I recently watched the Clue movie from 1985 and it turned out to be a pretty hilarious screwball comedy with a great cast including Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, and Colleen Camp, but it’s Tim Curry as the butler, who has twice as many lines as anyone else, … Continue reading They Wanted a Ton of Money
Whodunits
The Murder That Was Backwards
Most of The Chinese Orange Mystery (1934) takes place on the 22nd floor of Manhattan’s Hotel Chancellor, which houses both the office of Donald Kirk—wealthy young publisher, socialite, jewel and stamp collector—and the huge apartment Kirk shares with his sister, his wheelchair-bound father, and the fiery old philologist’s private nurse. At 5:44 p.m. on a … Continue reading The Murder That Was Backwards
Betcha Can’t Read Just One
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mystery fan, having just read a satisfying Christie whodunit, must be in want of another. And after finishing Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, I was rarin’ to tackle one more. As the next episode of the Poirot series was a dramatization of the 1955 novel Hickory Dickory Dock, I decided to … Continue reading Betcha Can’t Read Just One
So Much Blood…
Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? James Watts, Agatha Christie’s brother-in-law, complained that her murders were getting too anaemic. He wanted a “good violent murder with lots of blood”, so she wrote Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and dedicated it to him. The 1938 novel is classic Christie and … Continue reading So Much Blood…
Looking Through a Glass Onion
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson’s followup to Knives Out, is a fun whodunit but perhaps a tad less so than the first one. Nevertheless, it’s a wild ride all the way. Inspired, at least in part, by the Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins whodunit The Last of Sheila, it contains lots of references to that complex … Continue reading Looking Through a Glass Onion
My House My Rules
After listening to the Rian Johnson episode of Scriptnotes that I wrote about yesterday, and in anticipation of the second film of the Knives Out franchise, Glass Onion, I decided to watch Knives Out again last evening. Not counting the times I’ve listened to the commentary tracks, this makes my third outing with this film. Even though it’s … Continue reading My House My Rules
Rian Meets Carr
Episode 579 of the Scriptnotes podcast, entitled Rian Johnson Returns, features, not surprisingly, a guest appearance by Rian Johnson. Rian Johnson is the writer/director of the Knives Out series of whodunits that began with Knives Out and is continuing with Glass Onion. The discussion is lots of fun, as John and Craig have a bit … Continue reading Rian Meets Carr
Bitter Almonds
If you’re a reader of whodunits you’re probably familiar with this scene. The detective (perhaps a professional detective or maybe an amateur sleuth, it makes no difference) comes across the body of the recently deceased and takes a whiff (perhaps of the deceased mouth or maybe from the glass where the deceased took a final … Continue reading Bitter Almonds
Murder After Christmas
Christmas seems like such a perfect time for a murder, doesn’t it? All the suspects, uh, I mean relatives, are gathered together in what is supposed to be, but seldom is, a joyous occasion. Perhaps that’s why there are so many whodunits centered around a Christmas theme. Including this little gem by little-known author Rupert … Continue reading Murder After Christmas
Advice for Screenwriters
“I recommend all screenwriters spend time reading Agatha Christie. Just pick a sampling of two Poirots and two Marples. And just see how she does it. And see how clever she is. And see how much logical insight and brilliance is involved in designing these things, particularly in such a fashion where it works … Continue reading Advice for Screenwriters