The History of Clue: The Board Game, the VCR Game, the Movie & more!

[@Dorelaxen]

The movie is still one of my favorite things ever. The amount of talent in it is absolutely staggering.

[@Gatorade69]

I love the movie. Fun Fact: Mr. Body is played by Lee Ving, the vocalist from the Punk band FEAR who Belushi invited onto SNL where they got kicked off for starting a riot and trashing the set.

[@toddboughn5168]

While the whole cast was absolutely brilliant, Madeline Kahn (Mrs. White) stole the show and I remember thinking Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren) was the sexiest woman I'd ever seen.

[@Dorelaxen]

@@toddboughn5168 Madeline Kahn is one of the funniest people to ever live. I swear she doesn't even need to speak and it's just hilarious. I'm also a big fan of Bernadette Peters. She's so great in this.

[@JLE8811]

Love that Madeline Kahn love here.

[@brentirwin10]

You need to see Murder By Death (The movie, not the band)

[@jesseperry9602]

That Resivour Dogs bit killed me! Well played sir!😅

[@danawhite9823]

That's the most cursing I think I've seen in any Secret Galaxy video. lol

[@Dorian_sapiens]

@@danawhite9823 Probably more cursing than all their previous videos put together!

[@Transfixed]

I expected it to cut off when asking "Why do i have to be Mr Pink?" but we didn't get that far 😆

[@AverageDrafter]

Madeline Kahn's "Flames on the Side of My Face" bit is in one of the false endings, meaning some fools out there who have seen Clue once in a theater have never seen the one of the best parts of the movie.

[@lunakat__]

i reference that scene at least once a week

[@sgtleppard]

It was ad-libbed too, which makes it even better

[@greenlee7smythe]

It was in the false ending. It was in the “real” ending.

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

None of the endings are "False" endings. They're all real endings using the facts presented. The idea that two of them are possible endings and one of them is real was created for the home video release when they wanted to include all three. That being said, the "flames on the side of my face" is from Ending C, which is "What Really Happened" in the home video release.

[@jinpei05]

Psych paid homage to the Clue movie with their tribute episode, 100 Clues. Still one of my favorites and a big reason I still love that show.

[@questworldmatrix]

It's also the reason I enjoy Oscar, the Sylvester Stallone movie that also features Tim Curry.

[@drillerdev4624]

​@@questworldmatrixunderrated movie

[@nigelhirth2181]

The multiple endings for the film was a brilliant idea that i'm convinced just missed it's time. Had that been done during the early days of the internet, it would have been a gold mine.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

that was a bad idea. Which the home release fixed.

[@salvadorromero9712]

Clue did indeed first hit theaters during the early days of the Internet and the three endings would have been a horrible idea in any age. (It would be interesting to see what the Usenet groups or other fan culture institutions thought about it, but there hasn't been anything covering that to my knowledge.) The film is very short, misses much of its humor, and the endings seem truncated and unfulfilling without it. Add to that the fact that people may indeed be unamused to find they paid for something they were deprived of jokes that their friends are talking about for. Plus it's not a collectible magazine cover and people would not want to sit through three showings of the film (and you had to ask around to tell which theater was which; it wasn't publicized) to get through them all and would end up with a more negative view of the film after it all, as it would seem like a slog if you rewatch it before you'd ordinarily want to. TL;DR: Audiences are not amused by every trick you play on them. Sometimes they are irritated or outraged, even the South Park audience for example.

[@curseyoujordanshow]

I think Clue might be my favourite board game. Only seen the movie once, but I recall it was quite well done. I appreciated how the DVD gives you a choice of either having one of the 3 endings be randomly selected, or shows you all 3 but presents them as _"This is how it might have happened; or this is how it also could have happened; but here's how it _*_really_*_ happened."_ Pretty cool idea.

[@dallasoleary187]

I loved the VCR games. There was some good humor in there and the music was fantastic. My mom & I played Clue II: Murder In Disguise every day after school, but never got to play all the games since the tape broke.

[@leawebber5455]

Clue was always my favorite board game growing up, I loved the movie and have probably seen it 100’s of times over the years. The biggest surprise was the vcr game that was a fun party game but just watching it was more entertaining than it had any right to be.

[@capsjukebox]

The film is the perfect example of how to use an ensemble cast to best effect

[@RevDrTarr]

Clue has been a staple for generations in my family. We've had a couple versions, including one with a reversable board that turns into a Jersey Shore like boardwalk. Once, when we played, my son started the game by rolling the die, going into a room, and correctly guessing on the first try. Fastest game of clue ever

[@Larry]

There was also a Cluedo gameshow that aired in the UK in the early '90s, the huge irony being the guy who played Col. Mustard, Leslie Grantham actually was a murderer in real life. There was also a ZX Spectrum game 😂

[@TitularHeroine]

Holy sh**, that is wild

[@Larry]

@@TitularHeroine Yeah, he shot a taxi driver in Germany.

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

My dad worked with his brother. He committed suicide (Leslie Grantham’s brother, not my dad).

[@Painocus]

@@TitularHeroine The family of his murder victim sent a formal complaint after an episode where he killed someone with a G-string. His career still went strong tho, mainly on EastEnders, until a scandal involving a leaked video of him masturbating while dressed up as Captain Hook. I'm not making any of this up.

[@DarthPerkins]

So it was Lance Corporal Grantham, in the Taxi, with the pistol.

[@skyden24195]

Nice video. Most of my Clue playing days were in the 80s. I would, if I could help it, always play as Professor Plum because of his strategically advantaged starting position. P. Plum's starting position all but guaranteed that you could be in the Study in two turns, basically one of the closest to any room door. The bonus was that the Study had the secret passage to the Kitchen, so it really came down to, as P. Plum, you could potentially have two guesses with your first three turns. A huge advantage to those who only got one guess in four or more turns. Last bit, the most recent version of Clue I've played was a specialized "Two-Player" version which, as the name suggests, is designed to better accommodate just two people playing the game. I think that it was well done, and I did enjoy playing the special version.

[@TitularHeroine]

That's pretty cool; was it a "nonexistent player" type arrangement?

[@skyden24195]

@@TitularHeroine well, generally speaking, how you figure out the mystery is the same, that being you have to land on specific spaces to make guesses based on the cards in your hand and which ones you've discovered from your opponent, all on a revised gameboard that is smaller than the original, but this is done to better accommodate there only being two players. Really though, if you're interested in the gameplay, the game is called, "Clue: Rivals Edition" and there are plenty of KZbin videos that show the game and how it is played. I couldn't do it justice trying to explain it in a comment.

[@ResoluteGryphon]

There's a great game called Clue: The Great Museum Caper where players work together trying to catch an art thief. It had little to do with the original game, other than the name, and is sadly out of print. But it was such a great concept that I had to build my own. My kids and I had a ton of fun playing it. Definitely worth looking up.

[@Addictedtocollecting01]

WHY!!! Why doesn't this channel HAVE MORE SUBSCRIBERS!!! I am never disappointed. Thank you for providing top-quality content . I'm definitely here for life.

[@burninlightpresents]

There was a Cluedo TV series in the UK in the 90s lasting 4 seasons with 25 episodes, including a Christmas special from 1990 to 1993. I'm surprised it lasted that long!

[@GoatOnATrain]

With Ricard and Judie. And the campy scenes from inside the house. I loved that as a kid.

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

In the 1970s there was a TV game show, hosted by Jon Pertwee, called Whodunnit, which was heavily inspired by Cluedo and the Cluedo TV show was, in turn, quite similar to Whodunnit. It’s actually quite good and episodes can be found on KZbin.

[@glazdarklee1683]

I am so looking forward to the Halloween video. I love how you are willing to toy with the format of this channel.

[@BrandonIT1337]

The movie is my go-to any time I just need something funny on in the background because it's SO dialogue driven - and the dialogue is GREAT!!!

[@Clownboy15]

Damn, this video really makes me want to play Clue now! Many years ago I had a girlfriend who LOVED playing the game but had never seen the movie. So for Christmas I got her the movie on DVD as well as new copy of the game. At her family party when we went to exchange gifts she wanted to stand back-to-back and turn on three to present presents. We did and we were both holding a large present with a smaller one on top. Turns out we got each other the same thing!!😂

[@LikaLaruku]

UK: "Cluedo." US: "Drop the -do." UK: Where's Wally?" US: "Add a -do."

[@wstine79]

I remember seeing this and "Murder By Death" on my uncles new VCR back then. They both had Eileen Brennan in them. There are so many great quotes.

[@TheLegendaryLP]

Clue is such a fun movie to watch while on mushrooms!

[@mattyt1961]

Watched Clue again recently... still love it Tim Curry is amazing (so is the rest of the cast) haven't watched Murder By Death in a while... need to dig that one out again :)

[@brentirwin10]

Cow on wall talk!

[@wstine79]

@@brentirwin10 "MOOSE! MOOSE!"

[@Giambijuice]

Ten people for dinner, and I'm serving hot nothing 😂

[@TrueYellowDart]

The Clue movie is a Halloween tradition at my house. It’s vibes jibe so we’ll with the season.

[@jimbrown5091]

I never played any version of the game, but saw the VHS version of the movie in the 80's. Madeline Kahn's "flames, flames on the side of my face" monologue gets me rofl every time.

[@CarlosLopez-oc9nh]

A mix of Monopoly, Clue, Hungry hungry hippos and battleship would be something really worth viewing

[@InscrutableObjects]

Clue is hands-down one of the funniest movies of the '80's (I'd go so far as to say all time!) and STILL holds up wonderfully! Thanks for the vid! Awesome as always.

[@timidwolf]

Here in the UK I recall a gameshow version of Cluedo. It was comprised of sections with the contestants interviewing the six suspects interspersed with prerecorded scenes of them interacting with the "victim of the week" pre-murder, the suspects were often played by well known British actors such as 4th Doctor Tom Baker as Prof. Plum in one season. The suspects and rooms were the same but the selection of weapons would vary each episode. Also, Inspector Clouseau was French (though admittedly played by an English actor).

[@billwenham]

Yes! I was waiting for that to get brought up! I recently binged the whole series and it was such a fun idea, I'm surprised they haven't brought it back.

[@johnklimek6833]

Must give a shout out to Clue: the Great Museum Caper, because it was FANTASTIC. Thanks for doing this video :)

[@AnarkeeSoundVibes]

Literally my favorite movie and second favorite board game

[@crashthevacuum]

The different endings to the movie weren't randomly attached; i distinctly remember the newspaper listings advertising the theatres where you could see ending "A" or ending "B" or ending "C." The studio was clearly hoping people would see the movie multiple times at different theatres to see all the endings. If you look up the Siskel and Ebert review on here, they specifically tell people to avoid ending C, which amusingly enough was the ending with the famous Madeline Kahn "flames on the side of my face" rant.

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

I have the D&D Clue (the 2001 version, they put out another one more recently). It's pretty fun, the characters are the stock characters from the 3e Players Guide, it's mostly normal Clue, but there are wandering monsters you can get items from. It's neat, and lots of fun if you like both Clue and D&D

[@AdamYJ]

A brief addition about the whole "Ludo" derived name thing. Ludo was a game based on an ancient Indian game with similar mechanics. Americans also had a game based on that, but not called Ludo. Ours is called Parcheesi. Alas, "Cluecheesi" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

[@greenlee7smythe]

Lido in Latin means “I play” what we call parcheesi England calls “ludo” so “Cluedo” translates to “I play clue”

[@ceno10101]

Friend in middle school had the Museum Clue, where you had to steal paintings and get out. I loved that game, but was never able to find it at the store.

[@saviordream]

My mom and I used to play Clue all the time when I was growing up in the 70s. More so than any other game from what I can remember. It still holds a great place of nostalgia in my heart. My wife was also a huge fan of both the game and the movie (which I've never seen). I went ahead and preordered the 4K disc that's coming out in December as a Christmas gift for her, and so that I can experience it for the first time.

[@derektyler5817]

Great video as always. Used to have the Clue VCR game had no idea that there was a Clue II VCR game until now. Then I got to the live action Clue skit and began rolling laughing due to seeing a particular long time comic book store associate in it. F'ing love it.

[@markstevens9249]

You managed to overlook Clue:Master Detective, a sort of Clue Deluxe boardgame which added in all the stuff Pratt had to leave out before.

[@acerumble]

Looking forward to the Halloween special! Of course I love your standard content but would like to see you break format like this and the Twin Peaks homage more often

[@RyanMercer]

Oh man we had a Star Trek vcr game back in the day.

[@davegray4242]

I collect Clue boards, started with the Alfred Hitchcock edition in 1999. I lost most of my original collection in a basement flood little over a decade ago, only 2 made it. So many I probably won't ever be able to find again, like the second VHS game, but the hunt is still fun and I only cry myself to sleep about it occasionally now.

[@TitularHeroine]

Oh that sucks! I hope you still have a few of your most prized ones.

[@davegray4242]

@@TitularHeroine The only original collection games to survive were the Hitchcock and a '04 UK edition. It's coming along, I have about half of my original collection again and a bunch of more recent sets that are great.

[@Kageoni187]

Strange coincidence I have had growing up is that every time I catch it on tv it was late night and a thunderstorm would be happening. I absolutely adore it and loved the game

[@MatthiasPowerbomb]

Growing up, my family and I played Clue all the time, and we watched the movie about a million times. To me, Clue is the greatest board game ever made.

[@TitularHeroine]

I still have at least four versions of Clue around here somewhere and played the original recently at a group birthday party! Thank you, Dan!

[@FearlessSon]

When I was in fifth grade in, oh, it would have been 1993 or so, my elementary school hosted a stage adaptation of the Clue film. I ended up being cast as Wadsworth because I was the only kid in the class who could pull of a half-decent Tim Curry impression.

[@tipulsar85]

Oddly, D&D has had Clue TWICE! Besides the one shown (2019) there is an older version from 2001, just in time for D&D's 3rd edition to become immensely popular. The Older edition also had the option to have wandering monsters "roam" the halls around the board. An option that went away 2019.

[@RockNerdRadio]

Fantastic video! I didn't know that the original movie had different endings sent to different theaters. That's crazy to me. I love watching all of them now. Also, I'm really looking forward to next week!

[@mattr75]

Clue is such a fun game. I remember owning the VCR game, and watching the tape far more than playing the game itself

[@drgribb]

Haha this, for sure XD

[@SchlossRitter]

I did the same with the tape for Nightmare (aka Atmosfear)

[@KajahaX]

Quickly becoming one of my favourite KZbin channels! Let’s go!

[@distractedFreek]

Man, I loved the old computer game. Even the updated ones are still good but that narrator was the best. Loved the reference to the game in Oblivion, too.

[@howardmoon2687]

I'm very curious about the Halloween special. Will definitely be tuning in for that.

[@Berengier817]

I had this game on SNES and I fucking loved playing it all the time. All the time. I actually credit the game for my favorite color, Scarlet Red. Not cause Ms Scarlet, but i discovered it was a color and liked it's appearance

[@sinjun1973]

I had playing Clue down to a science and taught my kids to play the same way. I loved the VCR game too! A couple more years and I’ll get to start teaching my grandkids to play.

[@MiXVoy]

the Philippine telenovela "Royal Blood", is an inspiration by Clue

[@nellyp2622]

I have always enjoyed Clue. As a kid I read the books by Scholastic and we had one of the older versions of the game. Now that I am older with a family of my own we have about 5 versions of Clue; the 1997 edition, Discover the Secrets (to which we have not actually played but I believe we took the shrink wrap off at least), the 2016 edition where they replaced Ms. White with Dr. Orchid, the Simpsons Clue, and The Walking Dead edition. My enjoyment of Clue led me to also get the game 13 Dead End Drive but it is not as enjoyable despite its cool 3D board game premise. I had not seen the VCR edition of Clue before but that would have been fun. The only VCR game I played in my youth was Nightmare.

[@Spindash54]

I love that the Blu-ray lets you have the film pick a random ending. I surprised my wife the first time we watched it and after the credits I told her we weren't done yet. Looking forward to the 4K version.

[@sgtleppard]

The regular DVD version does the same thing -- it lets you choose whether you want the "theatrical" version, where it randomly selects an ending, or the "home video" version, which plays all three endings in sequence. The latter is also widescreen while the former is full screen, but that's neither here nor there

[@candidgamera]

I love classic Clue, and Clue : The Great Museum Caper, but Clue : Master Detective was my preferred flavor.

[@lorenzothehandaforlifeplan435]

One of my absolute top movies of all time.

[@Dusty_B]

Can’t wait for this Halloween special!!!!

[@Robin-ve7ck]

There was a gameshow of it in the UK, with Tom Baker (Dr Who) as one of the characters

[@darktetsuya]

I probably played the board game once or twice? I know there's like a dozen themed versions of it out these days. I do know folks that were big fans of the movie and VCR game, so definitely forwarding this episode so that they might see it!

[@kingofcapp]

I love the variety of content on this channel and I realize they've carved out a niche, I just wish the content could be longer as there's so much to cover about many of these topics

[@AC-dt1rk]

The movie is a classic. I saw it with my dad when it came out and have the dvd. Still use quotes from the movie.

[@mattkeflowers]

That movie is top tier comedy. The writing, cast, all of it

[@bz4701]

Clue and Reservoir Dogs, two of my favorite things together!

[@JonTripp115]

1:59 I feel I'm going to quote this often.

[@versebuchanan512]

This video should have had alternate endings where the videos sponsor was every sponsor Galaxy's ever had, so you can relive YOUR Secret/Toy Galaxy home game experience.

[@sspotter1978]

What a fantastic video!! I love how you incorporate the Halloween season into the set and even the Hasbro logo! Clue has always been a favorite game and movie. The All-star cast was an absolute riot. I saw it as a kid in the theater with just one ending. A very novel approach at adapting a 40 year old English board game into a major Hollywood motion picture. Thank you for revisiting this old friend of mine.

[@SuperNicktendo]

The Clue board game - the one that we totally didn't know how to play and just tried to play fight with the weapons that probably contained small amounts of lead. Good times.

[@Jackalblade9]

Looking forward to next one!

[@Emerald7477]

You do a great job with all your videos. Always look forward to your insights.

[@harrypothead42024]

Mr. Body!? Even true crime podcasts havent gotten so flippant, but they're working on it.

[@louisnemzer6801]

I was not a fan of the "clue" board game, but I had a choose-your-own-adventure type book as a kid. Hilariously, each 'solution' ends with Mr. Body not actually being dead, since murder was not appropriate for children

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

I stiil have a few of those. They're fun to go back to and read for nostalgia sometimes.

[@purplemist7]

​@@bananonymouslastname5693I have some of those too and I agree.

[@aaronorenstein5963]

Watched the movie for the first time this year, really enjoyed it!

[@JAbell1966]

It amazes me that Parker Brothers didn't make a movie tie-in version of the game when the film was originally released and it's even more baffling that there still isn't one. The closest anyone ever came to a movie version of the game was a Canadian gas station (Canadian Tire?...) that had Cluedo game cards with cast photos as some sort of purchase premium. I remember seeing commercials for the promotion run on Much Music back in '85 but I've never been able to find any info about it since the advent of the internet and Google, guess I haven't figured out the right search terms...

[@beckylg8176]

I cant believe i haven't seen this before. I adore videos like this❤❤❤

[@ABoyNamedArt]

So, the movie adaptation ended up becoming attached to Rocky Horror culture; the Los Angeles cast, Sins O' The Flesh, used to shadowcast Clue once a year. And I played Mr. Boddy at an RHPS convention show way back in the 00's!

[@MapleJames76]

Where's the Blazer ???? Dan is always bringing the history, and filling my brain with 22 chapters of useless information I love. Thank you, boyz :) Fist bumps from Canada

[@mrzugpug]

My guess for the culprit is Dan in the recording studio with a camcorder.

[@AnarkeeSoundVibes]

😂😂😂😂

[@texasbeast239]

In an 80s Tee. With a box of Magic Spoon cereal. Or hey, with a magic spoon.

[@jeremyfarbman4539]

I never saw the movie, but there was a series of Clue books for young readers that I enjoyed. Each one would of course end with Mr. Boddy being murdered, only for the next one to start with him explaining how he somehow survived.

[@TitularHeroine]

That's really funny!

[@RogerPyoko]

I read those too! When I was little reading them, I enjoyed the winking humor the books had that Mr Body's "friends" were all self-serving opportunists always willing to backstab and steal and swindle but Mr Body was just oblivious to their less scrupulous nature the whole way.

[@purplemist7]

I grew up with the Clue books as well, and have since rebought some of them. I also read a couple of the Clue Jr. books, which were aimed for younger readers.

[@davewhitmore1958]

Quentin Tarantino's CLUE!!!

[@TomGarrett73]

One of my favorite things about the blu-Rray release of the movie is that you can pick "random ending" when you start, and you don't know how the movie will end until you get there.

[@robshimer]

Hasbro makes a game called, “The Mystery Game.” The characters are named after colors. Mr. Pine & Sir Umbra are the only ones I remember.

[@FF2Guy]

Clue is one of my favorite movies of all time

[@Chaosfox04]

I love the movie. I remember my and my younger cousins having a blast watching

[@MrChromeblue24]

I remember playing this game in middle school. Always thought of it being a classic.

[@scottskene8387]

I'm glad I''m not the only one who breaks down into the Reservior Dogs rant when people fight over which character they are playing. 😆 Love the game, love the movie, even read some of the books they released. It's also my niece's favourtie game. I even bought her one of the escape room style versions they did.

[@wstine79]

Death: "I believe.... Cornel Mustard did it in the Study with the candlestick."

[@dreamguardian8320]

The VCR game was really fun, I wish it was on DVD so we can play it again and remember how it worked.

[@RyanRead]

Loved the movie. Seen the musical many times and enjoy the board game.

[@1000bip]

I love Clue! It’s my favorite board game. Clue the movie is possibly my favorite comedy

[@F13fan]

One of my favorite board games! I’ve been wanting to get the Master Detective version. I used to love reading the books when I was in middle school and love the movie too. Hopefully they do a remake

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Well that Halloween special looks like it should be fun. 😄👍

[@pikkdogs]

If you want a good game, Clue the Great Museum player is a really good board game. Nothing like the original game, it imagines a world where the guests have become security guards at a museum. Thematically it’s weird, but it’s a really good game.

[@Dorian_sapiens]

The House on Coffin Brook Road looks AMAZING!

[@SSGTStryker]

Ok, the Halloween “Clue” Special looks incredible!

[@ManufacturedMythLegerdemain]

As someone that lives in Boston and visits Dover, New Hampshire, on a regular basis to visit my family (and Jetpack Comics, of course), I have to say that the setting of The House On Coffin Brook road is just SO New Hampshire... hilarious.

[@scotsmith2391]

Having recently performed Wadsworth in the stage production, I loved this review.

[@ElBlogiante]

Nice to see Brian Flynn in the Clue special.

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@dudlydjarbum2045]

Such a good game and flick

[@knghtbrd]

OH COOL! Will definitely be here for that, especially after the Twin Peaks thing…

[@wstine79]

"Would any of you care for fruit or dessert?"

[@michaellombardi1620]

Intriguing ending...