Why I love “Clue” – the movie (spoilers)

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“Clue”, a movie adaptation of the boardgame “Cluedo”, was released in 1985.  It was essentially a box office flop, but like many great movies, has gone on to achieve a cult following. 

I first saw it in 1987, when I was ten years old and “Cluedo” mad.  I’d just received my first “Cluedo” set for Christmas the previous year (I say my first because I am now a budding collector, the minutiae of which I’ll inflict upon you all at a later date).  When I saw the life-size cardboard display for “Clue” in our local video store, I was gripped with desire to see this movie that brought my favourite game to life. 

Thinking back, it seems like years between when I first heard of the movie and I actually got to see it – childhood has a habit of completely distorting your sense of time.  My family had made the unfortunate decision to go with Beta when we bought a VCR, and by this time it was getting extremely hard to find stores that had a decent catalogue. 

So my first viewing was at a birthday party, where I somehow managed to convince the friend who invited me that “Clue” would be perfect afternoon movie for us all instead of “The Karate Kid Part II” or “Star Trek IV”.  I remember everyone laughed so much at the singing telegram sequence that we rewinded it several times – god knows what we made of some of the more esoteric bits. 

When it came to TV a year or so later, I taped it on our trusty top-loading Beta and wore that tape right through.  I even had the audio run off on a tape which I could listen to in bed at night.  I knew every line of dialogue, the pacing, the music cues.  Along with many other films and tv shows from my childhood, I stored it all in a vast cinematic library inside my head, to be deconstructed years later when I became a film-maker myself - and included a few references to “Cluedo” the board game as part of my first film “Quiet Night In”. 

In adulthood, I retained fond memories of “Clue”, but it wasn’t until the DVD came out that I was able to revisit it and see if it still lived up to my memories – a very scary experience.  I was delighted to find that not only did it still do so, but that I was now able to appreciate the many other aspects that make “Clue” such a great piece of work. 

The ensemble cast 

Getting the right group of people together is essential for ensemble pieces to work.  Director Jonathan Lynn assembled some fantastic character actors for “Clue”: most notably Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Eileen Brennan (Murder By Death), Madeline Kahn (virtually every great comedy of the 1970s), and Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap). 

I remember a lukewarm review in New Zealand when “Clue” screened on TV in the 1980s that said the film had a weak script so the actors had to work hard.  While I disagree about the script, I certainly agree that the actors work very hard in “Clue”.  Every little moment is brought to life, each line imbued with subtext, and the comic timing in even modest situations is superb. 

Some of my favourite clips are Mrs Peacock Breaks The Ice, The Flames Speech, Is There Anyone Else In The House? and Our Lives Are In Danger.

The situation 

I had always loved the fact that the events of “Clue” take place over one evening, starting with the preparation for a party and leading up to a climax as events get more and more out of control. 

The occasion of murder is initially a haven of slapstick hysteria in the early parts of “Clue”, which has given way to blase acceptance by the end, when three murders are committed in the space of a few minutes and the cast are left to examine the aftermath as the incomparable “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)” by the Crew Cuts plays in the background. 

The pace

Director Jonathan Lynn apparently got the cast of “Clue” to watch “His Girl Friday” to get everyone in the mood for the type of pace he was trying to achieve.  As anyone who has seen “His Girl Friday” knows, the phrase rapid-fire dialogue doesn’t begin to describe how fast it actually is. 

Some of the pace in “Clue” has been achieved with editing rather than long takes, as was the case in “His Girl Friday”, but the performances still shine through in a number of unbroken sequences. 

I have always been a fan of underplaying jokes, and there is plenty of that in “Clue” – dry wit and quirky line delivery zip past in a flash.  This is one of those comedies which is appreciated even better on multiple viewings. 

The multiple endings 

In keeping with the board game, “Clue” had the rather audacious idea of multiple endings for the mystery.  Four were filmed, three made it to the final cut.  On video, these were presented one after the other, and it was only in adulthood that I learned that this is not how the film was released in theatres: three different prints were struck, each with one of the endings, which were sent randomly to theatres.  The DVD has a branching function which allows you to watch all three endings or select one at random, as per the theatrical release.  

I much prefer to watch all three – “Clue” still runs at under ninety minutes even with all three endings, so it’s a brisk viewing.  I also think the multiple endings break down the fourth wall by revealing something of the process of mystery-writing: much like Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda” years later, there are common threads in the different endings of “Clue”, each of which are used in different ways. 

Some reviewers thought the multiple endings weakened the film, because the different solutions muddied the clues and made it impossible to solve the mystery in a linear sense.  Do all the clues add up?  I answer that question with another: Does it matter? 

If you’re after a realistic murder mystery, then rent a Poirot.  Or better still, read one.  “Clue” is one of those rare gems that brings together popular culture, slapstick humour, dry wit, political machinations (as is to be expected from the co-writer of “Yes, Minister”) and – with those multiple endings – just a hint of existentialism.

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Filed under Analysis, Inspiration

Tags: Cary Grant, Clue movie, cluedo, Cluedo fans, Crew Cuts, Eileen Brennan, His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks, Jonathan Lynn, Madeline Kahn, melinda and melinda, Michael McKean, Mrs Peacock, Mrs White, Murder By Death, quiet night in, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Rosalind Russell, Sh-Boom, Tim Curry, Woody Allen, Yes Minister