Clue (1985)

Six guests are anonymously invited to a strange mansion for dinner, but after their host is killed, they must cooperate with the staff to identify the murderer as the bodies pile up.

Director:

Jonathan Lynn

Writers:

John Landis (story), Jonathan Lynn (story)

Stars:

Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eileen Brennan	...	Mrs. Peacock
Tim Curry	...	Wadsworth
Madeline Kahn	...	Mrs. White
Christopher Lloyd	...	Professor Plum
Michael McKean	...	Mr. Green
Martin Mull	...	Colonel Mustard
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Miss Scarlet
Colleen Camp	...	Yvette
Lee Ving	...	Mr. Boddy
Bill Henderson	...	The Cop
Jane Wiedlin	...	The Singing Telegram Girl
Jeffrey Kramer	...	The Motorist
Kellye Nakahara	...	The Cook
Will Nye	...	Cop #1
Rick Goldman	...	Cop #2

Storyline

This is a movie about seven guests, a butler, and a maid, who are all involved in a series of murders. The guests all meet at Hill House, where you learn that Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd) works in Washington, D.C., where everyone else lives. Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull) is a client of Miss Scarlet (Lesley Anne Warren), who is the ex-employer of Yvette (Colleen Camp), the maid, who had an affair with the husband of Mrs. White (Madeline Khan), et cetera. Blackmailer Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving) gives each guest a weapon and tells him or her to kill butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry) to avoid being exposed. Add in Mrs. Peacock's (Eileen Brennan's) craziness and Mr. Green's (Michael McKean's) clumsiness, and meet a whole group tangled in a web of murder, lies, and hilarity.

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Plot Keywords:

whodunit | based on board game | multiple endings | falling chandelier | murder investigation | 

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Taglines:

It's Not Just A Game Anymore.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Singing Telegram girl was played by Jane Wiedlin, best known as the rhythm guitarist of The Go-Go's.

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Goofs

In the scene at the end when Miss Scarlet has been exposed, she has the revolver which is supposed to be empty (1+2+2+1 or 1+1+2+1). She is pointing it at everybody. You can see into the cylinders and there are clearly at least 4 bullets in the empty gun.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Wadsworth: Is everything ready?
Yvette: Oui, Monsieur.
Wadsworth: You have your, um, instructions.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits begin with "Clue" game cards that are flipped over to reveal pictures of the main characters and the names of the actors that played them.

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Alternate Versions

Three different endings exist for this movie, each with a different person being the killer. In theaters, only one of the endings was shown. Television and rental versions include all of the endings.

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Connections

Spoofed in What's Your Game?: Mystery Guest - David (2020)

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Soundtracks

Sh-Boom
By James Keyes (as J. Keyes), Claude Feaster (as C. Feaster), Carl Feaster (as C. Feaster), Floyd McRae (as F. McRae), and James Edwards (as J. Edwards)
Performed by The Crew Cuts (uncredited)

User Reviews

Too gimmicky for its own good but a very funny farce nonetheless

This may be sound like damning with faint praise but this is basically as a good of a movie as you can get from adapting a board game. Working in all the iconic bits-character names, the weapons, Mr. Boddy, secret passages etc.-severely hamstrings a screenplay. The script isn't very good from a story perspective-I don't think any of endings actually make sense and all the characters are empty tropes-but it is good at reminding you of the game, being fun and having a couple of things to say about the genre. Communism was always a red herring indeed.

The film's success, such as it is, comes largely from the cast and the director doubling down on this being on farce based on a board game. The sets and manner house is delightfully pitched and stilted in the design. The film even manages to have the floor like like the game titles. This is a great looking film regardless of the lax writing. Likewise, the cast makes some dodgy material really work. Wadsworthis my favorite Curry character and if nothing else the film is worth seeing for that slice of glorious ham.

Probably the most noteworthy film is that it is a murder mystery with 3 solutions released concurrently to the public. If nothing else that was a fun experiment.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Clue: The Movie

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,014,166, 15 December 1985

Gross USA:

$14,643,997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,643,997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, The Guber-Peters Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1