Murder By Death

Murder by Death is a satire/Black comedy of how five of the world greatest detectives are invited to a spooky mansion by egomanic millionaire Lionel Twain to solve a murder ...his own...

Cast

 * The Blind butler Jamessir Bensonmun.....Alec Guinness


 * Yenta the mute and deaf maid....Nancy Walker {Yenta is a nickname for a overtalkitive female}


 * Sam Diamond.....Peter Falk a spoof of Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade


 * Inspector Wang...Peter Sellers a spoof of Warner Orland's Charlie Chan


 * Nick Charleston...David Niven a spoof of Nick Charles of Nick and Nora Charles


 * Milo Perrier..James Coco a spoof of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot


 * Jessica Marbles...Elsa Lanchester a spoof of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple

Supporting cast:


 * Willie Wang aka No 1 adopted son....Richard Narita


 * Dora Charleston....Maggie Smith a spoof of Nora Charles of Nick and Nora Charles


 * Marcel Cassette...James Cromwell


 * Tess Skeffington...Eileen Brennan


 * Miss Withers.......Estelle Winwood


 * Sherlock Holmes...Keith McConnell


 * Doctor Watson......Richard Peel

Triva

 * As the fictional detectives leave the weird mansion...they meet Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson coming to the mansion. According to a Wikipedia an early draft of the script would have had Holmes and Watson "solving the case"!


 * Charles Adams who drew the cartoon which was the basis for The Adams family drew the drawings at the begining, the end and the movie poster.


 * Eileen Brennan also starred in the 1985 black comedy mystery Clue which featured three alternative endings based on the popular board game

Spoiled
Despite some funny performances-Guinness as the blind butler; Niven as the product of good breading and Coco as the fastious food loving Perrier {he dreads having to eat "Franks and beans", joke are only so good provided they are not so drawn out again and again...Estelle Winwood would have been better as Miss Marbles/Maples which Lanchester was quite miscast. LIkewise Peter Falk would have been better as a spoof of Columbo instead of imitating Humphrey Bogart and Peter Sellers would have been better as a spoof of Inspector Clouseau instead of imiating Warner Orland