Episode #195
Episode 195 - Clue (1985) - Murderously Rewatchable? - Good Film Hunting Retro Rewind Review
This week, we’re heading to a suspiciously isolated mansion where the dinner is cold, the guests are lying, the butler is manic, and no one thought to leave after the first dead body. Clue, Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 murder-mystery farce gathers six blackmailed strangers for an evening that rapidly turns into murder, mayhem, secret passages, and increasingly frantic attempts to determine who killed whom, where, and with what. It bombed when audiences first rolled the dice on it, but four decades of VHS, cable, quotable dialogue, and repeat viewings have transformed it into one of the era’s most beloved comedies. Does Clue still hold all the right cards, or has time murdered the mystery? #GoodFilmHunting #RetroRewind #Clue #ClueMovie #JonathanLynn #JohnLandis #TimCurry #MadelineKahn #ChristopherLloyd #LesleyAnnWarren #MichaelMcKean #MartinMull #80sMovies #ComedyMovies #moviereview Release Details Title: Clue Year: 1985 Director: Jonathan Lynn Writer(s): Screenplay by Jonathan Lynn; story by John Landis and Jonathan Lynn; based on the Parker Brothers game originating with Anthony E. Pratt. Top Billed Stars: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, and Lesley Ann Warren. Running Time: 94–96 minutes Country of Origin: United States. Official Release Date: December 13, 1985, opening in Los Angeles and New York through Paramount Pictures. Other Notable Projects Jonathan Lynn — Director/Writer Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister established Lynn's gift for dialogue, bureaucracy, and characters attempting to outmaneuver one another — skills that translate beautifully into Clue. After the film's initial failure slowed his Hollywood career, he rebounded with Nuns on the Run and ultimately directed My Cousin Vinny, another comedy built around precise dialogue, escalating misunderstanding, and great performers attacking carefully constructed material. John Landis — Story Already enormously successful through Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, and Trading Places, Landis brought the foundational idea of turning an almost plotless board game into a comedic whodunit and championed the multiple-ending concept. Tim Curry — Wadsworth Coming out of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Curry already knew how to turn theatrical excess into screen charisma. Legend, It, Home Alone 2, voice roles including Nigel Thornberry, and decades of stage work demonstrated how unusually broad his range became. Clue, however, may be the purest showcase of Curry simultaneously playing straight man, comedian, narrator, physical performer, and ringmaster. Madeline Kahn — Mrs. White After What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein, Kahn arrived in Clue with almost nothing left to prove as a screen comedian. That makes Mrs. White even funnier: she frequently wins scenes by doing less than everyone around her. Christopher Lloyd — Professor Plum 1985 was a pretty good year to be Christopher Lloyd: Clue arrived the same year audiences met him as Doc Brown in Back to the Future. Lynn had already been impressed by Lloyd's work on Taxi. Michael McKean — Mr. Green Already known through Laverne & Shirley and This Is Spinal Tap, McKean would eventually build one of the most interesting comedy-to-drama careers of the ensemble, culminating decades later in his extraordinary work as Chuck McGill on Better Call Saul. Lesley Ann Warren — Miss Scarlet Stepping into a role originally intended for Carrie Fisher could easily have made Warren feel like replacement casting. Instead, her cool, amused Miss Scarlet provides a necessary counterweight to Curry's escalating hysteria. Martin Mull — Colonel Mustard Mull's deadpan comic persona continued through Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Arrested Development, and many other television roles, making Colonel Mustard one of those parts that feels increasingly like a perfect snapshot of his comic rhythm. Social Links YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodfilmhuntingpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flickflopspod/ X: https://twitter.com/flickflopspod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tummytwinsmedia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodfilmhuntingpod
