Murder by Death

1976 

Burbank, California

Robert Moore

Comedy Whodunit 

What’s it all about: It’s the 1970s, and no one is offended. Truman Capote gathers an all-star cast of the world’s greatest detectives to solve a murder, but it is their dinner dates (Maggie Smith, Eileen Brennan, Estelle Winwood) who kill it. 

First Encounter: first viewing

Prostitute Index: low (“She’s a cocktail waitress at the waterbed motel in Carmel”)

Death By: scorpion

Relics: calligraphy party invitations

Hoops: trapped in a mansion, paintings that are watching you, a murder at midnight

Heartthrobs: Maggie Smith, David Niven

Pass/Fails the Test of Time: yellow face, blind butler gags

LoFi Magic: Nancy Walker as a deaf-mute cook

Words to live by: “You’ve all been so clever, for so long, you forget to be humble.”

Makes me want to: drive a fancy Aston Martin

Candotti Take: n/a

Worth a watch/rewatch: Yes (it sags greatly in the middle, you can skip ahead to midnight)

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