“Murder By Death” – Truman Capote And Peter Sellers Were In A Movie Together?
“Murder By Death” (1976) is one of those lost and little seen gems that somehow got swept under the dusty rug of mid-seventies comedies. This is the sort of movie that should be played on Comedy Central on Friday afternoons (alongside “Clue”) but isn’t. It would fit in well on AMC too, Saturday at midnight perhaps, right after “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Like “World,” the main reason to see “Murder By Death” is the stellar cast. It features Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Truman Capote, Peter Falk, a young James Cromwell and Maggie Smith.
Peter Sellers is always watchable, no matter how poor the material, and here the material suits him well. Sellers plays master detective Sidney Wang, complete with Oriental makeup and fake accent. Fans of the old radio program The Goon Show, in which Sellers got his start, will recognize he has a lot of practice with this type of character. It is, frankly, astounding to see this was still acceptable in the seventies. But in Sellers’ defense, we must remember that this is a comedy, and for good reason comedies get a pass when it comes to racial impersonation. (Case in point: the Wayans Brothers’ 2004 disaster “White Chicks”).
The role is also rather satirical, as it is clearly a send-up of the old Charlie Chan mysteries. In fact each actor is spoofing a famous movie detective. David Niven is the British womanizing type detective, similar to James Bond. Peter Falk, on the other hand, is a cross-eyed variation on Humphrey Bogart.
They have all been called to the mansion of the enigmatic criminal mastermind Lionel Twain (Capote) to solve a murder. The murder is to be committed in the mansion, precisely at midnight, with all detectives present. Twain offers a million dollars to the detective who cracks the case first. But if no one can solve the mystery, Twain will have outsmarted the greatest detectives in the world, and proven himself their superior.
The script is by the immensely talented Neil Simon, but it never really rises above what you’d expect. For some reason, too much talent involved with a film project always seems to spoil the outcome (e.g. “Mars Attacks”). “Murder By Death” is a good way to pass ninety minutes, but you won’t be in any rush to see it again. It isn’t bad, but then again, it isn’t exactly good either.
I think “Murder By Death” is the perfect definition of an “average” movie.
Grade: C
P.S. This movie is available for instant viewing online if you have a Netflix membership.
Isn’t this cast amazing?
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