IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive
RottenTomatoes.com
Register | Log In | What is RT?
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Trailers & Pictures The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches by subscribing to our Google Subscribed Links profile.
 
Movies / On DVD / Murder by Death
Murder by Death

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Email to a Friend
  • Add to List
  • Bookmark and Share
  • Buy Poster External Icon

Murder by Death (1976)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
69 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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 solve the perfect murder. Among the... 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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Murder by Death

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/03/07
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

This spoof of the great fictional-film detectives offers consistently funny scenes.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/03/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image

Stunningly unfunny.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/03/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
06/27/06
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

As light and insubstantial as one could wish.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/04
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
07/20/03
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image

Generally successful send-up of classic mysteries with a lame finale.

comment Comment
06/16/03
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Ratings Image

A sometime funny satire on the old murder-mystery detective series of the 1930s and '40s. Some jokes hit, while others just bomb.

comment Comment
01/02/03
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
11/18/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

Hit & miss mystery spoof hits more often than it misses.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Far from great.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
03/05/02
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
Ratings Image

...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.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/19/01
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
all

Latest News for Murder by Death

October 03, 2007: Total Recall: The Heartbreak Kid and the Movies of Neil Simon
After toning down the crude and turning up the cute for the last three years, the Farrelly brothers return to R-rated raunch territory with The Heartbreak Kid, opening this... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Murder by Death

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
FRESH: 1 93% Iron Man
FRESH: 2 85% Forgetting Sarah Marshall
ROTTEN: 3 50% Sex and the City - The…
ROTTEN: 4 52% Leatherheads
ROTTEN: 5 12% Made of Honor

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
ROTTEN: 35 35% You Don't Mess with the Zohan
ROTTEN: 18 18% The Happening
FRESH: 75 75% Paranoid Park
FRESH: 93 93% The Visitor
FRESH: 71 71% Stuck

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Mirrors

Mirrors

Alexandre Aja talks exclusively to RT!

Best Animated Movies

Best Animated Movies

Which films top RT's list of the greats?

RT's Costume Guide

RT's Costume Guide

Dress to impress this Halloween!

The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom

New pics of Rachel Weisz' latest!

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
64
  • Goyer Debunks Every Single TDK Sequel Rumor Source: MTV
42
  • Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens?
90
  • The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage
50
  • Brett Ratner Is Your God of War Source: UGO
24
  • Kenneth Branagh Directing Thor? Source: Variety
36
  • First Shots of Mia Wasikowska as Burton's Alice Surface Source: Slashfilm
2
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: Ain't It Cool News
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Johnny Depp to play Tonto in The Lone Ranger
47
  • Exclusive: David Carradine Cameo in Crank 2 says Statham
2
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Bill Murray's Best Movies
46
  • Critics Consensus: Express Scores, Body of Lies Falls Flat
34
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
32
  • RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered
30
  • Box Office Wrapup: The Dogs Rule Once Again
13
  • Box Office Guru Preview: Audiences Surrounded by Lies
9
  • Exclusive: Alexandre Aja talks Mirrors and Piranha 3D
7
  • Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2
3
  • Meet Corey Feldman Courtesy of RT
1
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Exclusive: Alexandre Aja talks Mirrors and Piranha 3D
7
  • RT Interview: Jason Statham Chats Death Race, Crank 2 and The Sweeney
9
  • Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT
13
  • Video Exclusive: Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser and the Mummy 3 Cast Talk to RT
14
  • RT goes behind the scenes on Stargate: Continuum
4
  • Starship Troopers' Casper Van Dien Shares His Five Favorite Films
48
  • RT Interview: Philippe Petit on Crossing the Twin Towers on a Wire
2
  • RT Interview: David Duchovny on The X-Files, Californication and Directing
11
  • RT Interview: Ben Barnes on Taking on the Journey of Prince Caspian
1
  • RT Interview: William Moseley on His Last Narnia Adventure in Prince Caspian
2
 
 

Around The Network

  • Murder by Death at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Murder by Death at IGN
 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.