Murder by Death is a 1976 ensemble comedy movie, written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore. The plot is a spoof of the traditional country house whodunit, familiar to mystery fiction fans from classics such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, a form also parodied for the stage in Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound. The cast includes a wealth of British and American comic stars of the time playing send-ups of well-known fictional sleuths, and also features a rare performance from Breakfast at Tiffany's author Truman Capote. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927 in New York City) is, after William Shakespeare, the most performed playwright of all time. ... Robert Moore (August 7, 1927 - May 10, 1984) was an American stage, film and TV director, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ... Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (September 15, 1890–January 12, 1976), was a British crime fiction writer. ... The 1945 film version, showing (left to right) Barry Fitzgerald, June Duprez and Walter Huston And Then There Were None (also known as Ten Little Indians and Ten Little Niggers) is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in England in 1939. ... Sir Tom Stoppard OM (born July 3, 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright, famous for plays such as The Real Thing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. ... The Real Inspector Hound is one of Tom Stoppards best-known short plays. ... Breakfast at Tiffanys is a novella by Truman Capote, published in 1958. ... Truman Capote by Harold Halma, 1948. ...

Cast of Characters

The action of the movie takes place in and around the isolated country home of eccentric multi-millionaire Lionel Twain (Capote), inhabited by his blind butler, Jamesir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and a deaf-mute maid called Yetta (Nancy Walker). As the movie opens, our heroes, all pastiches of famous detectives, are approaching the house through dense, fog-bound forest, accompanied by their assistants or sidekicks; it emerges that they have been invited to "dinner and a murder", over a weekend at Twain's wacky mansion. Truman Capote by Harold Halma, 1948. ... Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (April 2, 1914–August 5, 2000) was an English actor who became one of the most versatile and best-loved performers of his generation. ... Nancy Walker (May 10, 1922 - March 25, 1992) was an American actress. ...

Sidney Wang, played by Peter Sellers, is based on Charlie Chan, and appropriately accompanied by his son Willie (Richard Narita). Wang wears elaborate Chinese costume, and his grammar is frequently criticised by the host. Peter Sellers Richard Henry Sellers (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980), better known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian, talented comic actor, and performer on The Goon Show (a long-running BBC radio show, 1951-1960). ... 1938 titlecard Number One Sons with the seat of his pants on fire (in the film) Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-Hawaiian detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, reportedly in part under inspiration from the career of Chang Apana. ...

Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are polished, sophisticated society types modelled on Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man series of films. Their excellent breeding gets them out of a few scrapes during the course of the weekend. David Niven was the second unofficial James Bond. ... Dame Maggie Smith in Gosford Park Dame Margaret Natalie Smith Cross, DBE, (born December 28, 1934 in Ilford, Essex), better known as Maggie Smith, is a British film, stage, and television actress. ... Nick and Nora Charles, or Mr. ... DVD cover The Thin Man is the title of the first of six comic detective films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a hard-drinking and flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they easily solve crimes. ...

Milo Perrier (James Coco) is a take on Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and arrives at the house with his chauffeur Marcel (James Cromwell, of Babe and L.A. Confidential fame). Portly Perrier is over-fond of food , and is annoyed that he must share a room with lowly Marcel. James Coco (March 21, 1930 - February 25, 1987) was an American character actor. ... Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (September 15, 1890–January 12, 1976), was a British crime fiction writer. ... Hercule Poirot (pronounced Air-kewl Pwa-roe) is a fictional character, the primary detective of Agatha Christies novels who appears in over 30 books. ... James Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American television and film actor. ... Babe (also known as Babe, the Gallant Pig) is a 1995 fantasy film that tells the story of a talking pig who wants to be a herding dog. ... L.A. Confidential is a 1990 crime novel by James Ellroy that was turned into a 1997 film which tells the story of Los Angeles police in the 1950s, and police corruption bumping up against Hollywood celebrity. ...

Sam Diamond represents the hard-boiled American style of detective, perhaps most closely based on The Maltese Falcon's Sam Spade. Played by Peter Falk, he is ably assisted by Eileen Brennan as his loyal and efficient secretary, Tess Skeffington. Poster of the 1941 Warner Brothers film version, directed by John Huston The Maltese Falcon is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, made into a quintessential film noir movie. ... Poster of the 1941 Warner Brothers film version of The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston Sam Spade was the leading character in the novel and movie The Maltese Falcon (1931). ... DVD cover of Columbo - The Complete First Season Peter Falk (born September 16, 1927) is an American actor. ... Eileen Brennan (born September 3, 1935 in Los Angeles) is an American character actress of films, television, and theatre. ...

Christie's other great creation, Miss Marple, appears here as Jessica Marbles, played by Elsa Lanchester as a hearty, tweed-clad Englishwoman, with a frail, elderly companion, her "nurse" Miss Withers (a 93-year-old Estelle Winwood). Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (September 15, 1890–January 12, 1976), was a British crime fiction writer. ... Joan Hickson as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in many Agatha Christie novels. ... Elsa Lanchester (October 28, 1902-December 26, 1986), was a British-born American character actress, perhaps best-known as the long-suffering wife of Charles Laughton. ... Estelle Winwood (January 24, 1883 – June 20, 1984) was a English stage and film actress who in moved to America mid-career and became celebrated for her longevity. ...

Plot

The plot combines a convoluted, highly improbable murder-mystery arc with plenty of farce, slapstick, witty banter and self-referential humour (the IMdB carries a substantial quote page). Having lured his guests to his mansion, Twain announces that, as a test of their sleuthing prowess, they are expected to solve a murder which will take place in the house at 12 o'clock that very night, with a reward of $1 million to the winner. The party spend the rest of the weekend investigating, dining and bickering, manipulated by a mysterious behind-the-scenes force, confused by red herrings, baffled by the "mechanical marvel" that is Twain's house, and ultimately finding their own lives threatened. The ending piles in twist after twist as each surviving sleuth presents their theory on the case. Definition A farce is a comedy written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant - yet often possible - situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual innuendo, and a fast... Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence. ... Wit is a form of intellectual humour, based on manipulation of concepts; a wit is someone who excels in witty remarks, typically in conversation and spontaneously, since wit carries the connotation of speed of thought. ... Self-referential humor relies on making light of itself in some manner. ... A red herring, also refered to as a kipper, is a dried, smoked, herring. ... A twist ending is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of fiction, which may contain a surprising irony, or cause the audience to review the story from a different perspective by revealing new information about the characters or plot. ...

A brief late appearance by Sherlock Holmes in early versions of the movie was removed at some point. Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th century, created by British author and physician Arthur Conan Doyle. ...

Many of the cast returned for a later Simon/Moore collaboration, The Cheap Detective. Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927 in New York City) is, after William Shakespeare, the most performed playwright of all time. ... Robert Moore (August 7, 1927 - May 10, 1984) was an American stage, film and TV director, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... The Cheap Detective is a 1978 spoof comedy movie, written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder By Death. ...

External links

• Murder by Death's entry at the IMDB

Murder by Death is also an independent rock band, named after the movie. See Murder by Death (band). Murder by Death, formerly known as Little Joe Gould, is a four-piece rock band on Eyeball Records. ...