Murder by Death

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Murder by Death

PG

Released Jun 23, 1976

1h 34m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

63%

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24 Reviews

82%

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10,000+ Ratings

Five diverse, infamous private eyes, including Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), are invited to the mysterious Lionel Twain's castle for a dinner party. There, they are told that Twain plans an unsolvable murder in the house at midnight -- and he will pay $1 million to the one who determines the killer. But when Twain's blind butler, Bensonmum (Alec Guinness), dies long before the deadline, the stakes go up for the trapped sleuths.

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Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

Never before have been collected in one film such confident wild syntax as Peter Sellers’, such delicate disgust and common sense as Maggie Smith’s, such enthusiasm about makeup for seventy-six-year-olds as Truman Capote’s.

Mar 4, 2024

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Variety Staff

Variety

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.

Oct 3, 2007

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Stunningly unfunny.

Oct 3, 2007

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...has a paucity of comic imagination that’s timelessly disheartening.

Rated: 1/4

Sep 10, 2024

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Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

Yes the writer Neil Simon is a notable American playwright and screenwriter and I love seeing Peter Falk and I enjoy Peter Sellers, but Sellers' yellowface as a Charlie Chan parody is cringey in 2024.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 16, 2024

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Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

Mystery fans will be disappointed... Simon fans, however, will adore the usual plethora of one-liners, and everyone will admire the acting of a star-studded cast.

May 9, 2023

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Bonzo G

Couldn't make it past 10mins, I tried, but 1-liners, sight gags and stereotypes?!?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Péter D

For me, it is one of the best movies of all time that I can watch at any time. Excellent actors, great style parody and lovable script. Every minute of it is worth gold, even though it won't change the world, it'll just keep you pleasantly entertained.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/01/24

Full Review

Alec B

I do kind of appreciate the call outs against the bad mystery writing that pervaded a lot of supposedly "classic" characters of the genre. That said, it all gets a little one note.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

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Misty S

The old sleuth classic with the classic movie stars, adore this movie💯

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Paul M

An comedy gem which makes fun of - yet has such love for - pop culture's classic sleuths like Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, and Hercule Poirot, "Murder By Death" brings fun and laughs like only writer Neil Simon can deliver. Killer cast too - omg, there are so many fantastic performances and lines! Unfortunately these days this movie is overshadowed by "Clue," its overrated ripoff, made 10 years after. But "Murder By Death" is the original detective parody and the better movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Donald A

Murder by Death is a ridiculous farce. Once in a while, the odd joke flies in and doesn't stick. However, its astute seriousness in the entirety of the situation makes the landing and eventually certifies this murder comedy into a mostly enjoyable 94 minutes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

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Robert Moore

Director

Peter Falk

Sam Diamond

Peter Sellers

Inspector Sidney Wang

Truman Capote

Lionel Twain

Eileen Brennan

Tess Skeffington

James Coco

Inspector Milo Perrier

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Murder by Death: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Five diverse, infamous private eyes, including Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), are invited to the mysterious Lionel Twain's castle for a dinner party. There, they are told that Twain plans an unsolvable murder in the house at midnight -- and he will pay $1 million to the one who determines the killer. But when Twain's blind butler, Bensonmum (Alec Guinness), dies long before the deadline, the stakes go up for the trapped sleuths.

Director: Robert Moore
Producer: Ray Stark
Screenwriter: Neil Simon
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 23, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2010
Runtime: 1h 34m

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