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	Murder by Death
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	Brand	SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
	List Price	$14.94
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	Categories	General   Peter Sellers   Whodunnit?   General AAS   Mystery   Suspense   Thrillers   Brennan, Eileen   Coco, James   Cromwell, James   Falk, Peter   Guinness, Alec   Lanchester, Elsa   Niven, David   Sellers, Peter   Smith, Maggie   Winwood, Estelle   Wray, Fay   Walker, Nancy   Moore, Robert   All Sony Pictures Titles   Comedy   ( M )   Movies & TV on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Trade-In   DVD   Widescreen   PG   1970 - 1979   English   Closed Caption   Standard Edition   Grade Level (feature_five_browse-bin)   Audio Type (feature_six_browse-bin)
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Description
Movie DVD
Neil Simon wrote this 1976 spoof in which virtually each famous fictional detective of the 1930s and 1940s congregate at the home of a mysterious fellow (Truman Capote) to try and solve the mystery of who's trying to kill them all. Simon's jokes are mostly obvious, and the film's real appeal is the clever concept matched together with fine--sometimes legendary--actors. Peter Falk plays a very Bogart-like Sam Spade equivalent, James Coco is a Hercule Poirot wannabe, Peter Sellers does a Charlie Chan bit, David Niven and Maggie Smith are reflections of Nick and Nora.... You get the image. Lighthearted and silly, this is cotton-candy comedy for the cast as well as viewers. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Who Died?   2010-07-16
By S. Burke (American Fork, UT)
Mrs. Twain murdered herself. You mean she committed suicide. No, it was murder...she really hated herself. There are so many lines you can quote that it is impossible to not love this movie. All the classic actors are in this. Back in the day Professor McGonagall was a head turner. This is a must watch for anyone who has a pulse...eyes are not required.
A Dinner With Death...   2010-07-07
By Ravi S. Madapati (California, US)
For all the fans of crime and noir movies, here comes one of the best satire's on the whole genre. Murder by Death is by far the funniest spoof on noir/mystery genre I have seen. Paying no respect to the stalwarts of the genre and taking the piss out of all and sundry, this movie should really rank up there in the noir-parody movies of all time. Made in 1976 by Robert Moore, in what could really be made into a sweet theatrical play, this is a forgotten classic. Lionel Twain (played by Truman Capote no less), a bored/lonely/twisted oldman invites five of the world's top most private-eyes to dinner at his country mansion. One of the detectives will be murdered right after dinner but nobody who is being picked. The murder will occur before 12.00AM, and who ever solves the murder will be payed $1 million. But Twain does not show up at the dinner, preferring to talk through a taxidermy animal head trophy stuck on the wall. He keeps dropping hints and raising allegations, while giving his announcements, as the guests have their dinner. Naturally, all the guests are agitated but since they are the best detectives in the world, they rise up to the challenge of solving the mystery of who is going to be killer. As the night progresses, we are treated to high doses of hilarious dark humor. The only maids in the mansion are the blind butler (blind, why? since he was cheap to hire) and the deaf/dumb cook. Comedy of errors and comedy of terrors ensue as we get closer to midnight. Low, the butler is murdered, and Twain disappears. The ending will have you in splits, since its easily the most ludicrous parody of events. Some of the finest acting is provided by Peter Sellers in his role as the "China-man" Sidney Wang, who strives hard to construct a sentence with an article, much to the chagrin of the well-bred Twain. Sidney Wang cracked me up when ever he opened his mouth. Also special mention to Pete Falk's Sam Diamond, a no-nonsense street smart, tough guy, who loves keeping naked pictures of musclemen in his closet, don't ask me why. This is truly a mad mad movie that will have you laugh all your worries away...2 thumbs up!
Disappointing   2010-02-16
By From Elder
Another reviewer described Truman Capote's acting as unimpressive - decidedly a gross understatement. However, the main weakness of the film is the cornball cheap humor and lack of wit. The great cast is wasted throughout. It's worse than Mel Brooks "History of the World". Also, there are many convoluted attempts at twists and turns, but the results offer few surprises. In the end, it's more of a high-school script than a movie. The DVD extras are minimal and mostly unenlightening.
Someone please explain the ending!!!!!!!!   2009-12-30
By John H. (boston, ma)
I loved this movie as a kid when it was shown on TV. But is there really a credible ending? Or is the ending just a farce? I never could decide if there was someone behind the murder(s).....We see Nancy Walker's character pull off the fake pinkies which we learned were one of Lionel Twain's physical traits. (he had no pinkies) So is she really Lionel Twain??? HELP!!!!!
"Are You NUTS, Pops? Someone's Trying to Kill Us!" "Yes! Should Make For Exciting Weekend."   2009-12-26
By Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)
Mr. Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) has called together the greatest detectives of all time for a weekend of murder at a remote estate. (Naturally, it includes thunder and lightening). These five detectives consist of Milo Perrier (James Coco), Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), and Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith). The guests arrive to find themselves served by a blind butler (Alex Guinness) and a deaf/mute maid (Nancy Walker). At dinner, their host appears and announces that someone at the table will be killed at midnight. But preventing the murder will be hard since rooms seem to come and go at will. As do bodies. Can these great detectives figure out what is going on? As a mystery lover, I have to love this movie. And I do. The spoofs are spot on, especially Peter Falk's Bogart impression as Sam Diamond. Since Neil Simon wrote the screenplay, the one liners come fast and furious. Both times I've seen this, I've been laughing hysterically multiple times. The movie does have a couple of flaws, however. The first are some rather racist comments and the stereotypical accent by Peter Sellers. Of course, that is part of the spoof, so it mostly works. The other is the ending. The mystery fan in me cries out for something better. But that's a minor complaint. There are parts of the denouncement that are pitch perfect as a spoof. Those who aren't familiar with the classics of the mystery genre might not find it nearly as enjoyable, but mystery fans will eat this up.