Murder by Death

UPC: 043396079342

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: As penned by Neil Simon, this satire of movie mysteries is set in motion when several prominent detectives are invited to the mansion of the reclusive Lionel Twain (Truman Capote). In Ten Little Indians fashion, the gathered sleuths are locked into the forbidding mansion, and subject to various death-dealing devices. While struggling for their lives, the vainglorious gumshoes continue to try to one-up one another. Each character is broadly based on a famous literary detective: Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is an aphorism-spouting Charlie Chan clone: Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are patterned on the protagonists of the Thin Man flicks; Milo Perrier (James Coco), a Hercule Poirot takeoff, stalks through the proceedings declaring "I'm a Belgie, not a Frenchie!"; Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) is Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade rolled in one; and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) is a dottier variation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Best bit: a "conversation" between blind butler Jamessir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and deaf-mute maid Yetta (Nancy Walker). The fade-out gag of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson showing up late for Lionel Twain's party was edited from the theatrical version of Murder by Death, but was restored for TV. The film marked the big-screen directorial debut of Robert Moore, who'd previously directed several of Neil Simon's Broadway productions. Moore went on to direct another Simon spoof, The Cheap Detective (1978), before his untimely death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Mystery

Awards: Film Presented – Venice International Film Festival

Features: Exclusive interview: A conversation with Neil Simon
Theatrical trailers
Talent files
Production notes

Murder by Death

Format: DVD

Release Date: 12/18/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 94 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish,Portuguese

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen
0. Scene Selections
1. Start [2:44]
2. The Invitations [2:06]
3. Dick & Dora Charleston [1:09]
4. Sidney Wang [2:24]
5. Milo Perrier [1:02]
6. Sam Diamond [2:01]
7. The Bridge Test [1:07]
8. 22 Twain [2:01]
9. Wang Meets Bensonmum [4:12]
10. The Charlestons Arrive [4:13]
11. Yetta [1:59]
12. Bensonmum & Perrier [2:57]
13. "I Don't Kiss." [6:09]
14. Before-Dinner Drinks [2:49]
15. Miss Jessica Marbles [1:40]
16. Wine Test [5:54]
17. Lionel Twain [5:44]
18. Chain of Fools [2:02]
19. Examining Bensonmum [3:49]
20. Filled With Empty People [3:55]
21. The Naked & the Dead [3:34]
22. Two of Everything [2:51]
23. Twain Murdered! [3:08]
24. Theories & Motives [8:15]
25. Murder by Death [4:20]
26. The Room Gets Shorter [1:32]
27. The Crime Is Solved? [5:46]
28. Simple & Direct Solution [4:56]
Side #2 -- Full Screen
0. Scene Selections
1. Start [2:44]
2. The Invitations [2:06]
3. Dick & Dora Charleston [1:09]
4. Sidney Wang [2:24]
5. Milo Perrier [1:02]
6. Sam Diamond [2:01]
7. The Bridge Test [1:07]
8. 22 Twain [2:01]
9. Wang Meets Bensonmum [4:12]
10. The Charlestons Arrive [4:13]
11. Yetta [1:59]
12. Bensonmum & Perrier [2:57]
13. "I Don't Kiss." [6:09]
14. Before-Dinner Drinks [2:49]
15. Miss Jessica Marbles [1:40]
16. Wine Test [5:54]
17. Lionel Twain [5:44]
18. Chain of Fools [2:02]
19. Examining Bensonmum [3:49]
20. Filled With Empty People [3:55]
21. The Naked & the Dead [3:34]
22. Two of Everything [2:51]
23. Twain Murdered! [3:08]
24. Theories & Motives [8:15]
25. Murder by Death [4:20]
26. The Room Gets Shorter [1:32]
27. The Crime Is Solved? [5:46]
28. Simple & Direct Solution [4:56]

Dan Friedman

Murder by Death belongs on any list of the most overlooked comedies of the last few decades. A spoof on the mystery genre written by Neil Simon, the story involves caricatures of every prominent literary detective portrayed by a who's who of acting talent. Charlie Chan (Peter Sellers), Hercule Poirot (James Coco), Sam Spade (Peter Falk), Nick Charles (David Niven), and Miss Marple (Elsa Lanchester) all get the royal treatment, and the elaborate setup involves a recluse, played by Truman Capote, challenging them to a battle of wits. The jokes come like cannon fire and nearly every line of dialogue is a one-liner. Simon throws enough mystery elements into the script to keep things interesting, most exemplified by the blind butler played to perfection by Alec Guinness. One of the singular pleasures of this film is watching actors not ordinarily associated with laugh-out-loud comedy handle the material with tremendous amount of aplomb, particularly Niven, Guinness, and Maggie Smith as Niven's wife, who has perhaps the most sarcastic and funny part in the film. Capote is miscast, but the very fact of that makes his role even funnier. The mystery setup goes absolutely nowhere and there are shots of what could be assumed to be clues for the audience that are just red herrings. The whole thing is centered on the characters and the portrayals. Falk does a tremendous Humphrey Bogart impersonation and Sellers gives what has to be one of his more restrained performances, but hilariously funny, nonetheless. If there's one drawback it's that things may move too fast for a present-day audience. It seems more complicated than it really is, but Murder by Death is a good place to find consistent laughs. ~ Dan Friedman, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Dog: Myron  Actor 
Dave Grusin  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Moore  Director 
Neil Simon  Screenwriter 
Raymond Stark  Producer 
Eileen Brennan  Actor 
Truman Capote  Actor 
James Coco  Actor 
Peter Falk  Actor 
Alec Guinness  Actor 
Elsa Lanchester  Actor 
David Niven  Actor 
Peter Sellers  Actor 
Maggie Smith  Actor 
Nancy Walker  Actor 
Estelle Winwood  Actor 
James Cromwell  Actor 
Richard Narita  Actor 

Country: USA