Murder by Death (1976)

Murder by Death (1976)

From Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not) by The O'Brien Siblings

February 18, 2026 · 1h 23m · Season 1 · Episode 122

About this episode

The episode critiques the 1976 film 'Murder by Death', discussing its cast, humor, and social issues.

New episode out now! We watched the 1976 comedy film Murder by Death, which stars a lot of famous people parodying famous detectives. We talk about the stacked cast and how it seemed like they were having fun, but also believe that did not make up for the very dated comedy and straight up racism and other issues with the film as a whole. We thought the concept was promising, but the execution was mainly just pointing out references and tropes; ultimately we decided the movie makes no sense and did not have any sort of point of view. We also discuss the differences between parodies and spoofs, think Maggie Smith is gorgeous, love Peter Falk, and continue to have problems with Raymond Chandler. Katy got real Midwestern, Carrie drops some Lon Chaney knowledge, Maddy loves a haunted house, and Mack bravely criticizes the last season of Game of Thrones . We also touch a lot on how good Clue is, believe Buffy is quippy AND has depth, propose a fix for this movie, and acknowledge that comedy does not often age well. Listen to hear more about hand lotion, Drag Race , Mel Brooks, The Thrilling Adventure Hour , corporate greed, and Dick Jingles. Enjoy! TW: Ableism, racism, xenophobia…

People in this episode

Hosts: Carrie, Katy, Maddy, Mack

Topics covered

  • comedy film
  • parody
  • dated humor
  • film critique
  • pop culture references
  • social issues
  • character analysis

Keywords

  • Murder by Death
  • comedy
  • parody
  • film critique
  • dated comedy
  • social issues
  • pop culture

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Murder by Death, Clue, Buffy, Game of Thrones, Drag Race, The Thrilling Adventure Hour

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