Neil Simon was in a transitional period when he wrote this. While most of his stuff prior to this had been screen adapt
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Murder by Death
Eric266 — 10 years ago(November 16, 2015 10:39 AM)
Neil Simon was in a transitional period when he wrote this. While most of his stuff prior to this had been screen adaptations of his plays, he was finally starting to write strictly for the screen and this is one of those screenplays that was in that transitional period. You can tell by the limited number of sets (the dining room, pantry and bedrooms) that is feels like a play. He hadn't quite got into the groove that he would display in films like Seems like Old Times, The Goodbye Girls and, my personal favorite, The Lonely Guy.
Having said this, the film felt uneven to me. There are some great characterizations of famous literary characters. David Niven and Maggie Smith nail Dick and Dora Charleston (Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man novels). Their interactions were both snooty and sexy. I laughed the hardest when the dead body is missing and Dora asks why anyone wants a dead body. Dickie whispers in her ear (I wonder exactly what David Niven whispered in her ear). Maggie Smith's response is classic and when she calls it "tacky" I think that was when I cracked up the most. I also loved the way she kept asking for her "Dickie". Peter Sellers' portrayal of Sydney Wang (Charlie Chan) is spot on and his one liners were funny. Peter Falk as Sam Diamond (Sam Spade, get it?) was pretty funny, too, with his one liners and double entendres to Dora Charleston.
I did not care for Elsa Lancaster or James Coco as Jessica Marbles (Jane Marples) and Milo Perrier (Hercule Poirot), respectively. They were too buffoonish and I didn't feel they paid the proper respect to the characters as the other portrayals did.
A highlight of the film was Sir Alec Guiness as the Butler. Hearing him speak I kept waiting for him to say "May the Force be with you." I know this movie came out the year before Star Wars, but to movie fans my age, he will always be Obi Wan Kenobi.
While I loved the acting, the plot seemed a bit boring. The plotting of the entire film seemed off kilter. I couldn't quite place my finger on it. When the characters are interacting with each other, its gold. When they focus on the murder, the movie slowed down for me.
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Ace_Moonshot — 9 years ago(May 21, 2016 05:34 AM)
I agree with you in some ways. Namely the interactions were far more entertaining than when the mystery is attempted to be solved. Also the Coco role fell flat for me.
Also, Maggie saying "oh, that's tacky,' is my favorite bit. It is how she says it. It was a pitch perfect delivery that never fails to delight me.
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