Underplayed Gems

Murder by Death (1976)

Murder by Death poster
Directed by
Robert Moore
Genre
comedy film, crime film, mystery film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 35m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.2 of 10 from 904 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A wealthy eccentric invites the world's greatest detectives to his mansion for a dinner party and a murder mystery. The famous sleuths compete to solve a crime that may or may not be real. It is a spoof of classic whodunit stories.

playfulwhimsicallightheartedcampyfast-pacedwittyfarcicalnostalgic

What happens

Murder by Death is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood. The plot is a broad parody or spoof of the traditional country-house whodunit, familiar to mystery fiction fans of classics such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The cast is an ensemble of British and American actors playing send-ups of well-known fictional sleuths, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan, Nick and Nora Charles, and Sam Spade. It also features a rare acting performance by author Truman Capote. The film was presented at the Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 1976. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.