Review of Murder by Death (1976) by Phil H — 20 Sep 2011
A silly spoof of the mystery genre in both books and film, "Murder By Death" assembles an all-star cast to play knock-off characters inspired by famous fictional detectives. Truman Capote (yes, that Truman Capote) invites the sleuths to his mansion to solve a murder that has yet to be committed. From there, the detectives theorize, snoop, and generally try to one-up each other in a crisp script written by Neil Simon.
The film isn't exactly PC by todays standards (the great Peter Sellers playing a Charlie Chan knockoff might be cringe-worthy if he wasn't so damn funny doing it), but that just opens the door for some great scenes. Alec Guiness as the blind butler, and Nancy Walker as a mute maid score the most inappropriate jokes, and by far the biggest laughs.
The ending is a bit disappointing, but it's a joy watching such a talented cast not take themselves seriously for a couple of hours.
This review of Murder by Death (1976) was written by Phil H on 20 Sep 2011.
Murder by Death has generally received positive reviews.
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