History Main / Clue

The popularity of the game has caused it to be remade into a plethora of different locations and decades over the years. It was popular enough to have its own [[Film/{{Clue}} film]], book series, video game adaptations, and game show. The film itself is considered a cult classic. It has its own [[Characters/{{Cluedo}} character page]].

Created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, the suspects must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "It was '''Miss Scarlet''' in the '''kitchen''' with the '''knife'''." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game. Note that a player can accuse their own character if they believe themselves to be the murder. [[FridgeLogic It doesn't make much sense if you think about it.]]

** CorruptCorporateExecutive: The North American version made Mr. Green an oil tycoon.

Created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, players must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "It was Miss Scarlet in the Kitchen with the Knife." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game. Note that a player can accuse their own character if they believe themselves to be the murder. [[FridgeLogic It doesn't make much sense if you think about it]].

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The 2008 "modernized" version of the game as some fans found that the original version aged finely and didn't need to be more up-to-date. The original version is still being sold.

* DesignatedVictim: Dr. Black / Mr. Body

Created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, players must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "I think it was Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the knife." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game.

Created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Body in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, players must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "I think it was Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the knife." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game.

* ApronMatron: Mrs White

* DesignatedVictim: Dr. Black

* LadyInRed: Miss Scarlet is the red marker.

* SinisterMinister: Mr. Green in the original version.
** CorruptCorporateExecutive: The North American version made him an oil tycoon.

Created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Brody in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, players must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "I think it was Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the knife." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game.

Compare TenLittleMurderVictims.

The popularity of the game has caused it to be remade into a plethora of different locations and decades over the years. It was popular enough to have it's own [[Film/{{Clue}} film]], book series, video game adaptations, and game show. The film itself is considered a cult classic. It has its own [[Characters/{{Cluedo}} character page]].

The popularity of the game has caused it to be remade into a plethora of different locations and decades over the years. It was popular enough to have it's own [[Film/{{Clue}} film]], book series, and game show, all three of which are considered cult classics. It has its own [[Characters/{{Cluedo}} character page]].

A board game created in 1949 in Britain, ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in North America) is ''the'' iconic mystery board game. Dr. Black (Mr. Brody in North America) has been murdered in his own mansion and the six people that were present are now considered suspects. Players take the role of any of the six suspects and receive cards containing the suspects, the rooms, or the weapons. One card of each category are placed in an envelope. To play, players must enter a room in the mansion and make a suggestion such as, "I think it was Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the knife." A different player can reveal a card that matches the suggestion to disprove it. To win the game, a player must make an accusation that matches the cards contained in the envelope. If the accusation is wrong, the player must sit out for the rest of the game.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The 2008 "modernized" version of the game.

->'''Wadsworth:''' ''That's what we're trying to find out! We're trying to find out who killed him, and where, and with what!''\\
'''Professor Plum:''' ''There's no need to shout!''\\
'''Wadsworth:''' ''[[NoIndoorVoice I'M NOT SHOUTING! ... ALL RIGHT I AM. I'M SHOUTING I'M SHOUTING I'M SH-]]'' >CLUNK<

->''"Communism was just a RedHerring."''

Possibly [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the best movie based on a board game ever made]], ''Clue'' is a murder mystery/comedy based on the game ''Clue'' (or ''Cluedo'', depending on where you live). The movie justifies a large mansion full of people with silly names trying to solve a murder by making all of the characters from the game blackmail victims using aliases. Everyone has been invited to the mansion by Wadsworth (TimCurry), to expose Mr. Boddy as a blackmailer. Then the lights go out, Mr. Boddy is killed, and someone in the room is a murderer. Since everyone had a motive, everyone is a suspect, so the group opts to solve the case themselves rather than call the police, and, well, HilarityEnsues. But in a good way. The movie was made in TheEighties, but set in TheFifties, in New England.

''Clue'' bombed in theaters, and part of the blame may lie with the hype surrounding the movie's MultipleEndings. In theaters, the solution to the murders changed depending on where you saw the movie... In other words, there was no real way to deduce the murderer from the clues presented, as other options must also have been viable. (Apparently the people behind this hype don't know a mere screwball comedy that isn't supposed to be a real mystery when they see it, [[WallBanger and many reviewers were the same way]].) On the VHS and TV version, all three endings are shown, with the first two endings being "how it could have happened", while the third ending is "how it really happened". On the DVD, you can either have one ending at random, or watch the VHS version with all endings. Since there are no sequels, which ending is actually {{canon}} isn't really important, although the third ending is the most popular.

Although it did poorly in theaters, the movie is now something of a CultClassic. Without worrying about the different endings, the movie is a solid comedy, with a mix of clever dialogue and slapstick, and the various solutions to the murders all (mostly) hold up on repeat viewings.

This should not be confused with the UK adaptation of the board game, which, unbelievably, was a GameShow.

As a side note, this movie provides an excellent drinking game; take a shot whenever anyone dies or appears to die. It takes a while to get going but eventually, especially if you watch it a few times back to back, you get shnockered pretty quickly. Especially if you're using rotgut vodka...ah college.

!!This movie provides examples of:
* AffectionateParody
* AllWomenAreLustful: Miss Scarlet. The fact at least part of this is attributed to her blackmailable life as a brothel madam only compounds the issue, since presumably one in that line of work needs to maintain some degree of division between their personal and professional lives. Used to justify her making out with Professor Plum when trying to hide the bodies of the murdered informants from the cop. (See OfCorpseHesAlive.)
** Led to quite the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny gem]] in the {{Novelization}}, however: in the scene in the kitchen, where Mrs. White reveals her BlackWidow nature, her recitation of how men are like Kleenex is corrected by Miss Scarlet thusly: "Their slogan is Soft, Strong, and [[RagingStiffie Pops Up]], Too."
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking[=/=]BreadEggsMilkSquick: The following quote has elements of these.
--> '''Cop''': I'll arrest you for false imprisonment, obstructing an officer in the course of his duty, and '''murder!'''\\
'''Wadsworth''' ''(opening the door and chuckling nervously)'': What do you mean...murder?\\
'''Cop''': I just said that so you'd open the door.
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Colonel Mustard and Ms. Scarlet are locked in the lounge with the dead motorist. Wadsworth and Mr. Green are trying to open it from the other side:
-->'''Wadsworth & Green:''' Let us in! Let us in!\\
'''Mustard & Scarlet:''' Let us out! Let us out!
* AudibleGleam: The ''soundtrack'' actually does one of these when, during TheSummation, Wadsworth imitates Yvette smiling.
* BattleButler: Wadsworth doubles as both this and MrExposition.
* BetterOnDVD: With its 3 endings, which not only heavily encourage re-watching to work out the various solutions, but also make a trip to a theater showing only one ending less satisfying, ''Clue'' seems specially designed for [=DVD=] viewing. Even though it was made almost a decade before the medium was invented.
* BetterThanItSounds: This is one of the few good movies -- possibly the only good movie -- that's based on a board game.
** [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative How many movies based on a board game are there?]]
*** Zathura, Jumanji, Candy Land, and so on.
* BlackMail: This is the driving force behind the plot, as all the guests [[spoiler:except possibly Mr. Green in the third ending]] were being blackmailed.
* BlackWidow: Mrs. White. "Husbands should be like kleenex. Soft, strong, and disposable."
** "His head had been cut off...and so had his...''you know.''"
*** * [[ShareTheMalePain Crosses legs]]*
* ButtMonkey: Mr Green.
* CanonForeigner: Wadsworth [[spoiler: (except in the third ending)]]
* CastingGag: Mr. Boddy won't be staying with us for very long. In fact, he's just [[StealthPun Lee Ving]].
* CatchPhrase
-->'''Mr. Green:''' I didn't do it!
* ClosedCircle: Once the characters get to the house, they can't leave. Not only is there a storm outside, but there's angry dogs loose near a couple possible exits, Wadsworth has all the keys, and if anyone leaves, they'll be blamed for the murders.
* ColdWar: The politics of the '50s plays a part in the story, although mainly so the writers could make it look like there's a political conspiracy behind the murders and actually have a backstory for the film.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass[=/=]ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Mr. Green]]
* [[{{CrowningMoment/Clue}} Crowning Moment of Awesome]]
* EveryoneIsASuspect - This is true throughout the entire film, but only the [[spoiler: third ending]] takes the trope to its full extent.
* {{Expy}}: Neil Simon's MurderByDeath -- The movies share a similar setting, sense of humor ... and Eileen Brennan.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Mr. Boddy, but only in the third ending, and he's still killed well and truly dead and then stuffed into the toilet.]]
** Actually, this happens to a much smaller degree in all the endings as well.
* FallingChandelierOfDoom: Colonel Mustard is almost killed by one when Yvette accidentally shoots it down. At the end of the first ending, it happens again.
* TheFifties: The communism, nuclear arms race, J. Edgar Hoover and homosexuals-not-being-allowed-to-hold-government-jobs part of the Fifties, in particular.
* ForeignQueasine: The contents of the dinner ([[spoiler: monkey's brain]]) is an important clue tying [[spoiler: Mrs. Peacock to the Cook]]. When the other guests find out what it is, they react with disgust and horror.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Colonel Mustard's quoting RudyardKipling. [[spoiler: No matter which ending you watch, a woman is the/a killer]].
** A rather more blatant example occurs several lines earlier when Wadsworth is quoting Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
---> '''Wadsworth''': "Ours is not to know why; ours is but to do and die."
** Also Colonel Mustard looks up at the chandelier [[spoiler: that later almost kills him.]]
* FrenchMaid: Yvette [[spoiler: who isn't really French or a maid]]
* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Well, Mr. Green... had to stop her screaming.]]
* GetOnWithItAlready: At the end of the movie, the murders are explained in excruciating detail by Wadsworth, prompting the other characters to yell this several times.
--> '''Wadsworth''': And to make a long story short--\\
'''Col. Mustard''': Too late.
** Once they even do it as a chorus.
* HandOfDeath
* HeadTiltinglyKinky: "Oh my. Nobody can get into that position."
** "Sure they can. Here, let me show you."
*** "Get off me."
**** "...pictures of him and Yvette ''in flagrante delicto''!"
* HeyItsThatGuy: Who murdered the lead singer of Fear? Was it [[BackToTheFuture Doc]] [[SuburbanCommando "I was frozen today!"]] [[BackToTheFuture Brown]]? [[BlazingSaddles Lily Von]] [[strike:Stupp]] [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Schtupp]]? [[ThisIsSpinalTap Dave St. Hubbins]]? [[{{Roseanne}} Leon Calp]]? [[MissionImpossible Dana Lambert]]? [[PrivateBenjamin Captain Doreen Lewis]]? Or even... [[RockyHorrorPictureShow Professor Frank N. Furter]]??!!
** The guitarist from {{The Go-Gos}} is also involved, as is [[WKRPInCincinnati Dr. Johnny Fever]].
** One could simply call this an AllStarCast.
* IdiotBall: In what may be the most stunningly foolish move in the history of cinema, Mr. Boddy hands lethal weapons out to a half dozen people he's been blackmailing into poverty for years (at least one of whom he already knows to be a murderer), turns out the lights, and expects them to use the weapons on the guy who's trying to help them out of their fix.
** [[spoiler: However, one can understand this far better if one takes the third ending into account. Imagine that "Mr. Boddy" is another blackmail victim, whose only condition to earning his freedom is to deliver those packages filled with weapons. "Mr. Boddy", sick of his life of blackmail and knowing "Wadsworth"'s true plan, tries to get the guests to kill their true blackmailer. Then again, he could have told the guests the truth, so he held an IdiotBall either way.]]
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Is the FBI in the habit of cleaning up after multiple murders?" "Of course. Why do you think it's run by a man called ''Hoover''?"
** "This man's drunk. ''Dead'' drunk."
* KilledMidSentence: The Singing Telegram Girl.
** Also the motorist who is bludgeoned while talking on the phone, just before revealing which one of the guests is his old boss.
** The only reason the cop wasn't was because his killer disconnected his call first.
* KnockingOnHeathensDoor: Appears as a throwaway gag during Wadsworth's summation.
--> '''Evangelist:''' Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
--> '''Scarlett:''' You ain't just whistlin' Dixie!
--> '''Evangelist:''' Armageddon is almost upon us!
--> '''Plum:''' I've got news for you; it's already here!
--> '''Peacock:''' Go away!
--> '''Evangelist:''' But your souls are in danger!
--> '''Peacock:''' Our ''lives'' are in danger, ya beatnik! ''(slams door)''
** This is [[spoiler: yet another cover. The Jehovah's witness is really the FBI agent's - whether Wadsworth or Mr. Green - boss.]]
* LargeHam: See TimCurry, below. Especially during TheSummation, which could be summed up as "Wadsworth reenacts the entire movie by himself, but [[RuleOfFunny in the silliest way possible]]."
* MagnificentBastard: Wadsworth, the butler. In all three endings. [[spoiler: In the first two endings Wadsworth, actually an FBI agent, set up the entire scheme in order to implicate the killer in a conspiracy and take her down. In the third ending, Wadsworth is actually Mr. Boddy and used the guests to kill off the informants who gave him everything he used to blackmail them; with each of the guests now guilty of murder and his informants all dead, he then plans to extort even '''more''' blackmail money from them.]]
** Mr. Green in the third [[spoiler:He successfully passes as one of the blackmail victims and passes for a clumsy fool and homosexual. In truth, he IS the FBI agent, shoots Wadsworth when he reveals himself, has all the others arrested, then announces that he is "Going home to sleep with his wife!"]].
* MaleGaze: Professor Plum not so subtley gazes at Yvette's clevage. To be fair, [[MostCommonSuperpower it's kinda hard to miss.]]
* MinskyPickup: The singing telegram lady
* MsFanservice: Colleen Camp as Yvette.
* MultipleEndings: Three of them. In the order they appear on the "home video" version of the film, they are:
** 1. [[spoiler:Miss Scarlet and the maid Yvette are responsible for all the murders, and Wadsworth is an FBI agent.]]
** 2. [[spoiler:Mrs. Peacock killed everyone, Wadsworth still works for the FBI.]]
** 3. [[spoiler:Everyone except Mr. Green killed somebody, Wadsworth is actually Mr. Boddy (and 'Mr. Boddy' was actually his butler), Mr. Green kills Wadsworth, reveals he's an FBI plant, has all the others arrested, and goes home to sleep with his wife.]]
** The VanillaEdition DVD version has only one special feature - it will select one of the endings at random if you choose it to before you start the film.
*** Since the film had multiple endings, it was important that each one was actually plausible in order for them to work. If you go back and watch the film with each ending's evidence in mind, noting the absences of certain characters in certain scenes as well as specific character interactions, you'll find that all three are almost completely plausible.
* MyCarHatesMe
-->'''Scarlet:''' Why has the car stopped?
-->'''Plum:''' It's frightened.
* NastyParty - All the characters are invited to a party by Mr. Boddy, who is blackmailing them. At this point, Boddy gives them all weapons and orders them to kill the butler so that what they're being blackmailed for won't be exposed. This degenerates into psychosis, with more murders over the course of the movie.
* NoNameGiven: All of the characters from the game (Mr. Green, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, etc.) are revealed to be going by aliases so as to protect their real identities.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor - Professor Plum the psychiatrist is called to evaluate Mr. Boddy's body. (The third ending HangsALampshade when [[spoiler: Wadsworth points out that even a psychiatrist could tell that Mr. Boddy was FakingTheDead]].)
** Actually, they never call Prof. Plum to evaluate the body, he's just the first one that gets to Mr. Boddy after he [[spoiler: "dies"]]. All he did was check his pulse and breathing which any one of them would've done if they got there first. He even says he's NotThatKindOfDoctor in the scene:
--->'''Green:''' How did he die?!
--->'''Plum:''' I don't know! I'm not a forensic expert!
* NothingIsScarier: There is a genuinely eerie scene where Ms. Scarlet, left alone in the ballroom, nervously checks to see if the mystery killer is hiding behind the curtains. This is made even better by the brief tracking shot over her shoulder, which upon first viewing lends the sensation we're about to see someone come up behind her.
* OfCorpseHesAlive: When the cop becomes understandably suspicious of the goings-on at Hill House, [[ButtMonkey Mr. Green]] is commandeered to give a "tour" while the others set up the corpses to "make it look convincing" they're still alive. The results are [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]], if not half because of the cop and Green's reactions to Mrs. White getting [[{{Squick}} a little too into kissing Mr. Boddy]] and Colonel Mustard romancing Mrs. Ho (while poor Mrs. Peacock is stuck on her other side on a window ledge). Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet get off the lightest since they get to make out while pretending the motorist is [[IncrediblyLamePun "dead drunk"]] who will have "a long black car" sent to take him home. Capped off by the choice of "Sha-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" playing on the phonograph the whole time. Oddly, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse we never know what Yvette was doing during all this]].
* PantyShot: Yvette the Maid.
* PluckyComicRelief: The cowardly Mr. Green, except in [[spoiler: the third ending, which is also his CrowningMomentOfAwesome]].
--> "Sorry, I'm a bit accident-prone."
* RedHerring: All of the characters have some connection to the government, many of them with ties to the military and the ColdWar. However, none of this turns out to be important because, as we're told in all three endings, "Communism was just a red herring".
** Also, we never learned the cause of the broken window in the ballroom. Though it can probably be assumed it was broken by a tree branch during the storm.
* RuleOfThree: The three endings. Used to full effect in the "home video" version of the film, in which all three endings are shown one after another.
* RunningGag - Wadsworth steps in dog poop at the beginning of the movie. The first time he speaks to Yvette and each of the guests, they all sniff a few times and check their own shoes.
** Also, "To make a long story short..." "Too late."
** "I didn't do it!"
* SharePhrase: The same lines and gags appear in each ending, transposed to different characters (e.g. "Communism was just a red herring," the line "One thing confuses me." "Just one?"). However when watched together, it comes off as a convincing call back.
* ShootOutTheLock: Yvette does this to get Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard out of the Lounge.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''MurderByDeath''
* StealthPun: At dinner, Professor Plum says that he is employed by UNO (United Nations Organization), at a branch called WHO (World Health Organization). Which means he works for U-NO-WHO.
** See also CastingGag.
* StraightGay: Mr. Green, unless [[spoiler:the third ending is the correct ending, in which case he was [[TheMole a plant]] ("I thought guys like you were called fruits") from the FBI pretending to be gay so he would be blackmailed, and is in fact [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday "going home to sleep with [his] wife"]].]]
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial
-->'''The Motorist''': Where is it?
-->'''Wadsworth''': What? The body?
-->'''The Motorist''': The phone. What body?
-->'''Wadsworth''': There's no body. Nobody. There's, there's nobody in the study.
* TakeThat
-->'''Wadsworth''': Professor Plum, you were once a professor of psychiatry specializing in helping paranoid and homicidal lunatics suffering from delusions of grandeur.
-->'''Professor Plum''': Yes, but now I work for the United Nations.
-->'''Wadsworth''': So your work has not changed.
** Plum himself joins in, when he is told that it won't help his career to be implicated in six murders. He responds, "You don't know the kind of people we have at the UN - I might go ''up'' in their estimation."
** "Even a psychiatrist can tell the difference between patients who are alive or dead."
* TheButlerDidIt: In the third ending, [[spoiler: Wadsworth, or rather, Mr. Boddy pretending to be Wadsworth, shot the singing telegram girl; it also inverts this trope, as the butler, pretending to be Mr. Boddy, was a victim]].
** During his summation of the murders, Wadsworth reveals that he's known about the secret passages in the house, so Mr. Green says Wadsworth could be the murderer. His reply to the accusation? "Don't be ridiculous. If I was the murderer, why would I reveal to you how I did it?" [[spoiler: When you keep the third ending in mind, it becomes much more amusing.]]
** But, even with that, he [[spoiler: never did the "it" that started this whole bloodbath: Mr. Boddy's murder.]]
** And in point of fact, he didn't do any of the things he was explaining, [[spoiler: save for the final murder, which didn't really bear explanation. Someone simply picked up the gun, answered the door, and shot the girl.]]
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Wadsworth/Mr. Boddy]]
* TheSummation: All such summations from 80s mystery shows are totally spoofed by the over the top, and ultimately unhelpful, way Wadsworth does it.
* TimCurry is Wadsworth, the butler, and the only main character in the movie who isn't from the game; his job is mainly to be MrExposition. At the beginning of the movie, he explains why everyone is at the house; at the end, he reveals how all of the murders were carried out. [[spoiler: In the third ending, Curry wasn't actually Wadsworth; he was actually Mr. Boddy (posing as Wadsworth). Who killed him? Mr. Green, in the Hall, with the Revolver.]]
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The director was a fan of RowanAtkinson and wanted him to play Wadsworth, but [[ExecutiveMeddling the producers]] said that Atkinson wasn't a big enough name for American audiences. So instead he cast lifelong friend TimCurry.
** A fourth ending was filmed, but left out because it is less humorous than the others. In this one, Wadsworth killed ''all'' the victims due to his disgust at their behavior, and reveals that he has poisoned the other characters as well. The FBI shows up, and Wadsworth confesses by beginning to reenact the plot again. When he gets to the part where he answers the door for Colonel Mustard, he flees. Wadsworth attempts to get away in a police vehicle, but hears a doberman growling from the backseat, and is attacked.
* XanatosRoulette, with a SpannerInTheWorks: Mr. Boddy presents all of his blackmail victims with a lethal weapon, tells them to kill the guy who ''isn't'' blackmailing them, and then turns off all the lights, ''while still in the room.'' To the shock of no one, it doesn't end well for him. Of course, depending on the ending, [[spoiler:it was a ''successful'' Roulette - in the third ending "Mr. Boddy" was really the blackmailer's butler, and the guy he was telling everyone to kill was, in fact, Mr. Boddy. [[ReversePsychology If anybody had actually done what they were told to]], TheChessmaster would have been killed, just as the butler wanted.]]

!!The book series provides examples of the following:!!
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Professor Plum
* CatchPhrase
** '''Colonel Mustard:''' I challenge you to a duel!
** '''Mrs. Peacock:''' How rude!
* ConcealingCanvas: Mr. Boddy's safe in the Study is hidden behind a duck painting.
* GrandeDame: Mrs. Peacock
* HurricaneOfPuns
* KillerRobot: In one story, Mr. Boddy gets a robot butler. One guests uses it to their advantage by ordering to kill another guest.
* PunnyName: Mr. Boddy's relatives, when they're mentioned, usually have these, such as his aunt Annie Boddy and his cousin Noah Boddy.
* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: One of the mysteries revolved around the guests trying to figure out the password to the display case that held Mr. Boddy's latest treasure. It turned out to be, of course, "swordfish."
* TheScrooge: Mr. Green
* TheyKilledKenny: Mr. Boddy is killed in the final chapter of each book, then explains how he survived in the introduction of the next book.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Mr. Boddy was born on Friday the 13th. One story, set on Friday the 13th, involved the guests developing various phobias.
----
<<|{{Film}}|>>

* XanatosRoulette, with a SpannerInTheWorks: Mr. Boddy presents all of his blackmail victims with a lethal weapon, tells them to kill the guy who ''isn't'' blackmailing them, and then turns off all the lights, ''while still in the room.'' To the shock of no one, it doesn't end well for him. Of course, depending on the ending, [[spoiler:it was a ''successful'' Roulette - in the third ending "Mr. Boddy" was really the blackmailer's butler, and the guy he was telling everyone to kill was, in fact, Mr. Boddy. [[ReversePsychology If anybody had actually done what they were told to]], TheChessmaster would have been killed, just as the butler wanted

* XanatosRoulette, with a SpannerInTheWorks: Mr. Boddy presents all of his blackmail victims with a lethal weapon, tells them to kill the guy who ''isn't'' blackmailing them, and then turns off all the lights, ''while still in the room.'' To the shock of no one, it doesn't end well for him. Of course, depending on the ending, [[spoiler:it was a ''successful'' Roulette - in the third ending "Mr. Boddy" was really the blackmailer's butler, and the guy he was telling everyone to kill was, in fact, Mr. Boddy. [[ReversePsychology If anybody had actually done what they were told to]], TheChessmaster would have been killed, just as the butler wanted.]]

* [[{{CrowningMoment/Clue}} Crowning Moment / Clue]]

* {{Expy}}: Neil Simon's MurderByDeath -- The movies share a simillar setting, sense of humor ... and Eileen Brennan.

** Also, we never learned the cause of the broken window in the ballroom. Though it can probably assumed it was broken by a tree branch during the storm.