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Home , David Niven, James Coco, Murder by Death, Robert Moore (director)

Waverley Film Society Volume 5 December 2018 Issue 11

December Meeting Waverley Film Society will meet at St John’s Uniting Church, 37 Virginia Street, Mt Waverley on Wednesday, 12th of December. Apologies can be left with Brett on 9807 3426. Visitors are welcome. Bring your friends.

This month we will screen (1976) See page 2 for more information.

Christmas Specials Christmas Supper: Please bring something yummy along for our final 2018 supper. Christmas Hamper Raffle: We will raffle two Christmas Hampers at the December meeting. Tickets will be available at the meeting. Program for 2019: Copies of the 2019 screening program will be distributed at this meeting.

Last Month  Twenty people attended and there were nine apologies.  The Piano recorded a rating of 3 stars.  Members provided plenty of hamper donations and film se- lection sheets  Some technical difficulties (mainly with an alternate ampli- fier) resulted in a late finish to the evening.

Next Month (February 2019) Wednesday, February 13th: Roman Holiday (1953) A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome. Posters advertising this screening will be available. Please post them in community spaces. Murder by Death (1976) (Reference: www..com)

Director: Music: Writing: Cinematography: David . Walsh

Cast: Lionel Twain Tess Skeffington- Milo Perrier Sam Diamond Whom are the characters based upon? Bensonmum Dick and Dora Charleston = Jessica Marbles ("The Thin Man") Dick Charleston Sidney Wang = Charlie Chan Dora Charleston Sam Diamond = ("The Maltese Falcon") Sidney Wang Jessica Marbles = Miss Jane Marple Richard Narita Willy Wang Milo Perrier = Nancy Walker Maid Marcel Estelle Woodward Nurse Review: What a Hoot (by Lechuguilla August 2006) An all-star cast, superb dialogue, effective lighting and editing, great production design, and interesting costumes rev up the technical quality of this cinematic spoof of literary . An eccentric genius named Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites the world's five greatest fictional detectives to a dinner party, at which time someone will be murdered. The detective who solves the crime first gets $1 mil- lion. Everything in this film, from the acting to the sound effects to the plot ... is deliciously exaggerated ... hence the humour. For example, mystery readers accept that Hercule Poirot and Charlie Chan are so observant as to spot the most obscure clue, which conveniently points to the solution of the puzzle. In "Murder By Death" writer Neil Simon exaggerates that gambit. A guest detective draws the most out- landish conclusion from the most irrelevant fact, which in turn is shot down by another guest detective who points out the flaws, and then proceeds to do exactly the same thing. The dialogue is marvellous. In one scene the blind butler serves non-existent soup from an empty bowl, to which Miss Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) protests: "Murder by starvation, maybe that's his game"...... And then there's the scene wherein Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) ruminates: "I don't get it; first they steal the body and leave the clothes; then they steal the clothes and bring the body back. Who would do a thing like that?" To which Dick Charleston (David Niven) responds in a serious tone: "Possibly some deranged dry cleaner". The film's casting is wonderful. Truman Capote may not be much of an actor, but he brings to the film a personality that is appropriately eccentric. My only problem is that the amount of screen time for the cast is uneven ... too much for Peter Falk and Peter Sellers, and not enough for Elsa Lanchester, who arrives late. "Murder By Death" is a wonderful film classic that still holds up thirty years after it was made. The film conveys no heavy-duty political or social "message", no great insight into the human condition. But when you're in the mood for light-hearted, escapist entertainment that provides some laughs, this film is a great choice.