As all mystery buffs know, English manor houses are some of the most lethal locations on the planet, but if 1985 comedy Clue is to be believed, even American manors are pretty dangerous places to be. Naturally, the presence of Tim Curry helps a bit. You can't get more English than Tim Curry. Fact.Based on the board-game, Clue both rips off and improves on the 1976 Murder by Death (amusingly, Eileen Brennan was in both, as Mrs. Peacock and Tess Skeffington), for despite the earlier film's prestigious cast listing, it spun into Scooby-Doo antics, featuring more inappropriate jokes than was necessary, and a slow, meandering plot. (But hey, blind butler Bensonmum, played by the great Alec Guinness, stripped naked lying dead in the kitchen? "Possibly some deranged dry cleaner...")
Not that Clue doesn't have it's share of Scooby-Doo-ness, but it manages to remain within the realm of barely believable, just out of Agatha Christie territory. Six people, all connected to the government in some form, are sent anonymous letters, inviting them to a dinner party in New England. Once there, they are met by a British butler, Wadsworth (Curry), who encourages them to employ false names, such as Mr. Green and Colonel Mustard, neatly following the plot of the board game. Soon enough, they discover they have been gathered to meet the man who is black-mailing them all, Mr. Boddy. Needless to say, his pseudonym quickly becomes very literal.
