I saw Clue in theaters within days of its release on December 13, 1985, when I was nine years old. I saw Clue again in theaters thirty-five years later when, in the midst of the global pandemic, movie houses opted to show old classics as new releases were pushed back.
Even though I’d seen Clue dozens (over a hundred?) times before, seeing it on the big screen made me pay attention in ways I hadn’t for years. I’d taken it for granted, with its easy availability on VHS, then DVD, then Blu-ray, and now streaming. My mind popped with questions. Is that a painting of US President William McKinley in the study? (Yes.) Who was cast first? How was John Morris picked to write the score?
I’ll answer these and countless other questions to tell the story of how Clue was made. And what it is with our shared love of murder mysteries, so much so that the tropes have been skewered time and again in parodies, farces, and spoofs? It’s all coming in “What Do You Mean, Murder?” Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic. In the meantime, please contact me if you have any stories about the making of Clue!
