A look back at this trendsetting mystery/comedy
One of the most high-profile box office offerings of the season comes in the form of Murder on the Orient Express. Director Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie novel boasts top production values and an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and Branagh himself, who performs double duty as he also takes on the iconic lead role of Hercule Poirot.
Not only is the film catnip for fans of the big name cast, but it gives mystery lovers a chance to indulge in their favorite genre as it hits the multiplex once again. It also gives me the perfect excuse to write about one of my favorite old school all-star murder mysteries; the Neil Simon comedy Murder by Death.
Set in the 1930s, Murder by Death finds the world’s five greatest living detectives summoned to the country estate of mystery author Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) for an invitation that promises “dinner and a murder.” Among the invited guests and their cohorts are Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith), Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) and his secretary Tess Skeffington (Eileen Brennan), Inspector Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) and his son Willie (Richard Narita), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) and her “nurse” Miss Withers (Estelle Winwood) and Milo Perrier (James Coco) and his valet Marcel (James Cromwell). Waiting to greet the guests is a blind butler named Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and a deaf mute maid named Yetta (Nancy Walker). As the evening proceeds, the tables are turned as the devilish Twain plunges his guests into a mystery so complicated, it possesses the ability to baffle them all.
As a Neil Simon comedy, Murder by Death is a real bounty of great comedic dialogue spread evenly among the sizable and game cast. What makes the script funnier is seeing just how well-tailored Simon has made each line to the detective he or she is playing. “The last time that I trusted a dame was in Paris in 1940,” Sam says to Tess. “She said she was going out to get a bottle of wine. Two hours later, the Germans marched into France.” Being a Simon comedy, it’s only natural that Murder by Death requires countless viewings to uncover all the jokes in the hilariously written screenplay. “Since we cannot call for a doctor, I will need a cold compress for my chauffeur, and a cup of hot chocolate for me, n’est ce pa,” Milo instructs to Bensonmum which the hapless butler responds with: “I don’t think we have any Nespa, sir. Just Hershey’s.” While Murder by Death has always been lauded for its twist on the creaky house murder mystery, most forget the sole joy of Simon’s screenplay, with some almost dismissing it as a collection of jokes used to pass the time between plot twists. Yet so seldom has a script been just as special as the action surrounding it the way it is in Murder by Death, operating on a level few other comedies (even those written by Simon himself) ever could. “Most amusing,” Wang says as Jessica and Milo argue over a dead body. “Bickering detectives like making lamb stew: everything goes to pot!”
But the main draw of Murder by Death has always been its value as a comedy/mystery. The movie has a true ball sending up as many genre conventions as possible without ever making the film feel cluttered or uneven. Besides the up front element of giving its characters names which work as plays on famous fictional detectives (Nick and Nora Charles, Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot), there are plenty of twists within the mystery of the story which prove to be a fun collection of genuine brain teasers. The appearance, and overall existence, of Yetta is one which still baffles, as does the pile of revelations each person reveals at the start of the third act. The juiciest mystery moment however comes in the sequence concerning the dining room. With all guests initially locked inside the dining room, a pair of the detectives investigate gunshots heard somewhere in the house only to return to an empty dining room with all guests having vanished. A mere closing of the door and counting aloud to ten makes the room full again with guests who insist they never left. Even the film’s ending is a frustrating, yet fun, puzzle with each detective having their moment at solving the central mystery only for the audience to discover that it has not been solved by a long shot.
To single one performance out over another would be not only be impossible, but would also be a grave disservice to the cast as a whole. Every name in the ensemble performs at their absolute best, being as funny as their fans expect them to be with each enjoying plenty of room to establish their characters. If there is one surprise among the bunch, it’s Capote himself. Always a character in life, here the celebrated author shows a real flair and knack for film acting, even earning a Golden Globe nomination for his turn as the movie’s flamboyant, yet utterly entertaining heavy.
Going back and forth between parody and mystery is tricky for any genre to pull off, especially one made in the pre-Airplane days. Yet Murder by Death managed to do just that. The film won over critics, who bestowed upon Simon a Writer’s Guild nomination, while saw audiences flocking to the theaters, making it a bona-fide hit and an instant minor classic.
Murder by Death represents one of the earliest in a line of murder mystery comedies which included Haunted Honeymoon, The Private Eyes, The Cheap Detective (a Simon-made pseudo sequel) and Clue, perhaps the most beloved of all in the genre. Yet even today, Murder by Death remains not just the first, but the greatest in this odd, yet beloved sub-genre for a number of reasons. The movie shows Simon throwing caution to the wind in terms of comedy and proves its love of the genre in the way it lovingly plays on virtually every mystery staple in the book, creating a very worthy mystery in the process. Above all though, Murder by Death will always be worthy of praise and recognition for the way it bravely combined all such elements and turned them into a form of movie magic with the belief it would be embraced. Oh, how right they were.
