Box Office Bomb: The film only grossed $14.6 million on a $15 million budget and was one of the big flops of the 1985 Christmas season (possibly due to the Multiple Endings gimmick). However, it became a Cult Classic on video and cable (where all three endings appeared together).
Creator's Favorite Episode: Quite understandably, the ending where Miss Scarlet is the primary murderer is Lesley Ann Warren’s personal favorite of the three.
Development Hell: The remake, which has been on and off in production since the late 00s, and had Gore Verbinski attached at one point. News of production began popping up again in 2016.
In one scene, the police rush the mansion and Martin Mull's Colonel Mustard throws his hands up in surrender, exclaiming "I'm only a guest!" However, his lip movements don't match the words being said, and in fact one TV spot for the film featured the unaltered scene; Mull actually said "I'm only a dinner guest!", with very different tonal inflections.
When Professor Plum realizes that he only killed Mr. Boddy's butler, he mutters, "Ah, shucks!" But his mouth movements clearly reveal that he really said, "Ah, shit!" This was likely removed to preserve the PG rating.
All of Lee Ving's lines were dubbed over by an uncredited actor.
Playing Against Type: Before this, Michael McKean was primarily known for playing bozos such as truck driver Lenny on Laverne & Shirley or rock singer David St. Hubbins in This is Spın̈al Tap. Mr. Green is a timid professional man in two endings, and an extremely competent FBI officer in the third.
Uncredited Role: Howard Hesseman, as the evangelist who comes to the door toward the end... and turns out to be the chief of police.
Vanilla Edition: The DVD and Blu-ray releases have no bonus features outside of the theatrical trailer. Jonathan Lynn was interested in recording a commentary for the Blu-ray, but Paramount Home Entertainment didn't have enough money for bonus features. A fan heard about this, and recorded a commentary for the film with Lynn.
Vindicated by Cable: HBO and Comedy Central broadcasts of this relatively inoffensive movie allowed Clue to become a cult hit, even with an Audience Participation midnight show, as detailed in a long article by Buzzfeed.
Carrie Fisher was supposed to play Miss Scarlet, but she had to go to rehab a week before filming began.
Director Jonathan Lynn wanted Leonard Rossiter (whom he'd written the role for), Rowan Atkinson or John Cleese to play Wadsworth, but the producers said that they weren't big enough names for American audiences. So instead he cast lifelong friend Tim Curry.
Tom Stoppard was initially approached to write the screenplay. He worked for a year before giving up and returning all the money he had already been paid. Executive Producer and Story Writer John Landis next approached Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, both of whom asked for far too much money.
A fourth ending was filmed, but cut at the last minute. The events of the movie play out as usual, and the ending starts out completely identical to the second ending, with Wadsworth accusing Mrs. Peacock of murdering everyone... but then Peacock begins seriously protesting and denying the accusation. Oh, and Professor Plum is in cahoots with her, according to Wadsworth. Plum objects, saying that he doesn't have the gun and leading to the "turn out your pockets, empty your purses" sequence. Wadsworth produces the gun, explaining that in his lifelong quest for perfection, he has always failed: he tried to be the perfect husband, only to have his wife kill herself; he tried to be the perfect butler, only to find himself employed to a blackmailer. Therefore instead, he decided to commit the perfect murder by killing an entire blackmailing ring and leaving no witnesses. When the guests point out that they're witnesses, Wadsworth informs them that the brandy they were served at dinner was a slow-acting poison and that he plans to lock them in the house and leave them to die. The Evangelist returns and wrestles Wadsworth to the ground. Wadsworth confesses by beginning to reenact the murders again, while the Evangelist is too confused to stop him. When he reaches the point where he greets Colonel Mustard, Wadsworth leaps outside, slams the door behind him, and locks it, trapping the others inside as he escapes in a police car. The Feds break through the Conservatory window (and presumably seek medical help for the poisoned guests). The film cuts to Wadsworth driving away, smirking at his success, only to hear growling from the backseat. He turns to see the guard dogs, who leap at him just before the film fades out. One of the reasons this ending was ultimately rejected, other than various logistic issues, was because it was such a dark, Downer Ending for a comedy: no one wants to spend 90 minutes laughing along with these wacky characters only for all of them to die in the last five minutes.
There were plans to do an ending with each of the six characters being guilty of the murders, however it was scrapped when the studio and Jonathan Lynn felt it would be too hard to come up with an ending for each character, plus the twist of Wadsworth without seeming contrived and confusing, so only four endings were written (with three being released).
The board game
Defictionalization: Game of Thrones received an actual Clue adaptation some time after Think Geek created an April Fool's mock up. The game components are less ridiculous with a double sided board and twelve suspects. The game is two to six players however.
Market-Based Title: "Clue" in North America, with Miss Scarlett losing a "T", Rev. Green being defrocked (or a businessman, which turns this into a Punny Name), and the distinguished Dr. Black given the pun name Mr. Boddy.
Retronym: Marmalade Studios renamed their 2017 mobile/computer/console game to Clue: Classic Edition or Clue: The Classic Mystery Game, depending on the platform, after releasing programs inspired by the 2023 board game.
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