Clue (1985)
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62% of critics liked it
(26 reviews) -
85% of users liked it
(88,500 ratings)
In this spoof of McCarthy-era paranoia and 1950s wholesomeness, the characters and plot are drawn from the popular Parker Brothers board game of the same name. On a dark and stormy night in 1954, six individuals with ties to Washington are assembled for a dinner party at the swanky mansion of one… More In this spoof of McCarthy-era paranoia and 1950s wholesomeness, the characters and plot are drawn from the popular Parker Brothers board game of the same name. On a dark and stormy night in 1954, six individuals with ties to Washington are assembled for a dinner party at the swanky mansion of one Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving). Boddy's butler, Wadsworth (Tim Curry), assigns each guest a colorful name: Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Col. Mustard (Martin Mull), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren), and Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn). Two additional servants, the Cook (Kellye Nakahara) and Yvette, the maid (Colleen Camp), assist Wadsworth as he informs the guests that they have been gathered to meet the man who has been blackmailing them: Mr. Boddy. When Boddy turns up dead, however, the guests must try to figure out who killed him so they can protect their own reputations and keep the body count from growing. Three separate endings were filmed for Clue and shown in different theaters; all three are collected for the video edition. Although the film is set in the 1950s, the original Clue game was actually devised by Anthony Pratt, a clerk in Leeds, England, to pass the time during World War II air-raid drills. First released in 1946 under the name Cluedo by British manufacturer Waddington's, Clue was renamed and released in the U.S. in 1949. Today, Clue/Cluedo is marketed in 70 countries around the world and has been adapted into a British game show and an off-Broadway musical. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jonathan Lynn
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 13, 1985 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
It's not the least bit scary or suspenseful but instead quickly grows tedious. The more you struggle to keep track of the constantly multiplying plot developments, the harder it gets to care who did it.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Only Lesley Ann Warren, as a tough-talking madam, finds an effective level of stylization, using her leggy physique and wildly expressive features to create a cartoonish figure that's funny within its own boundaries.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
The characters are less credible than their plastic counterparts, the puerile humour is dispiriting, and the plotting pulled this way and that by the conceit of releasing the film in the US with a trio of alternate endings.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
One ending is more than enough.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Though it takes only 87 minutes to arrive at one of its three different solutions, it has long since worn out its welcome by the denouement.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Eileen Brennan
as Mrs. Peacock
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Tim Curry
as Wadsworth
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Madeline Kahn
as Mrs. White
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Martin Mull
as Col. Mustard
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Christopher Lloyd
as Prof. Plum
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Lesley Ann Warren
as Miss Scarlet
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Colleen Camp
as Yvette
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Michael McKean
as Mr. Green
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Lee Ving
as Mr. Boddy
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Bill Henderson
as Cop
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Howard Hesseman
as FBI Agent
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Jeffrey Kramer
as Motorist
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Kellye Nakahara
as Cook
- John-Clay Scott
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Jane Wiedlin
as Singing Telegram Girl
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Don Camp
as Cop
- Danny Costa
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Rick Goldman
as Cop
- Bill McIntosh
- Jane Jenkins
- Janet Hirshenson
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Will Nye
as Cop



