Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons
There’s so much emphasis put onto box office performances. So, when a movie under performs, it immediately gets written off.
But sometimes a movie can completely bomb at the box office but manages to find its audience long after its initial release. Movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Phantom of the Paradise, and The Thing have achieved cult classic status.
Another film that has joined the ranks of cult classic status is one of my favourite films of all time, Clue.
Based on the board game from Parker Brothers (now owned by Hasbro), Clue is a comedic take on the classic murder mystery, with the characters we’ve all come to know and love getting trapped inside a Gothic mansion with bodies piling up and a murderer on the loose.
With a star-studded cast including Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Leslie Ann Warren, and Eileen Brennan, Clue took the best parts of the game and magnified it tenfold with the creators revolutionizing the murder mystery genre, while giving fans of the original game enough nostalgia that it felt like a real-life game was being played out before their eyes.
It’s not a stretch to say that Clue is one of those games that spans multiple generations, much like Monopoly and The Game of Life. It was only a matter of time before someone created a movie adaptation of it.
Now, with a remake pending with Ryan Reynolds taking the reins, it’s time to take a look at the 1985 movie and what makes it such an enjoyable cult classic.
Tim Curry stars as Wadsworth, a levelheaded butler who oversees a dinner party of unusual circumstances. As the guests arrive, no one really knows why they’ve been invited, or who has invited them. To add more mystery to the already peculiar night, no one knows anyone’s real name.
Set in New England in 1954, the party guests are introduced by their aliases; “Colonel Mustard”, “Mrs. White”, “Mrs. Peacock”, “Mr. Green”, “Professor Plum”, and “Miss Scarlet” before being served dinner. As they sit awkwardly around the dining table, it’s revealed that they are all bureaucrats of some kind. They’re all connected.
In addition to the aforementioned character names, the screenplay cleverly creates a narrative for the board game, including the setting, rules, and weapons, which are presented in an effortless manner.
Aesthetically speaking, there’s a lot to love about Clue. The John Morris score teamed with the “dark and stormy night” atmosphere. The Gothic mansion serves as the perfect setting for a night of mystery, murder, and laughs aplenty. The costuming, makeup, and hairstyles are on point, adding to the overall feel of the film. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I still want Scarlet's dress.
The completely straight performances add to the sheer entertainment. The dialogue is filled with puns, word plays, and innuendos often reserved for the likes of Under the Covers. It has the markings a genuine comedic genius with sharp, biting lines, tongue-twisters that would make Abbott and Costello proud, as well as lowbrow, knowingly dumb bits that still manage to draw a laugh.
But it’s the ending that is the big drawcard for this cult classic. Or should I say endings? Clue sported three endings which were randomly shown at different theatres. It was a radical idea at the time. And while, in hindsight, we look back on this as being a great gimmick to draw people into the cinemas, it might have actually been the downfall of the film.
The question posed to movie-goers in 1985 was simple; How do you assess whether a movie is any good if you have to see it three times in order to see the whole thing? Then there was the problem of if one ending was better than the others – would that final act make the film, as a whole, a lot less appealing? I know I have a preference for which ending I prefer and which one I think is the weakest.
Having all three endings on the subsequent video release and later available versions - where they were presented consecutively - made the bold concept easily digestible. Instead of audiences feeling left out, it gave Clue instant cult status and garnered a new debate; Which ending is the strongest?
This might not have been the only factor to consider why it bombed at box office. It opened against the star-studded, highly anticipated The Jewel of the Nile as well as Spies Like Us and Rocky IV.
Let’s take a deeper look at the cast. Tim Curry as Wadsworth is superb. His manic energy during the third act as he’s giving us a recap of the entire movie is nothing short of a force of nature. He’s gone as far as to state that this is his favourite role that he’s done.
Eileen Brennan was fresh off her Academy Award nominated work in Private Benjamin when she joined the cast as the quirky Mrs. Peacock. Madeline Kahn was equally as wonderful as the somber yet comedic Mrs. White.
Martin Mull was a great surprise as Colonel Mustard. His comedic timing was on point often resulting in hysterical laughter, while his character’s dimwittedness was a departure from the characters I’ve come to know him for, like Principal Kraft in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Christopher Lloyd was the lecherous Professor Plum and seemingly had fun with the role. Seeing as this came out the same year as Back to the Future, Plum is a great contrast to Doc.
Michael McKean was Mr. Green and had some hilarious moments, though did seem underutilized. His hysterical cries of “I didn’t do it!” every time a body appears was a great ongoing joke.
As Miss Scarlet, Leslie Ann Warren was the only cast member to matched Tim Curry’s intensity, often delivering quotable moments. Despite being the last addition to the cast, the role was meant for her.
Even the supporting stars like Colleen Camp, Yvette the maid, and Lee Ving (frontman for the punk rock band, Fear), as the despicable Mr. Boddy, managed to steal focus, proving that Clue was a truly ensemble piece of cinema.
Credit also goes to John Landis and Jonathan Lynn for creating the story, while Lynn also jumped into the director’s chair. Debra Hill, frequent collaborator with horror master, John Carpenter, produced alongside Peter Gruber and Jon Peters.
Despite an untested director and an odd assortment of producers, Clue never feels like a product or a compromise. If anything, Lynn’s straight forward staging and Landis’s injections of comedic spice make for a surprising entry to the comedies of the time. Sexism and innuendo aside, Clue is quite restrained for an 80’s PG-rated movie.
If you’re a fan of QUIZarenaLIVE, I manage to sneak in a few fun facts and trivia questions about Clue from time to time, including making mention that a fourth ending was filmed, but discarded. Reportedly, Wadsworth was responsible for all the murders and ends with him crashing his car into a tree as one of the guard dogs attacks. But despite the healthy cult status Clue now has, ending number four is yet to see the light of day. I even got a kick out of Richard Lovegrove reciting how many bullets were left in the gun during a final tournament question.
It's these little fun facts that make Clue such a pleasure to watch time and time again.
Clue has managed to cement itself as a cult classic through unique, yet familiar, storytelling and stellar performances. It’s a comedy, first and foremost, with the kind of simple gags that were popular in similar movies from the 80’s. It’s not subtle, but it certainly is a lot of fun – just like the game that inspired it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I promised Richard that I’d meet him in the Ballroom. Hmm, I better take this candlestick, just in case…
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