What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Monday, July 8, 2024

Murder by Death - 1976

I saw an article about this movie, saw some of the cast, and immediately tracked it down.

This movie is poking fun at 5 of the most famous detectives of fiction. Represented are Nick and Nora (David Niven and Maggie Smith), Charlie Chan (Peter Sellers), Sam Spade (Peter Falk), Miss Marple (Elsa Lanchester), and Hercule Poirot (James Coco). I'm not as familiar with the last two actors as I am with the others.

Truman Capote also appears in this, and there's a blind butler that brings a physical comedy to the movie that hits and misses. The whole movie is full of those to be honest. Looking at the movie through today's eyes, there's a lot people could get offended by (Peter Sellers playing the Chinese/Hawaiian detective for instance). BUT, if you're familiar with the detectives, you could get a few chuckles out of this movie. I did.

I liked the movie. Did all the jokes hit? No. But I was familiar with most of the detectives, so the pokes at them were funny. The only one I wasn't super familiar with was Sam Spade, but I knew a bit about him. He's the age of noir, and you can tell. The end was pretty funny, even though the cackling went on a bit too long. I'm giving it a Good Movie! review, but if you aren't familiar with the detectives being spoofed, I'm not sure you'd agree with me.



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