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Murder by Death ()

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Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.
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Photos and Videos

69 photos | 3 videos

Cast verified as complete

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Tess Skeffington
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Lionel Twain
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Milo Perrier
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Sam Diamond
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Bensonmum
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Jessica Marbles
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Dick Charleston
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Sidney Wang
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Dora Charleston
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Maid
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Nurse
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Marcel
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Willie Wang
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Myron ...
Myron the Dog (uncredited)
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Screaming Door Bell (uncredited) (archiveSound)

Directed by

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Robert Moore

Written by

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Neil Simon ... (written by)

Produced by

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Roger M. Rothstein ... associate producer
Ray Stark ... producer

Music by

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Dave Grusin

Cinematography by

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David M. Walsh ... director of photography

Editing by

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John F. Burnett

Editorial Department

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Margaret Booth ... supervising film editor
John Brice ... apprentice film editor
Michael A. Stevenson ... assistant film editor

Casting By

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Jennifer Shull

Production Design by

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Stephen B. Grimes ... (as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by

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Harry Kemm

Set Decoration by

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Marvin March

Costume Design by

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Ann Roth ... (costumes designed by)

Makeup Department

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Joe DiBella ... makeup (as Joseph Di Bella)
Charles H. Schram ... makeup supervisor (as Charles Schram)
Vivienne Walker ... hairstylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Fred T. Gallo ... assistant director
David Sosna ... second assistant director (as David O. Sosna)

Art Department

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Richard Lawrence ... uncredited
Terry E. Lewis ... property master
Ron Frazier ... carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Jerry Jost ... sound mixer
Joseph Kite ... boom operator
Tex Rudloff ... re-recordist
Frank E. Warner ... sound effects editor (as Frank Warner)

Special Effects by

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Augie Lohman ... special effects

Stunts

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Maurice Marks ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Robert Edesa ... assistant cameraman
Norman Harris ... gaffer
Richard Moran ... key grip
Roger Shearman Jr. ... camera operator
Mel Traxel ... still photographer
Ron Kenyon ... lighting technician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Tony Faso ... costumer: men
Agnes G. Henry ... costumer: women
Joan Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)
Tina Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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George Probert ... music editor
Murray Adler ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Chuck Berghofer ... musician: bass (uncredited)
Richard Berres ... conductor (uncredited)
Bobby Bruce ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Dennis Budimir ... musician: guitar (uncredited)
Denyse Buffum ... musician: viola (uncredited)
Thomas R. Buffum ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Larry Bunker ... musician: percussion (uncredited)
Gene Cipriano ... musician (uncredited)
Ronald Cooper ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Vince De Rosa ... musician: french horn (uncredited)
Harold Dicterow ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Carl Fortina ... musician: accordion (uncredited)
Ralph Grierson ... musician: piano (uncredited)
Dave Grusin ... score producer (uncredited)
Norman Herzburg ... musician: bassoon (uncredited)
The Hollywood Studio Symphony ... music performed by (uncredited)
Tommy Johnson ... musician: trombone (uncredited)
Anatol Kaminsky ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Peter Kent ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Harry Klee ... musician (uncredited)
Marion Klein ... orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Ezra Kliger ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Raphael Kramer ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Connie Kupka ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Ronald Langinger ... musician (uncredited)
Ron Leonard ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Edgar Lustgarten ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Malcolm McNab ... musician: trumpet (uncredited)
Carole Mukagawa ... musician: viola (uncredited)
Richard Nash ... musician: trombone (uncredited)
Dan Neufeld ... musician: viola (uncredited)
Erno Neufeld ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Richard Perissi ... musician: french horn (uncredited)
Joe Porcaro ... musician: percussion (uncredited)
Emil Richards ... musician: percussion (uncredited)
Bud Shank ... musician (uncredited)
Harry Shlutz ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Barry Socher ... musician: violin (uncredited)
David Speltz ... musician: cello (uncredited)
Albert Steinberg ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Ann Stockton ... musician: harp (uncredited)
Tommy Tedesco ... musician: guitar (uncredited)
Louise Di Tullio ... musician: flute (uncredited)
Ian Underwood ... musician: piano (uncredited)
Charles Veal Jr. ... musician: violin (uncredited)
Ken Watson ... musician: percussion (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Charles Addams ... title drawings
Frank Bueno ... assistant to producer
Wayne Fitzgerald ... title designer
Shari Leibowitz ... assistant to production manager
Mary Malin ... assistant: Ann Roth
Vince Martinez ... auditor
George Rondo ... dialogue coach
Carol Shapiro ... unit publicist
Julia Tucker ... script continuity
David Oliver Pfeil ... title cinematographer (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Despite not knowing him, the world's most famous detectives can't pass up the offer of a "dinner and murder" invitation from wealthy Lionel Twain (Truman Capote). Each has no idea until their arrival at Two Two Twain who else will be in attendance. Those detectives are: amateur sleuths and New York City socialites Dick (David Niven) and Dora Charleston (Dame Maggie Smith), accompanied by their pet terrier, Myron; Belgian detective Monsieur Milo Perrier (James Coco), accompanied by his chauffeur, Marcel (James Cromwell); Shanghainese Inspector Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), accompanied by his Japanese adopted son, Willie Wang (Richard Narita); frumpish Brit Miss Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), accompanied by her invalid nurse, Miss Withers (Estelle Winwood); and San Francisco gumshoe Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), accompanied by his femme fatale sidekick, Tess Skeffington (Eileen Brennan). The dinner part of the invitation runs into problems due to the non-communication between Twain's blind butler, Jamesir Bensonmum (Sir Alec Guinness), and Twain's new deaf-mute and non-Anglophone cook, Yetta (Nancy Walker). On the murder side, the guests initially believe Twain will try to kill each of them. However, Twain eventually announces his rationale for the gathering: that one of the people at the dinner table will be murdered before midnight, and that Twain will consider himself the greatest detective if his guests, who are now trapped in the house until dawn, cannot figure out who committed the murder, that person also at the dinner table. If one does figure out who committed the crime, he or she will be the recipient of one million dollars and the exclusive rights to the story. So the guests anxiously await the stroke of midnight, with those still alive after that time trying to figure out motive and the opportunity to murder before the rise of dawn, and before the murderer has the opportunity to strike again on one or all of them. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines By the time the world's greatest detectives figure out whodunnit... you could die laughing! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Neil Simon's Murder by Death (United States)
  • Neil Simon's Murder by Death (United Kingdom)
  • Un cadavre au dessert (France)
  • Eine Leiche zum Dessert (Germany)
  • Un cadáver a los postres (Spain)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 95 min
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Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross $33,453,202

Did You Know?

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Trivia The screaming woman sound used as a doorbell is Fay Wray's screams from King Kong (1933). Her unique scream has made her known as the "Scream Queen" of movies. See more »
Goofs (at around 1h 14 mins) Milo Perrier tells Sam Diamond, "I'm not a Frenchy... I'm a Belgie," referring to the fact he is from Belgium and not France. However, in discussing Twain's annual poodle hunt in France, he implies that's his home country, and later he says, referring to himself, that you should "never underestimate a Frenchman's nostrils." See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980). See more »
Crazy Credits Opening credits: Starring (In Diabolical Order) See more »
Quotes Sam Diamond: Locked, from the inside. That can only mean one thing. And I don't know what it is.
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