With PETER FALK doing a superb turn as Sam Diamond (a Raymond Chandler type of detective with Humphrey Bogart characteristics), and EILEEN BRENNAN as his moll, quick with the humorous sarcasm, this is a clever parody of every murder mystery ever written. In fact, everyone concerned with this Neil Simon parody is having fun in their offbeat roles.
Most offbeat of all is NANCY WALKER as a ditzy mute maid and ALEC GUINESS as a blind servant--and, unfortunately, TRUMAN CAPOTE as Lionel Twain, the host of a dinner party designed to trap a murderer. Too bad Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn't around at the time to do justice to Capote's embarrassingly bad interpretation of Twain who, despite all the Capote mannerisms, seems stilted and unrehearsed.
David NIVEN and MAGGIE SMITH do wonders as a Nick and Nora type of couple, ELSA LANCHESTER is eccentric as Miss Marbles, and JAMES COCO has fun with his interpretation of a Belgian detective modeled after Hercule Poirot.
All the requisites for mystery are present: the thunder and lightning, the heavy rains, the dark old house, the group of dinner guest suspects, and a plot that gets sillier with each scene. True, there's a bit of a letdown at the revelation of the killer, but it's all done with such high spirits and witty lines that you won't care much about that.
Delicious parody of all those who-dun-its we all grew up on, stylishly directed by newcomer Robert Moore.
Most offbeat of all is NANCY WALKER as a ditzy mute maid and ALEC GUINESS as a blind servant--and, unfortunately, TRUMAN CAPOTE as Lionel Twain, the host of a dinner party designed to trap a murderer. Too bad Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn't around at the time to do justice to Capote's embarrassingly bad interpretation of Twain who, despite all the Capote mannerisms, seems stilted and unrehearsed.
David NIVEN and MAGGIE SMITH do wonders as a Nick and Nora type of couple, ELSA LANCHESTER is eccentric as Miss Marbles, and JAMES COCO has fun with his interpretation of a Belgian detective modeled after Hercule Poirot.
All the requisites for mystery are present: the thunder and lightning, the heavy rains, the dark old house, the group of dinner guest suspects, and a plot that gets sillier with each scene. True, there's a bit of a letdown at the revelation of the killer, but it's all done with such high spirits and witty lines that you won't care much about that.
Delicious parody of all those who-dun-its we all grew up on, stylishly directed by newcomer Robert Moore.