When I was eleven years old, I did not imagine that there could ever be another movie half as good as Murder by Death. I loved it so much that I sneaked my cassette recorder into the theater and taped the dialogue so that I could listen to it over and over. I read the novelization until it fell apart. If videotape had been an option for me then, this would have been the first cassette I would have wanted and I would have watched it the tape expired from overuse.
Why? Mostly because it played into two of my obsessions at the time: Agatha Christie and Neil Simon. At that age, I was rapidly reading my way through both of them. That Simon knew Christie well enough to write a screenplay parodying her accurately was thrilling to me. To see that comedy played out by one of the best comedy casts assembled in the 1970s was a transporting experience.
I was a very weird kid.
Is the movie as good as I thought it was then? Are you kidding? I was eleven. Murder by Death is a gimmicky parody with some wonderful scenes and at least one dull stretch. The good news is that this is still a very funny movie, especially for those of us who have enough knowledge of and affection for classic mysteries to get the jokes.
The Guests
The plot is simple enough: rich Lionel Twain has invited five of the world’s greatest detectives to his home for dinner and a murder. The one to solve the mystery will receive a substantial cash prize and a boost in fame from beating out the best.
My favorite characters in the film are Jessica Marbles and her ancient nurse Miss Withers. The two characters parody both the film and literary versions of Christie’s Miss Marple. In the novels, she was much closer to the delicate, elderly Estelle Winwood. In the movies, she was played by the more substantial and enterprising Margaret Rutherford. Elsa Lanchester is a delightful bloodhound in the role. I think she’s more vulnerable and subtle than Rutherford, so, for me, this is one place where the parodist surpasses the original.
This is not the case with James Coco as Milo Perrier, modeled on Christie’s premier detective Hercule Poirot. Perhaps because Poirot did not really make a strong screen impression until Albert Finney brought him to life in 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express, Simon does not really seem to have a strong handle on how to parody the character. Coco is left to play standard issue fat and French jokes. He’s still a lot of fun, and a pre-BabeJames Cromwell is very amusing as his chauffeur.
The best of the non-Christie detectives are David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston, Simon’s take-off on Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles. Niven is appropriately dapper and suave, providing a perfect foil for Smith’s more overtly comic creation. Smith is maybe the finest purveyor of high comedy to appear more than sporadically in the movies, and she is at her best here, flirting, screaming, wisecracking, and looking great.
Also quite sexy is Eileen Brennan as the hard-boiled girlfriend of Peter Falk’s Sam Diamond. The character name combines Hammett’s Sam Spade and the radio and television detective Richard Diamond. Falk, of course, could have appeared as his own legendary detective, Columbo. He’s great here, as a Bogartish gumshoe. Unfortunately, Simon and Falk tried to sustain a very similar character in 1978’s The Cheap Detective. The movie lacked much of the wit and nearly all of the charm of this one, where Falk’s tough guy is a little less tough and doesn’t have to carry the picture.
I love Peter Sellers, but I don’t love his Charlie Chan character Sidney Wang. True, Wang seems to be both the smartest and the least selfish of the detectives- I see some real affection toward his son Willie (Richard Narita.) Still, racism is racism and I don’t like humor based on cultural stereotypes, no matter how cleverly or affectionately it is delivered. The Wang character is a major reason why the film has not aged as well as it might have.
The Home Team
As blind butler Jamesir Bensonmum, Alec Guinness is stuck with a dumb name and some silly physical comedy to play. Because I love the movie, I’ll try not to ruin the ending. Still, since it is Guinness’presence that occasions this review, I will say that the actor does get to play a tour de force scene that finally takes full advantage of his abilities.
Nancy Walker is not quite wasted as the non-speaking maid. As host Twain Truman Capote is appropriately odious, and his unforgettable voice brings life to what might otherwise be some fairly dull exposition.
Sights and Sounds
Of course I’m going to rave about Dave Grusin’s fantastic theme music, which sets the perfect tone of mysterious, cheerful fun. The title sequence is made even better with the great pop-up Charles Addams drawings. The sets are perfect, creating Twain’s house as a more interactive version of Disney’s Haunted Mansion.
I think director Robert Moore was right in removing some scenes for the theatrical release which have been restored for video release and most television airings. Pace is a delicate thing in this sort of material, and adding the extra scenes is like adding flour to a soufflé: I just don’t think it rises the way it should with the extra weight.
Write Off
This review is part of a Write Off organized by Epinions writer knix to celebrate the career of actor Alec Guinness. Please check out the other participants:
The world s greatest detectives have been invited to dinner. But when murder is on the menu, who will make it to dessert? You are cordially invited to...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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