It was as early as 1979 when producer Debra Hill (of “Halloween” fame) had a desire to adapt the Parker Brothers board game, “Clue”. Originally set up at Universal Pictures, famed British detective novelist P.D. James was initially hired to write a screenplay with multiple endings.
The movie eventually moved over to Paramount Pictures with John Landis and the film’s director, Jonathan Lyn, penning the updated screenplay. Landis was the one who came up with the movie’s three different endings. When it was released in theaters on December 13, 1985, depending on where you saw “Clue”, you would be treated to one of the three different endings.
When the movie finally came out on home video, it included all three endings. At the end of the day, though, the movie ended up failing at the box-office and with critics. It only made just shy of $15 million which is also what the budget happened to be. Over the years, though, it has gained a definite cult following and last year for the movie’s 50th anniversary, it was re-released back into theaters for a three-night event showcasing each ending.
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| There are plenty of suspicious characters in "Clue", but which one of them is a true killer! |
The movie follows the loose structure of the board game. Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Mrs. White (Madeline Khan), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), and Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren) have all been summoned to a mansion headed over by the butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry). Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving) is also summoned because he is also the one that has been blackmailing them all for various reasons.
As it turns out, Wadsworth is trying to lure Mr. Boddy into a trap where Wadsworth has summoned the police to arrest Mr. Boddy. However, Mr. Boddy provides all of the guests with a weapon of choice and if they can, they should kill Wadsworth in order to keep their secrets. He then turns out the lights, a gunshot rings out, and when the lights come back on, Mr. Boddy is dead and the guests need to figure out who committed the murder before the cops arrive or before the killer strikes again.
This is a movie that I’d only discovered for the first time a few short years ago. This is another one of those situations where a film’s reputation as a box-office and critical failure made me keep it at arms length. I really wish I hadn’t paid attention to the negative reception because, for me, this is a truly underrated comedy. It’s insanely fun as you run around with these oddball groups of people, all of whom suspect one another.
The performances are great as you have heavy hitters such as Lloyd, McKean, Mull, and Khan involved. However, the true MVP of the movie is Curry as Wadsworth. His manic energy as he finally starts to explain what happens in the movie is perfection.
The three ending structure was a clever design even if it was a bit too gimmicky. There have been talks about doing a remake and if they do manage to get a new film up and running, I hope it remembers the laughs and I kind of hope they bring back the multiple endings for different theaters.
It may have taken me awhile, but I finally got around to seeing “Clue”, a mystery comedy that I think anyone in the audience would have a good time watching.
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