Mar 18th
Murder by Death*   

(US 1976)                  

An eccentric millionaire invites the five most famous detectives to his house on a wager to decide who is the greatest crime solver of them all.
Variable all-star spoof mystery with only some decent comic moments from an author who is clearly enjoying himself too much in referencing all the famous detectives. A good deal of the rest of the entertainment comes from the skill of the performances.

Written by: Neil Simon.
Producer: Ray Stark.
Director: Robert Moore.
Starring (in no particular order): Peter Sellers (Charlie Chan), David Niven (The Thin Man), Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness, Peter Falk (Sam Spade), James Coco (Poirot), Elsa Lanchester (Miss Marple), Truman Capote, Eileen Brennan, Estelle Winwood, Richard Narita, James Cromwell, Nancy Walker.
Photography: David M. Walsh.
Music: Dave Grusin.

+ it was during the making of this film, on one of his rare filming sessions in Hollywood, that Alec Guinness was first offered the script of Star Wars

Preceded by:
Grandma's Reading Glass*
(GB 1900. 1m. bw. silent; Interesting early visual use of the extreme close-up.; d: G.A. Smith.)