An eccentric millionaire named Lionel Twain (Capote) invites five of the world's greatest detectives -- Sam Diamond of San Francisco (Falk), Jessica Marbles of England (Lanchester), Dick Charleston of New York (Niven), Milo Perrier of Belgium (Coco), and Sidney Wang of China (Sellers) -- to his mansion for dinner and a murder. He wagers $1,000,000 that none of them will be able to solve the crime. Neil Simon's 1976 script and the five foregoing characters of course satirize Bogart as Spade, Miss Marple, Nick Charles of the Thin Man series, Inspector Poirot, and Charlie Chan, along with various companions, from Diamond's secretary and mistress Tess Skeffington (Brennan) to Dora Charleston (grandly played by Smith). Also along for the ride are Guinness as the blind butler Bensonmum and Nancy Walker as a deaf maid and cook. (Watch for a relatively youthful James Cromwell mangling a thick French accent as Perrier's chauffeur.) The script ranges from lame, obvious, and labored to mildly funny, but it's great fun to see this splendid cast ham it up.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
The world's greatest detectives are called together to solve a crime that has not yet been committed.
The review of this Movie prepared by kaity loder
World famous detectives get invited to a spooky old mansion by an old geezer. The geezer tells them at midnight someone will die. It's a suspensfully funny movie.
The review of this Movie prepared by Aaron G.
You are invited to dinner--and to a murder! The world's most famous “detectives” have
been invited for just such an occasion and in this spoof written by comic master Neil
Simon, this “collection” is given the challenge--to solve the murder and to settle once an d
for all, just who is the “best.” The cast is a veritable melange of actors: Eileen Brennan,
Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchestser, David Niven,
Peter Seller, and Maggie Smith. Lots of silliness abounds as “what you see is not what you
get”! Once again, the movie proves that the pun is mightier than the sword. Clever movie,
but not one necessarily that'll stick to your “all time favorites” list--but still worth
a peep, especially if you like comic silliness!
The review of this Movie prepared by Bill Hobbs
