Director Moore and writer Neil Simon seem to have no real affection for either the characters they plunder mercilessly for laughs, or the locked room puzzle they turn on its head. Introductions over, the film slides downhill.
Murder by Death (1976)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:11
Rotten:5
Average Rating:6.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Neil Simon's screenplay is a clever spoof on murder mysteries in which eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites the world's greatest detectives to his home and challenges them to... Neil Simon's screenplay is a clever spoof on murder mysteries in which eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites the world's greatest detectives to his home and challenges them to solve the perfect murder. Among the sleuths that try to solve the case are Milo Perrier (James Coco), Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith), and Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), all of whom are easy-to-guess but altogether sharp parodies of beloved literary characters. [More]
Starring: Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk
Starring: Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, David Niven, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith
Director: Robert Moore
Director: Robert Moore
Producer: Ray Stark
Screenwriter: Neil Simon
Reviews for Murder by Death
Murder by Death is a very good silly-funny Neil Simon satirical comedy, with a super all-star cast cavorting as recognizable pulp fiction detectives gathered at the home of Truman Capote, wealthy hedonist fed up with contrived gumshoe plots.
This spoof of the great fictional-film detectives offers consistently funny scenes.
So it all doesn't amount to much, and -- some knuckle-dragging 'he's gay'/'no I'm not' humor aside -- it's more Scooby Doo than Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Still, it's an amusing tea-cozy of a spoof with an enjoyable cast.
A sometime funny satire on the old murder-mystery detective series of the 1930s and '40s. Some jokes hit, while others just bomb.
...pokes fun at every old fictional detective you can think of and every cliché you’ve ever wanted to red pencil out of a script.
Latest News for Murder by Death
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