Page "Whodunit" Paragraph 38

Murder by Death is Neil Simon's spoof of many of the best-known whodunit sleuths.

In the 1976 film, Sam Spade ( from The Maltese Falcon ) becomes Sam Diamond, Hercule Poirot becomes Milo Perrier, etc.

The film makes particular fun of the relationship between each detective and his or her sidekick.

The characters are all gathered in a large country house, given meaningless clues, and all of them fail to solve the mystery.