Clue (film)

Clue
Poster from the movie Clue
Directed by	Jonathan Lynn
Written by	Story: John Landis Jonathan Lynn Screenplay: Jonathan Lynn
Produced by	Debra Hill
Starring	Tim Curry Eileen Brennan Lesley Ann Warren Christopher Lloyd Michael McKean Madeline Kahn Martin Mull
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Edited by	David Bretherton Richard Haines
Music by	John Morris
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	December 13, 1985 (USA)
Running time	94 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000 (est.)
Box office	$14,643,997 (USA)

Clue (1985) is a dark comedy film based on the board game of the same name (which is also known as Cluedo). It is a murder mystery set in a Gothic mansion. The style takes the idea in the direction of Murder By Death and other various murder/dinner parties of mystery. The film was directed by Jonathan Lynn, who collaborated on the script with John Landis. It stars Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, and Madeline Kahn alongside an ensemble cast of characters.

In order to prevent the ending from being revealed by the press or by word of mouth, three separate endings were filmed. In spite of this marketing gimmick, the film did poorly at the box office and received mixed reviews. On its 38th day of release, the reported box office earnings were only $13,377,261.

Plot

Six invited guests, given assumed names, are summoned to the secluded mansion, Hill House, on a stormy night, with one thing in common; they are all being blackmailed. Mr. Green (Michael McKean) (homosexuality), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull) (selling military supplies on the black market), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan) (bribery), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd) (affairs with his lady patients), Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren) (runs a brothel) and Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn) (several mysteriously dead husbands). They are all met by the British butler, Wadsworth (Tim Curry) (wife had Socialist friends) and eventually meet their blackmailer; Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving).

After dinner, the guest move into the study for drinks, where Wadsworth explains the reason that everyone is here, blackmail, and who Mr. Boddy is. After trying to flee the mansion, Boddy gives each of the guests a deadly weapon, and suggests that the party guests should kill Wadsworth, who plans on turning his evidence of the blackmail ring over to the police, and turns out the lights to give the potential murder protection. Yet, his nefarious scheme backfires, because some kills Mr. Boddy. The sexy French maid, Yvette (Colleen Camp) has been tape recording the conversation, per Wadsworth request, and insists on joining the guests.

The guests must try to deduce, before the police arrive, who killed Boddy. The body count increases when the cook (Kellye Nakahara) is found stabbed with a knife, and a similar fate await a lost motorist, singing telegram girl (Jane Wiedlin) and no-nonsense cop (Bill Henderson. The guests agree to split up and search the house, but mistrust each other and are unable to prevent more murders. After the murder turns off the electricity, to commit another murder, Wadsworth locates the light switch and proclaims that he has solved the mysterious murders, which leads into the film’s multiple endings.

File:Clue screenshot 1.jpg

Wadsworth (Tim Curry) and the other guests answer the door after discovering Mr. Boddy has died

First ending

In the first scenario, Wadsworth reveals that Yvette killed Mr. Boddy and the cook, under orders from Miss Scarlet, who killed the motorist, Yvette, the cop and the singing telegram girl. Scarlet then reveals that her call-girl business is actually a cover for her real work, "secrets extortion," in which Yvette participated. Scarlet plans to use the information gathered that night to blackmail each of the other guests. However, as a butler, Wadsworth has no government information, and she threatens to shoot him. Wadsworth retorts that the gun has no bullets left and the two argue over how many bullets had actually been fired. Distracted by the doorbell, Scarlet is subdued by Wadsworth and the police rush in. Wadsworth is revealed to be an FBI agent, and to prove that there were actually no bullets in the gun, he fires it in the air. A bullet was left in the chamber, however, which hits a chandelier, sending it crashing to the floor.

Second ending

In the second scenario, it is revealed that Mrs. Peacock is the murderer of all the victims. She pulls out the revolver and threatens Wadsworth, but he points out that she has done them all a great favor by killing Boddy, their blackmailer, and his associates. Wadsworth also claims he never contacted the police, and the entire evening can easily be buried and forgotten. Peacock leaves to a chorus of "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" from the others. Wadsworth then reveals that he is an FBI agent who set up the entire meeting as a sting operation on Mrs. Peacock, who was taking bribes from foreign powers. Mr. Boddy's murder was an unplanned but convenient turn of events. Upon attempting to escape, Peacock is arrested, and Wadsworth offers the guests fruit and dessert.

Third ending

In the third and final scenario, it is found out that each of the guests murdered one of the victims; Professor Plum killed Mr. Boddy, Mrs. Peacock killed the cook (who used to work for her), Colonel Mustard killed the motorist (his driver during the war), Mrs. White killed Yvette (who had an affair with her husband) and Ms. Scarlet killed the policeman (whom she'd been bribing to allow her to continue operating her "specialized hotel"). These victims (except for Mr. Boddy) were the sources of information used in the blackmailing. By process of elimination, the guests accuse Mr. Green of killing the singing telegram girl, although he claims he is innocent. Wadsworth pulls the revolver from his coat, revealing that it was he who shot the girl, and holds the guests at gunpoint. Wadsworth then reveals the shocking secret that he is, in fact, the real Mr. Boddy. The "Mr. Boddy" killed earlier was actually his butler, set up to take the fall.

Mr. Boddy/Wadsworth thanks the guests for getting rid of his accomplices, and in doing so, all the evidence against him. He also reveals he never called the police as he claimed, and suggests they stash the bodies in the cellar, leave quietly one at a time, and pretend the evening never happened. He also plans to continue blackmailing them. Mr. Green suddenly shoots and kills Mr. Boddy, revealing that he (Green) is an undercover FBI agent. Backup forces rush in and surround the five murderers. The police chief asks which is the guilty party, and, in a nod to the game, Mr. Green replies, "They all did it. But if you want to know who killed Mr. Boddy, I did. In the hall, with the revolver." He then says: "Okay, Chief, take 'em away. I'm gonna go home and sleep with my wife," thus revealing that even his claimed homosexuality was part of his cover. This ending was established as the real one in the film’s home release.

Fourth ending

In a fourth scenario that was never filmed, but is referenced in some of the film's literature, Wadsworth, after pretending to be dead, says that he killed Boddy, 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, an evangelist from earlier returns, followed by the police, who disarm Wadsworth. Wadsworth then repeats the confession he had given earlier to 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. Fortunately, the police and guests escape through a window, while Wadsworth attempts to make a getaway in a car, only to hear the growling of a German Shepherd Dog from the backseat.