{"id":9541,"date":"2009-09-11T16:38:25","date_gmt":"2009-09-11T23:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9541"},"modified":"2021-01-29T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T23:46:14","slug":"murder-by-death-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9541","title":{"rendered":"Murder by Death (1976)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If you ask me, anybody that offers a million bucks to solve a crime that ain&#8217;t been committed yet has lost a lot more upstairs than his hair.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-Peary title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-205x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-205x300.png 205w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-699x1024.png 699w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-87x128.png 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-768x1125.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster-184x270.png 184w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Poster.png 797w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn eccentric millionaire (Truman Capote) invites a group of renowned detectives &#8212; including Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), and Milo Perrier (James Coco) &#8212; to his house on a stormy evening, challenging them to solve a murder mystery before it occurs.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alec Guinness Films<\/li>\n<li>David Niven Films<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Elsa Lanchester Films<\/li>\n<li>Ensemble Film<\/li>\n<li>Maggie Smith Films<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Neil Simon Films<\/li>\n<li>Old Dark House<\/li>\n<li>Peter Falk Films<\/li>\n<li>Peter Sellers Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Satires and Spoofs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nNeil Simon&#8217;s all-star spoof of literary detectives and Old Dark House murder mysteries was an enormous hit the year it was released, and remained a popular re-run on television for years thereafter. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-1024x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-1024x573.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-1536x859.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group-483x270.png 483w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Group.png 1839w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A host of big-name actors give boldly satirical performances playing humorous variations on Charlie Chan, Miss Marple, Hercules Poirot, Nick and Nora Charles, and Sam Spade\/Philip Marlowe &#8212; with Peter Falk in the latter role given some of the best lines in the film: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Locked, from the inside. That can only mean one thing. And I don&#8217;t know what it is. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Alec Guinness, however, steals the show as an hysterically incompetent blind butler; his attempts to communicate with a deaf\/mute maid (Nancy Walker) are priceless. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-1024x569.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-1024x569.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-1536x854.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-486x270.png 486w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness2.png 1833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in his first and (mercifully) final acting role, Truman Capote gives a distinctly underwhelming and snively performance as millionaire Lionel Twain:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-1024x580.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"363\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66841\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-1024x580.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-768x435.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-1536x870.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote-477x270.png 477w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Capote.png 1835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, he&#8217;s not on-screen for very long. While the script itself isn&#8217;t quite as consistently amusing or clever as fans may remember from earlier viewings, I&#8217;m nonetheless including <em>Murder by Death<\/em> here as a Missing Title, given its enduring cult status &#8212; film fanatics will want to watch it at least once.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peter Falk as Sam Diamond<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-1024x577.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-1536x865.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Falk.png 1817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alec Guinness as Bensonmum<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-1536x863.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness-481x270.png 481w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Guinness.png 1839w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-1024x565.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"353\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-1536x847.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith-489x270.png 489w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Smith.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Eileen Brennan as Tess Skeffington<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-1024x643.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"402\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-1024x643.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-768x483.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-1536x965.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2-430x270.png 430w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Murder-By-Death-Brennan2.png 1625w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Plenty of clever satirical dialogue:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Conversation like television set on honeymoon: unnecessary.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an enduring cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0074937\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1976\/06\/24\/archives\/simons-breezy-murder-by-death.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/allmovie.com\/work\/murder-by-death-33816\">All Movie Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1282&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4720\/murder-by-death#articles-reviews?articleId=18763\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/murder-by-death\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If you ask me, anybody that offers a million bucks to solve a crime that ain&#8217;t been committed yet has lost a lot more upstairs than his hair.&#8221; [Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.] Synopsis: An eccentric millionaire (Truman Capote) invites a group of renowned detectives &#8212; including Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), and Milo Perrier&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9541\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missing-title-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9541"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66852,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions\/66852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}