Clue (film)

Scarlet ordered Yvette to murder Ho and Boddy before killing her and the other victims. Intending to sell the guests' secrets, Scarlet prepares to use the revolver to kill Wadsworth, who argues that there are no bullets left before disarming her just as law enforcement raid the manor, led by the evangelist, the undercover chief of police. Afterward, Wadsworth reveals he is an undercover FBI agent before accidentally firing the last bullet in the revolver at a chandelier, which narrowly misses Mustard.

Peacock killed the victims to prevent them from exposing her for taking bribes from foreign powers. Using the revolver to hold the others at gunpoint, she forces them to let her leave. However, she is arrested by the evangelist, the undercover chief of police, before law enforcement raid the manor. Afterward, Wadsworth reveals he is an undercover FBI agent and offers fruit or dessert.

Apart from Green, everyone committed one murder. Plum missed Boddy before ultimately succeeding; Peacock stabbed Ho; Mustard bludgeoned the motorist; a jealous White throttled Yvette for being with her husband, who she also killed; Scarlet clubbed the cop, whom she had been bribing; and Wadsworth shot the singing telegram. Green deduces Wadsworth is the real Boddy, who reveals Plum killed the real butler and announces his intent to continue blackmailing the guests until Green draws his own revolver and kills him. As the evangelist, the undercover chief of police, leads law enforcement in raiding the manor, Green reveals he is an undercover FBI agent sent to investigate Boddy.

The multiple-ending concept was developed by John Landis, who claimed in an interview to have invited playwright Tom Stoppard, writer and composer Stephen Sondheim, and actor Anthony Perkins to write the screenplay. The script was ultimately finished by director Jonathan Lynn.[3]

A fourth ending was filmed, but Lynn removed it because, he later said, "It really wasn't very good. I looked at it, and I thought, 'No, no, no, we've got to get rid of that.'"[6] In that ending, Wadsworth committed all the murders. He was motivated by his desire for perfection. Having failed to be either the perfect husband or the perfect butler, he decided to be the perfect murderer instead. Wadsworth reports that he poisoned the champagne the guests drank so they would soon die, leaving no witnesses. The police and the FBI arrive and Wadsworth is arrested. He breaks free and steals a police car, but his escape is thwarted when three police dogs lunge from the back seat. This ending is documented in Clue: The Storybook, a tie-in book released in conjunction with the film.[7]

Carrie Fisher was originally cast to portray Miss Scarlet, but withdrew to enter treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.[8] Jonathan Lynn's first choice for Wadsworth was Leonard Rossiter, but he died before filming commenced.[9] The second choice was Rowan Atkinson, but it was decided that he was not sufficiently well known at the time, so Tim Curry was cast.[9]

Clue was filmed on sound stages at the Paramount Pictures film studios in Hollywood. The set design is credited to Les Gobruegge, Gene Nollmanwas, and William B. Majorand, with set decoration by Thomas L. Roysden.[10] To decorate the interior sets, authentic 18th- and 19th-century furnishings were rented from private collectors, including the estate of Theodore Roosevelt.[11] After completion, the set was bought by the producers of Dynasty, who used it as the fictional hotel The Carlton.

All interior scenes were filmed at the Paramount lot, except the ballroom scene. The ballroom, as well as the driveway gate exteriors, were filmed on location at a mansion in South Pasadena, California. This site was destroyed in a fire on October 5, 2005.[12] Exterior shots of the Pasadena mansion were enhanced with matte paintings to make the house appear much larger; these were executed by matte artist Syd Dutton in consultation with Albert Whitlock.

Madeline Kahn improvised Mrs. White's famous "flames" speech.[3]

The novelization is by Michael McDowell, based on the screenplay. Landis, Lynn, and Ann Matthews wrote a children's adaptation, Paramount Pictures Presents Clue: The Storybook. Both adaptations were published in 1985, and differ from the film in that they feature a fourth ending cut from the film.[14] In this ending, Wadsworth says that he killed Boddy as well as the other victims, and then reveals to the guests that he has poisoned them all so that there will be no witnesses and he will have committed the perfect crime. As he runs through the house to disable the phones and lock the doors, the chief of police – who had been posing as an evangelist – returns, followed by the police, who disarm Wadsworth. Wadsworth then repeats the confession he gave the guests, physically acting out each scene himself. When he arrives at the part about meeting Colonel Mustard at the door, he steps through the door, closes it, and locks it, leaving all the guests trapped inside. The police and guests escape through a window while Wadsworth attempts to make a getaway in a police car, only to hear the growling of a Dobermann from the back seat.[15][16]

The film was released to home video for VCR , both VHS and Betamax formats in Canada and the United States in 1986 and to other countries on February 11, 1991.[17] It was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in June 17, 2000,[18] and on Blu-ray by Paramount Home Media Distribution on August 7, 2012.[19]

The home video, television broadcasts, and on-demand streaming by services such as Netflix include all three endings shown sequentially, with the first two characterized as possible endings but the third (Ending C) being the only true one. The Blu-ray and DVD offer viewers the option to watch the endings separately (chosen randomly by the player), as well as the "home entertainment version" ending with all three of them stitched together.[20]

In February 2011, La-La Land Records released John Morris's score for the film as a limited-edition soundtrack CD.[21] In 2015, for the film's 30th anniversary, Mondo issued a limited-edition vinyl pressed on six different colored 180 Gram Vinyl colors for each of the suspects.[22]

The screenplay for the film was adapted for stage performances in 2017 by the original screenwriter Jonathan Lynn.[23][24] Sandy Rustin wrote a second adaptation that was first performed in 2020. Juan Ramirez described a performance of Rustin's adaptation as "a welcome throwback to an era of physical comedy".[25] The stage adaptations have been performed widely.[26]

The film initially received mixed reviews. Janet Maslin of The New York Times panned it, writing that the beginning "is the only part of the film that is remotely engaging. After that, it begins to drag".[27] Similarly, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "Clue offers a few big laughs early on followed by a lot of characters running around on a treadmill to nowhere."[28] Siskel particularly criticized the decision to release the film to theaters with three separate endings, calling it a "gimmick" that would distract audiences from the rest of the film, and concluding, "Clue is a movie that needs three different middles rather than three different endings."[28]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing that it has a "promising" cast but the "screenplay is so very, very thin that [the actors] spend most of their time looking frustrated, as if they'd just been cut off right before they were about to say something interesting."[13] On Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, both agreed that the "A" ending was the best while the "C" ending was the worst.[29]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 70% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A robust ensemble of game actors elevate Clue above its schematic source material, but this farce's reliance on novelty over organic wit makes its entertainment value a roll of the dice."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31]

Clue has grossed $14.6 million in North America, just short of its $15 million budget.[2]