Milo Perrier (what water?) is played by Jimmy Coco, a parody of Christie's Hercule Peroit.And Nick & Nora Charles complete with terrier (!) being Dick and Dora Charleston, played by Maggie Smith (Harry Potter films) and David Niven.What I liked best about the film was the interaction of all the players and how each of them parodied their respective characters. Loved Falk's Bogart accent and Niven's great William Powell imitation.Truman Capote was perfect as the sinister mastermind behind the murders, as each detective is locked in the mansion and told that a murder will take place. The egos and silly jokes are at times just too much. And too funny!Alec Guinness plays the blind butler with his deaf mute cook! This was just before he went into the Lucas film, Star Wars.Memorable Moment: When Sam Diamond turns to his girl at the end and said "You know how to blow, don't you sweetheart?" And she says, "What? Sam? What do you mean?" Sam: "Never mind, you ruined it!" If you never saw "To Have and Have Not" then you will not get this joke, LOL).Bottom Line: Non-mystery readers need not apply. Hilarious film. A must-see.