In doing my research for this post, I found more material than I could possible use in this series of articles, so I’m just going to talk about the movies I like best. You can tell me about your favorites in the comments!
For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off. —Johnny Carson
Way back in 1939, William Powell and Myrna Loy starred in The Thin Man, based on Dashiell Hammett’s book. The movie was a huge success and even though Hammett never wrote another book about the light-hearted couple solving mysteries, there were five movie sequels starring “Your Favorite Mister and Missus,” according to the movie poster. People loved the couple so much they were convinced they were really married.
Nick is a hard-nosed PI who mended his ways after wedding the lovely Nora. When a friend of the couple’s disappears and the gentleman’s girlfriend is found murdered, Nick is recruited to solve the crime while Nora cheers him on and enjoys the thrill of a murder mystery.
The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they’re going to be when you kill them. —William Clayton
Mortimer comes home to introduce his new bride to the maiden aunts who raised him and discovers his brother thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt and there’s a body in the window seat, which he fears is Teddy’s doing. His distress increases, however, when he discovers his aunts are poisoning lonely old men as part of their “charity” work.
The ensuing insanity keeps you laughing until the movie’s final line when Mortimer is thrilled to discover he’s not . . . well, I’d better not give that away.
Much can be accomplished with a smile. More can be accomplished with a smile and a gun. —Al Capone
I don’t think anyone will argue with me when I say Billy Wilder was a genius, and Some Like It Hot, released in 1959, was a work of art. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon played Joe and Jerry, unfortunate witnesses to a mob murder who have to leave town quickly. They dress as women and join an all-woman band to “hide in plain sight.” The complications pile up as Joe falls in love with Sugar, played by the wonderful Marilyn Monroe. Of course Jerry’s romance with Osgood Fielding III (the delightful Joe E. Brown) can’t be discounted either. So while these to cross dressers are chasing love, the criminals are chasing them. Be careful, there is a chance you’ll die laughing watching this one.
Death, the one appointment we must all keep, and for which no time is set. —Charlie Chan
You can’t mention great movies of the 60s without talking about the Pink Panther series, which was directed by Blake Edwards and starred Peter Sellers. In 1964, A Shot in the Dark came out and was one of the best in this series. Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers) is called to the country home of a wealthy Parisian businessman whose chauffeur has been killed. The driver had been having an affair with the maid, played by Elke Sommer. Everything points to her guilt, but Clouseau is attracted to her and refuses to believe it. The real murderer is forced to keep killing to stay hidden. Much mirth and death ensue. Clouseau is even arrested himself on four occasions.
I’m trying to die correctly, but it’s very difficult, you know. —Lawrence Durrell
Either he’s dead or my watch has stopped. —Groucho Marx
And then there is Weekend at Bernie’s (1989). When two low-ranking insurance company employees discover a big scam among their tons of paperwork, their boss, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser) invites them to his Long Island mansion for a weekend of partying as a reward. When Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard (Jonathan Silverman) realize the people arriving to party at Bernie’s don’t even notice he’s dead, they carry the corpse around all weekend so the party continues. The hapless hit man who actually killed Bernie becomes overwrought trying to ensure the greedy insurance man is dead. This movie is one belly laugh after another.
The idea is to die young as late as possible. —Ashley Montagu
Death doesn’t bargain. —August Strindberg
I end my little film study with Nurse Betty (2000), a lovely little movie about a woman so traumatized by witnessing her husband’s brutal murder that she escapes into the land of make believe. Betty (Renee Zellweger) has always loved Dr. David Ravell (Greg Kinnear), star of her favorite soap opera and, to her shattered mind, her lost lover. She goes to rejoin him in L.A., but of course, she doesn’t realize her husband’s drugs, the ones sought by hit men (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock), are in the trunk of her Buick. It all adds up to a funny chase.
Well, those are my favorite big screen murder mysteries that include humor. How about yours?
Leigh Neely is a former newspaper and magazine editor. She currently does freelance work, recently had a short story published in the anthology Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices, and is a contributor to the blog WomenofMystery.net.
Great list, even if you did leave off my personal favorite…
Murder by Death.
If you haven’t seen it, you totally need to!
This is a great list, I’ve added Drop Dead Gorgeous and Murder By Death to my list of movies to rent…
OMG, Deb, I can’t believe you haven’t seen Murder By Death. It’s a parody of every crime movie ever, with a basic plot like 10 Little Indians/And Then There Were None. Only all the people at the party are parodies of famous literary sleuths with names like Sam Diamond and Jessica Marbles. And it has an AMAZING cast. You have to see it!
@LauraKCurtis – from our description it does sound like I would love it! I think I’ll step up the rental timeline.
Somehow I missed these comments earlier. Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions. I’ve seen “Murder by Death” and loved it, Laura. It was truly difficult to pick the movies because there are so many good ones.