History Film / MurderByDeath

* SamusIsAGirl: It's subtly implied by the TwistEnding that Lionel Twain never actually existed, and was in fact Yetta the cook the entire time. If this really is the case, then she not only somehow managed to outwit the greatest detectives in the world with a mannequin of herself, but she may have actually murdered the butler Jamesir Bensonmum in cold blood just to humiliate the eccentric sleuths...'''and got away with it in the end'''!

* SamusIsAGirl: It's subtly implied by the TwistEnding that Lionel Twain never actually existed, and was in fact Yetta the cook the entire time. If this really is the case, then she not only somehow managed to outwit the greatest detectives in the world with a mannequin of herself, but she may have actually murdered the butler Jamesir Bensonmum in cold blood just to humiliate the eccentric sleuths - '''and got away with it in the end'''!

* SamusIsAGirl: It's subtly implied by the TwistEnding that Lionel Twain never actually existed, and was in fact Yetta the cook the entire time. Not only that, but she somehow managed to outwit the greatest detectives in the world with a mannequin of herself, and may have actually murdered the butler in cold blood just to humiliate the sleuths- '''and got away with it'''!

* AffairHair: Spoofed.

* AnimalAssassin: A snake and a scorpion.

*** Although Perrier himself later says to never underestimate a Frenchman's nose, so...

* BigEater: Milo Perrier

* BrutallyHonest: Sam Diamond is pretty outspoken.

* CallingYourBathroomBreaks: Sam Diamond, fully two times. What a charmer.

* DeconstructionCrossover
* DeconstructiveParody

* DescendingCeiling: Used in an attempt to kill Perrier.

* DramaticUnmask

* HardboiledDetective: Sam Diamond

* TheJeeves: Jamessir Bensonmum, memorably acted by Alec Guinness.

* LittleOldLadyInvestigates: Jessica Marbles.

* OldDarkHouse

* RopeBridge: One, in desperate need of repair, leads up Twain's mansion.

* ShapedLikeItself: The title.
* SherlockScan: Parodied.
* ShockingSwerve: Played for laughs. [[invoked]]

* StrangerBehindTheMask: This is done multiple times in a row to debunk the trope in general.
* SummationGathering: {{Parodied}}, naturally.
* TakeThat: To mysteries that use AssPull endings.
** also to the fact that Charlie Chan hasn't been played by an Asian actor in a live-action adaptation since 1930, (the two attempts in the 1920s cast a Japanese and Korean, but his role was minimal) though this might be unintentional.

* UnfortunateName: Sidney Wang's adopted son Willie.

%%* YouNoTakeCandle: see more specific subtrope AsianSpeekeeEngrish

* ''Film/MysteryOfTheWaxMuseum'' When Charlotte is shown the truth behind the wax museum, she faints.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Where's my Dickie?! I mean, where's my husband?"

* BackhandedApology: When called on his racism toward Sidney Wang, Sam Diamond apologizes by way of saying, "Sorry, slanty."

* EekAMouse: Dora Charleston freaks out after seeing a mouse running across the floor of their room.

Five of the world's greatest detectives are each accompanied by an associate to a dinner party held by the enigmatic multi-millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote), who challenges the whole group to solve a murder that will take place at midnight. If any of the detectives can figure out who committed the murder, they will earn the reputation as the single greatest detective in the world -- and win a million dollars, to boot. Once the murder occurs, each detective stumbles around trying to gather clues that will help them solve the case, and HilarityEnsues as they all compete for the ultimate bragging rights (and all that cash).

* ArtisticTitle: Which was [[http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/murder-by-death/ designed]], along with the original poster art seen above, by Creator/CharlesAddams.

* AffectionateParody: The film is affectionate toward the genre and its icons...in its own odd way. Neil Simon said he wrote the film pretty much as his revenge against mystery stories that [[AssPull introduced new information]] or otherwise used impossible cheats in their solutions; he rather identified with Twain. But the affection varies: while Twain never gets around to a TakeThat against the plot in the Film/CharlieChan or HardboiledDetective stories, he takes every opportunity to [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on Sydney Wang's racist speech patterns (Wang is a brilliant detective who speaks in YouNoTakeCandle style ''and'' has the CriticalResearchFailure of being a ''Chinese'' man who is [[JapaneseRanguage unable to pronounce R's]]). Similarly, Sam Diamond is the only detective who comes close to solving the mystery, but he's depicted as a despicable racist [[spoiler:and an ArmoredClosetGay]].

* YouNoTakeCandle: Inspector Sidney Wang speaks like this.

* EveryoneIsASuspect

* TenLittleMurderVictims

* ActuallyIAmHim: When Jessica Marbles and her nurse are introduced, everyone assumes that the old lady in the wheelchair is Jessica and the spry and energetic woman pushing her is the nurse. It's the other way around.

* MistakenIdentity: Jessica Marbles and her nurse are initially mistaken for each other. Younger viewers not knowing when the movie was made might possibly mistake her to be a parody of [[Series/MurderSheWrote Jessica Fletcher]].

* RopeBridge: One, in desperate need of repair, leads up Twain's mansion.
* IncorrectAnimalNoise: The cat of the house is making barking sounds offscreen. Wang wonders if they fed it too much dog food.

* CobwebJungle: The suite for the Charleston's is full of cobwebs. Turns out they are props made of candied sugar.
* EekAMouse: Dora Charleston freaks out after seeing a mouse running across their room.

* TaxidermyIsCreepy: The walls of the dining room are decorated with stuffed animals.
* NeverSplitTheParty: While the sleuths are aware of this trope, they still manage to get themselves isolated from time to time.
* SecretPath: Wang suspects one of these after finding the dining room empty and the door locked from the inside. Twain assures him that there is no such thing.
* ShootOutTheLock: Sam shoots the lock of the dining room to get it to open up.
* ShutUpGunshot: At one point, Sam shoots in the air to get everyone to shut up.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Twain]] fakes his death in order to demonstrate the inferiority of the methods used by his guests, and his ability to outsmart them all.
* MsFanservice: Dora Charleston and Tess Skeffington both wear sexy dresses.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: We are only told how the guests solved the DeathTrap in their rooms.

* MultilayerFacade: The villain is hidden behind two layers of masks.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: After Twain tells off the sleuths and they leave, completely chagrined, the killer then rips off another mask to reveal [[spoiler:the mute cook]], who then starts [[EvilLaughter laughing hysterically]].

* AcmeProducts: Yetta's notes are written by the Acme Note Writing Company.
* ActuallyIAmHim: When Jessica Marbles and her nurse are introduced, everyone assumes that the old lady in the wheelchair is Jessica and the spry and energetic woman pushing her is the nurse. It's the other way around.
* AffairHair: Spoofed.
* AffectionateParody: The film is affectionate toward the genre and its icons...in its own odd way. Neil Simon said he wrote the film pretty much as his revenge against mystery stories that [[AssPull introduced new information]] or otherwise used impossible cheats in their solutions; he rather identified with Twain. But the affection varies: while Twain never gets around to a TakeThat against the plot in the Film/CharlieChan or HardboiledDetective stories, he takes every opportunity to [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on Sydney Wang's racist speech patterns (Wang is a brilliant detective who speaks in YouNoTakeCandle style ''and'' has the CriticalResearchFailure of being a ''Chinese'' man who is [[JapaneseRanguage unable to pronounce R's]]). Similarly, Sam Diamond is the only detective who comes close to solving the mystery, but he's depicted as a despicable racist [[spoiler:and an ArmoredClosetGay]].
* AmbiguousDisorder: Even given the farcical nature of the film, some of Sam Diamond's dialogue is just...bizarre, full of strange asides and non-sequiturs with no context ("Didja ever make it with a waitress?"). Tess lampshades it by saying Sam had been shot in the head a week before and shouldn't even be out of the hospital.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Lionel Twain is rather camp--he is played by Truman Capote, after all.
** [[spoiler:At least until the ending reveals "him" to be Yetta.]]
* AnimalAssassin: A snake and a scorpion.
* ArmoredClosetGay: [[spoiler:Sam Diamond]], although he never did anything to a man that he wouldn't do to a woman. And he didn't kiss nobody, neither.
* ArtisticTitle: Which was [[http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/murder-by-death/ designed]], along with the original poster art seen above, by Creator/CharlesAddams.
* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: Sidney Wang to a T. This is apparently Lionel Twain's BerserkButton:
-->'''Perrier:''' What do you make of all of this, Wang?\\
'''Wang:''' Is confusing.\\
'''Twain:''' ''It! It'' is confusing! Say your goddamn pronouns!
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Lionel Twain]] was an abusive boyfriend, a racist, an animal abuser, and an overall creep. [[spoiler:And yet, it was someone he hadn't mistreated that did him in!]]
* AssPull: InUniverse, this is what [[spoiler:the real culprit]] feels about how the writers end their stories.
* AuthorFilibuster: At the end of the movie, Twain delivers a scathing rebuke against lazy mystery writers who use cheap tricks in order to make sure the audience does not figure out the mystery before the detective has a chance to explain it.
* BackhandedApology: When called on his racism toward Sidney Wang, Sam Diamond apologizes by way of saying, "Sorry, slanty."
* BedmateReveal: After Milo Perrier gets into bed, he looks across and sees his male chauffeur Marcel Cassette in bed with him.
* BeleagueredAssistant: Willie Wang, Marcel Cassette, and Tess Skeffington. All of whom also qualify as ButtMonkey.
* BerserkButton:
** For Lionel Twain: Sidney Wang's AsianSpeekeeEngrish.
** For Milo Perrier: Being called a Frenchman.
--->'''Milo Perrier:''' I'm not a Frenchie, I'm a BELGIE!
*** Although Perrier himself later says to never underestimate a Frenchman's nose, so...
* BlindMistake: The blind butler Jamesir Bensonmum does this a lot.
* BigBeautifulWoman: Sam Diamond randomly asks Dick Charleston if he's ever slept with a fat waitress.
* BigEater: Milo Perrier
* {{Bizarchitecture}}: This is played for laughs. Sam Diamond investigates the house while everyone else is waiting in the dining room, but the rooms keep shifting around to Sam's confusion.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: All of the detectives are extremely eccentric since they're over-the-top parodies of characters who were eccentric to begin with. That doesn't stop them from being clever at their work, though.
* TheButlerDidIt: This is parodied and subverted. [[spoiler:While the man who introduced himself as the butler appears responsible, all explanations past the first involve him clearly not being the butler, including the final one that none of the cast see. Since this is a DeadUnicornTrope, the real joke is that Neil Simon has ShownTheirWork.]]
* CallingYourBathroomBreaks: Sam Diamond, fully two times. What a charmer.
* CaptainErsatz: Dick and Dora Charleston are [[Film/TheThinMan Nick and Nora Charles]], Sidney Wang is Film/CharlieChan, Milo Perrier is Literature/HerculePoirot, Sam Diamond and Tess Skeffington are [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon1941 Sam Spade and Effie Perine]], and Jessica Marbles is Literature/MissMarple.
* CastingGag: Peter Falk had started playing Series/{{Columbo}} five years before.
** Even though his character doesn't spoof Columbo, before he changes into his white tuxedo jacket, Falk wears the same trench coat he wore when playing Columbo.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Dick and Dora Charleston have an extremely nonchalant--indeed, emotionless--conversation about the deadly scorpion on their bed which will force them to remain perfectly still, quite possibly for the rest of their perhaps short lives. Later, when the killer asks Dick how they escaped:
-->'''Dick Charleston:''' ''(breezily)'' We didn't; it stung Dora. The poison's in her system right now. We have fifteen minutes to get to a hospital. ''Cue hilarious ecstatic expression on killer's face'' [[spoiler:Fortunately it proved to be a nonlethal type of scorpion. That, or a fake scorpion.]]
** [[spoiler:Though afterwards, Dora quite adamantly asks Dick if he's sure it was fake.]]
* CluelessMystery: [[spoiler:Anger at the detectives writing stories like this is the true reason for all the events of the night.]]
-->'''Willie Wang:''' I don't get it, Pop! Was there a murder or wasn't there?\\
'''Sidney Wang:''' Yes. Killed good weekend! [[JapaneseRanguage Dlive]], please.
* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: The butler [[PunnyName Jamesir Bensonmum]] has the following conversation with Dick and Dora Charleston.
-->'''Bensonmum:''' Here we are. The late Mrs. Twain's room. She died in here.\\
'''Dora:''' Oh, dear.\\
'''Dick:''' Died of what?\\
'''Bensonmum:''' She murdered herself in her sleep, Sir.\\
'''Dick:''' ''(confused)'' You mean suicide?\\
'''Bensonmum:''' Oh, no, it was murder alright. Mrs. Twain ''hated'' herself.
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: Milo Perrier parodies Hercule Poirot, both of them being famed Belgian detectives. However, Perrier possesses far less self-control and politeness than his original and seems to be more of a PunchClockHero than the highly principled Poirot.
* CutPhoneLines
-->'''Dick:''' It sounded as though somebody snipped the wire.\\
'''Dora:''' Really? What did it sound like?\\
'''Dick:''' "Snip".
* DeconstructionCrossover
* DeconstructiveParody
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The title.
* DescendingCeiling: Used in an attempt to kill Perrier.
* DramaticUnmask
* EekAMouse: Dora screams when she sees a mouse in the bedroom. Dick assures her it's fake but finds that it is very real after he picks it up.
* EmptyPilesOfClothing: At one point, the butler is found dead, sitting in the kitchen. Then he's missing but his outfit is still there. Then he's back, but his outfit is gone, leaving the detectives to puzzle over a naked (and dead) butler.
* TheEndingChangesEverything: And how!
-->"I don't get it, Pop: was there a murder, or wasn't there?"\\
Yes. Killed good weekend.
* EveryoneIsASuspect
* EvilLaugh: At the end, [[spoiler:The maid]] laughs like this after [[spoiler:fooling all of the detectives]].
* FluffyFashionFeathers: Tess has a feather-trimmed nightgown.
* GainaxEnding: PlayedForLaughs.
-->'''Willie:''' I don't get something, Pop: ''Was'' there a murder, or ''wasn't'' there?\\
'''Sidney:''' Yes. Killed good weekend!
* {{Gasshole}}: Jessica Marbles' nurse is implied to be one. When Jessica smells poison gas, her nurse apologizes and says "I'm old, I can't help it."
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Where's my Dickie?! I mean, where's my husband?"
* GrammarNazi: Twain, as noted above. ''"Say your goddamn pronouns!"''
** Also [[HypocriticalHumor Sidney Wang himself]]:
--->''(dog barks)''\\
'''Sidney Wang:''' Listen.\\
'''Willie Wang:''' I don't hear nothing. What do you hear?\\
'''Sidney Wang:''' Double negative, and dog.
* HardboiledDetective: Sam Diamond
* IceCreamKoan:
** Many from Sidney Wang. He never does finish his "dangerous road like fresh mushroom" one, though, at least audibly and onscreen. Perhaps it was something like "must always be careful which to pick since even ordinary-looking ones can be deadly"?
** Jessica Marbles has one too, and it sounds really neat and literary: "The chain is stronger if the links are unbroken." (Yeah, well, that's rather the point of the thing, isn't it?)
*** It's probably a garbled version of "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link".
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** Sam links a girl walking off with his money in 1940s Paris with the German invasion of France that, by chance, occurred two hours later. Of course, it's played for laughs--and it's also a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', another film Creator/HumphreyBogart is famous for.
** While all of the solutions offered by each detective at the end are superficially plausible--as is the one given by the mastermind in his MotiveRant, which they accept to be the truth--it nonetheless requires that every one of the detectives accept the fact that [[spoiler:the maid was actually an animatronic mannequin the whole time]].

* PreciousPuppies: The Charlestons' dog Myron.

** also to the fact that Charlie Chan hasn't been played by an Aisan actor in a live-action adaptation since 1930, (the two attempts in the 1920's cast a Japanese and Korean, but his role was minimal) though this might be unintentional.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: All of the detectives are extremely eccentric, since they're over-the-top parodies of characters who were eccentric to begin with. That doesn't stop them from being clever at their work, though.

"Yes. Killed good weekend."

* FluffyFashionFeathers: Tess has a feather trimmed nightgown.

** also to the fact that Charlie Chan hasn't been played by an Aisan actor in a live action adaptation since 1930, (the two attempts in the 1920's cast a Japanese and Korean, but his role was minimal) though this might be unintentional.

* SomeonesTouchingMyButt

[[quoteright:325:[[Creator/CharlesAddams https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mdrdt13h_8x10.jpg]]]]

--->'''Perrier:''' You have cocoa, n'est-ce pas?\\
'''Bensonmum:''' I'm afraid we don't have N'est-ce Pas, sir, just Hershey's.

-->'''Milo Perrier:''' What do you make of all of this, Wang?
-->'''Sidney Wang:''' Is confusing.
-->'''Lionel Twain:''' ''It!'' ''It'' is confusing! Say your goddamn pronouns!

--->'''Milo Perrier''': I'm not a Frenchie, I'm a BELGIE!

-->'''Number 2 Son''' : I don't get it, Pop! Was there a murder or wasn't there?
-->'''Wang''': Yes. Killed good weekend! [[JapaneseRanguage Dlive]], please.

-->'''Bensonmum:''' Here we are. The late Mrs. Twain's room. She died in here.
-->'''Dora Charleston:''' Oh, dear.
-->'''Dick Charleston:''' Died of what?
-->'''Bensonmum:''' She murdered herself in her sleep, Sir.
-->'''Dick Charleston:''' ''(confused)'' You mean suicide?
-->'''Bensonmum:''' Oh, no, it was murder alright. Mrs. Twain ''hated'' herself.

-->'''Dick:''' It sounded as though somebody snipped the wire.
-->'''Dora:''' Really? What did it sound like?
-->'''Dick:''' "Snip".

-->"I don't get it, Pop: was there a murder, or wasn't there?"
-->"Yes. Killed good weekend."

-->'''Willie:''' I don't get something, Pop: ''Was'' there a murder, or ''wasn't'' there?
-->'''Sidney:''' Yes: killed good weekend.

--->''(dog barks)''
--->'''Sidney Wang''': Listen.
--->'''Willie Wang''': I don't hear nothing. What do you hear?
--->'''Sidney Wang''': Double negative, and dog.

-->'''Twain:''' No, don't look at each other! Look at me! I?m the greatest! I'm number one!
-->'''Sam Diamond:''' To me, you look like number two. Know what I mean?
-->'''Dora Charleston:''' ... What ''does'' he mean, Miss Skeffington?
-->'''Miss Skeffington:''' I'll tell you later. It's disgusting.

--> '''Wang''': Shhh ... voice come from cow on wall.
--> '''Twain''': Moose! Moose, you imbecile!

--->'''Perrier:''' You have cocoa, n'est-ce pas?
--->'''Bensonmum:''' I'm afraid we don't have N'est-ce Pas, sir, just Hershey's.

-->'''Dick''': How odd.
-->'''Butler''': My father's name, sir.
-->'''Dick''': What was your father's name?
-->'''Butler''': Howard. Howard Bensonmum.

* YellowFace: Peter Sellers's role as Sidney Wang is used to underscore how racist Charlie Chan is as a character.
** as portrayed in adaptations. The original character in the books is at least FairForItsDay.

* CaptainErsatz: Dick and Dora Charleston are [[Film/TheThinMan Nick and Nora Charles]], Sidney Wang is Film/CharlieChan, Milo Perrier is Literature/HerculePoirot, Sam Diamond and Tess Skeffington are [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon Sam Spade and Effie Perine]], and Jessica Marbles is Literature/MissMarple.

* Sam Diamond (Creator/PeterFalk) is a take on another Hammett character, namely the HardboiledDetective Sam Spade from ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon''.

** ''Film/TheCheapDetective'', also written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore and also featuring Peter Falk and Eileen Brennan in the cast, which spoofs FilmNoir and was released two years later.

The Detectives themselves are {{pastiche}}s based on various famous fictional detectives:

Five of the world's greatest detectives are each accompanied by an associate to a dinner party held by the enigmatic multi-millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote), who challenges them all to solve a murder that will take place at midnight. If any of the detectives can figure out who commited the murder, they will earn the reputation as the single greatest detective in the world--and win a million dollars, to boot. Once the murder occurs, each detective stumbles around trying to gather clues that will help them solve the case, and HilarityEnsues as they all compete for the ultimate bragging rights (and all that cash).