Everyone loves a good mystery. While it’s a genre that might not get quite as much love as sci-fi, mysteries—and especially whodunits—are a time-honored favorite among moviegoers. We’ve seen them undergoing a bit of a renaissance in recent years as well, thanks in no small part to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise giving us three films to date featuring Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. But while Knives Out and its sequels are wildly popular, there is one mystery film that might just be the most iconic of them all, remaining a must-watch even 40 years after it was first released and now, it’s free to stream on Tubi.
It’s hard to imagine the mystery movie genre without Clue. First released in 1985, the film is based on the board came Clue and features an incredible ensemble cast that includes Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Michel McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Christopher Lloyd, and the legendary Tim Curry. An extremely unique film in that, when it was released, it had three different endings which each theater it was released in getting one of the endings. The result was that, depending on where you saw Clue, you may have seen a different movie than everyone else (home media would ultimately give viewers all three endings). While Clue didn’t do well at the box office, it’s since become something of the standard bearer for mystery films as well as a genuine cult classic.
On the surface, Clue is a really simple mystery film. With its mechanics inspired by the game, which is in turn inspired by Agatha Christie’s mysteries and old timey murder mystery parlor games, the Jonathan Lynn-directed film brings together a group of six strangers for a dinner at a New England mansion where they’re given pseudonyms and brought in where it’s revealed they all have a connection to Mr. Boddy, a man who has been blackmailing each of them. When the butler, Wadsworth (Curry) calls the police on Mr. Boddy, Boddy threatens to expose everyone and their secrets if he’s turned in and then presents six weapons—the classic weapons from the game—before suggesting someone kill Wadsworth. The lights go out, a gunshot goes off, and when the lights come back, Boddy is dead. Now we have a murder and the authorities on the way and a room of people with equally good reasons to have done it as to cover it up.
However, while the setup is pure whodunit, the execution of the film is really what makes it. The dialogue and word play in Clue is absolutely unmatched and helps to preserve the general boardgame element. This is particularly interesting as many games and toys that find themselves adapted into movies don’t necessarily maintain that bit of DNA with their inspiration. Because the spirit of it being a game never leaves the film, it also gives Clue a bit of a feeling like it’s a farce or satire. Clue, in some respects, feels a bit like parody comedies of the general era—films like Airplane! and The Naked Gun—in that it brings in plenty of clever humor and physical gags, but also never hesitates to make a little bit of friendly fun of the very genre the movie is a part of. Everything is just a little dialed up and given the excellence of the performances, it’s an elevated experience.
It’s also an experience that continues to be influential decades later. When watching Knives Out, it’s difficult not to get shades of Clue in the film, especially once you’ve seen all three current films in the series. There’s also the Clue scripted series that was announced to be in development at Peacock last December. While details about that project remain few it’s expected that it will have a similar tone as the beloved film. Until that series comes to fruition—or until we get another Knives Out movie—be sure to check out Clue while it’s free to stream on Tubi.
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