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Quiz about Youll Die Laughing  Murder By Death
Quiz about Youll Die Laughing  Murder By Death

You'll Die Laughing - "Murder By Death" Quiz


I laughed till I stopped... (WARNING: Here be spoilers. If you haven't seen the movie, and if you haven't read Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None', then please - and I can't believe I'm saying this - do not play this quiz!)

A multiple-choice quiz by alkmene. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
alkmene
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
171,563
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1221
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 108 (10/10), TBRyan (7/10), jonnowales (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Who wrote the screenplay? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What is the name of the blind butler played by Sir Alec Guiness? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. According to one of Sidney Wang's many 'Confuciusisms', in what sense is 'invitation to dinner and a murder like fresh mushroom'? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In Lionel Twain's macabre house, what summons the guests to dinner in lieu of a gong? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which Uber detective(s) is/are not parodied in the film? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. One of the actors in this film, Eileen Brennan, also appeared in a later murder spoof, 'Clue'. Which character did she play in each, respectively? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. How did the host die? (or did he?) Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Sam asked Tess to research Lionel Twain, the results of which she reports to him in the car. Amongst other things, Twain was arrested for selling pornographic bibles (the charges were dropped when the church refused to relinquish the bibles) and was put under psychiatric observation when he was caught smuggling rich, white Americans over the border into Mexico to pick melons. He also has no pinkies! How did Tess find all this out? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. At least three detectives and their sidekicks, that we know of (Wang, the Charlestons and Monsieur Perrier), are almost killed by a falling statue on their arrival at the house. What is the statue that nearly lands on the Wangs? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which of the following is not used by the mysterious murderer in an attempt to do away with his guests? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 28 2024 : Guest 108: 10/10
Mar 09 2024 : TBRyan: 7/10
Mar 07 2024 : jonnowales: 9/10
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 104: 10/10
Feb 10 2024 : Guest 71: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Who wrote the screenplay?

Answer: Neil Simon

Simon dunnit again (and again - he wrote the sequel too)! Stoppard has written a couple of spoof mysteries, 'The Real Inspector Hound' and 'After Magritte', and Schaffer wrote the brilliant and engaging 'Sleuth' (one of only two films in history whose entire casts have been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar). Agatha Christie, of course, created Poirot and Miss Marple, on whom two of the characters in 'Murder By Death' are based.
2. What is the name of the blind butler played by Sir Alec Guiness?

Answer: Jamesir Bensonmum

Dora: 'Thank you, er...'
Butler: 'Bensonmum.'
Dora: 'Thank you, Benson.'
Butler: 'No, no; Bensonmum. My name is Bensonmum.'
Dick: 'And your first name?'
Butler: 'Jamesir.'
Dick: 'Jamesir? Jamesir Bensonmum?'
Butler: 'Yes sir.'
Dick: 'How odd.'
Butler: 'My father's name, sir.'
Dick: 'What was your father's name?'
Butler: 'Howard Bensonmum. Ma'am...'
3. According to one of Sidney Wang's many 'Confuciusisms', in what sense is 'invitation to dinner and a murder like fresh mushroom'?

Answer: We don't know - he never gets to finish his metaphor

Peter Sellers is fantastic in this role. 'Idiot! Not finish mushroom story!' Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) is quite right in asking how one of the finest minds in detective history still cannot grasp the simplest grammatical concepts, such as prepositions and articles.

Other Wangisms include 'Weather report like television set on honeymoon - unnecessary!' and 'Conversation like athlete's foot - after a while, very irritating!'
4. In Lionel Twain's macabre house, what summons the guests to dinner in lieu of a gong?

Answer: A groaning death mask

The scream, of course, is the doorbell. This allows for much confusion.
5. Which Uber detective(s) is/are not parodied in the film?

Answer: Dr. Kay Scarpetta

Considering that the film was made in 1976 and Patricia Cornwell's first murder mystery, 'Postmortem', appeared in 1990, Chief Medical Examiner Scarpetta is the obvious odd-one-out. The spoofed characters are as follows:
M. Milo Perrier - M. Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' et al)
Miss Jessica Marbles - Miss Jane Marple (Agatha Christie's 'The Murder at the Vicarage' et al)
Dick and Dora Charleston - Nick and Nora Charles (Dashiell Hammett's 'The Thin Man' et al)
Sidney Wang - Charlie Chan (Earl Der Biggers's 'The House Without a Key' et al)
Sam Diamond - Sam Spade (Raymond Chandler's 'The Maltese Falcon')
6. One of the actors in this film, Eileen Brennan, also appeared in a later murder spoof, 'Clue'. Which character did she play in each, respectively?

Answer: Tess Skeffington and Mrs. Peacock

Brennan, a masterful character actress, also appeared as the Cat Lady in 'Jeepers Creepers'. In 'Clue' she is overshadowed only by Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White.
7. How did the host die? (or did he?)

Answer: Stabbed twelve times in the back with a butcher's knife

Lionel Twain predicts the exact time and condition in which the victim will be found. The assembled detectives assume he is thus the murderer, but what a surprise when he is the one found murdered! Although the murderer later unmasks himself as Lionel Twain, once the guests leave he removes a mask once more and is shown to be Yetta, the cook.
8. Sam asked Tess to research Lionel Twain, the results of which she reports to him in the car. Amongst other things, Twain was arrested for selling pornographic bibles (the charges were dropped when the church refused to relinquish the bibles) and was put under psychiatric observation when he was caught smuggling rich, white Americans over the border into Mexico to pick melons. He also has no pinkies! How did Tess find all this out?

Answer: She wrote to Twain and asked him

Tess: 'Oh, and Sam - Twain has one interesting physical characteristic: he has no pinkies.'
Sam: 'You mean Twain's only got eight fingers?'
Tess: 'No, he has ten. He just doesn't have any pinkies.'
Sam: 'You did good, angel. How'd you find out all that stuff anyway?'
Tess: 'Oh, I wrote to Twain and asked him.'

This classic exchange sets up Peter Falk's character as a clear parody of Raymond Chandler's Sam Spade (of course the name Sam Diamond, too, is a dead giveaway). Tess is clearly Effie, the intrepid secretary played by Lee Patrick in Huston's 'The Maltese Falcon'.
9. At least three detectives and their sidekicks, that we know of (Wang, the Charlestons and Monsieur Perrier), are almost killed by a falling statue on their arrival at the house. What is the statue that nearly lands on the Wangs?

Answer: A bear

Although I can find no references to it, I am certain that this is a spoof on Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None' (original title somewhat less savoury). In this story, ten people (all - or almost all - murderers in this case) are lured to a beautiful house by a person they do not know who then proceeds to kill them one by one. William Henry Blore, the third-last (or fourth-last, in truth) to die, has his skull crushed by a clock shaped as a bear which is pushed from a bedroom window. 'Three little Indian boys walking in the zoo/A bear hugged one and then there were two.'
10. Which of the following is not used by the mysterious murderer in an attempt to do away with his guests?

Answer: Shark-infested fish pond

Sharks, of course, are more Goldfinger's style. The shrinking room is designed to crush Perrier and his chauffeur, Marcel (James Cromwell in his film debut); the poison gas is intended to kill Miss Marbles and her nurse, Miss Withers; a deadly venomous snake is placed in the Wangs' room; Dora is actually stung by the scorpion in her and Dick's room; Sam and Tess find a bomb (Tess throws it down 'the john').
Source: Author alkmene

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
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