Clue ( also known as Cluedo outside of North America ) is a comedic murder-mystery film made in 1985 based on the popular board game. In the game, you move around the mansion themed board and make suggestions on who killed Mr. Boddy, where they did it, and with what. Clue was a bit of a surprise when it first came out, one because it was seen as scandalous compared to the family friendly game and two because the ending would change when you went to see it in the movie theater again. That’s right, there are three endings to Clue. It’s a clever marketing strategy tied with the many possible endings of the board game. Let’s take a look at the synopsis and you can decide which ending pleases you best. Spoiler warning!
It’s 1954 in New England and six random guests are invited to a secluded mansion. The guests are given an alias by the butler, Wadsworth, so nobody knows their real name. The guests ( in order of appearance ) Colonial Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Mr Green, Professor Plum, and Miss Scarlett are now in the house with Wadsworth, the cook – Mrs. Ho – and the maid – Yvette. After a conversation, the seventh guest arrives – Mr Boddy – and they all go into the study after dinner where Wadsworth tells them that they are being blackmailed. All the guests spill their secrets until they get to Mr. Boddy and it is revealed that he is the blackmailer. They all start attacking Mr. Boddy and Wadsworth yells that the police are coming. They all agree to get Mr. Boddy arrested for blackmailing but he reminds them that he will expose their secrets if they do. He then gives the guests gifts with weapons inside ( a candlestick, a rope, a lead pipe, a wrench, a revolver, and a dagger ). He offers a deal – they could either have their secrets be revealed, or they could kill Wadsworth and nobody would ever know. The lights go out.
Mrs. Peacock turns the light back on and Mr. Boddy is dead. They all heard a gunshot but Plum, who was given the revolver, says he didn’t shoot him. There isn’t a trace of how he was killed, not even a gunshot wound. Yvette groups up with them and it’s revealed that Wadsworth is Mr. Boddy’s butler and he’s the one that invited them. His wife committed suicide because Mr. Boddy blackmailed her too. A while later they decided that maybe the cook killed him. They run to the kitchen and find out Mrs. Ho was stabbed to death. They decide to take her body to the study but they find Mr. Boddy’s body is missing. They find his body again with wounds from a candlestick. Scarlett – who was given the candlestick – said she dropped it on the table earlier. Wadsworth decides to lock the weapons in the cupboard and get rid of the key. They go outside to throw it away and they find a motorist whose car broke down and is asking to use the phone. They lock him in the lounge and throw the key outside.
The group decides to search the house for anybody else. They split up in pairs by drawing matches ( Mustard and Scarlett, Wadsworth and White, Yvette and Green, and Plum and Peacock ). A police officer comes to investigate the motorists car and a figure off camera burns all the evidence, unlocks the weapons cupboard, and kills the motorist with the wrench. Scarlett and Mustard find a secret passage into the locked lounge and they find the motorists body. The pairs come together to get them after hearing Scarlett scream. Yvette decides to grab the gun to shoot the lock, but accidentally shoots the rope holding the chandelier. She shoots the door open but accidentally shoots Mustard in the arm and the chandelier falls. Yvette drops the revolver and the cop from earlier asks to use the phone. They split into pairs and the electricity goes out. Yvette is killed with the rope, a singing telegram girl is killed with the revolver, and the cop is killed with the lead pipe. Wadsworth turns the lights back on and the group finds the bodies. He says he’s figured out the murderer and runs around recounting the events. The three endings are listed A, B, and C.
Ending A: Yvette and Scarlett. Yvette killed the cook and Mr. Boddy under orders from her employer, Miss. Scarlett. Scarlett then killed her and the rest of the victims. Scarlett takes the gun from her purse and reveals her plan to sell their secrets to the highest bidder. Wadsworth tells her there’s no more bullets in the gun and the cops come through the door to arrest her. To prove there are no more bullets in the gun, he shoots it at the ceiling. There was one more bullet however and it brought down the chandelier in the hall.
If you watch from home, there will be a title card between Ending A and B, reading “That’s how it could’ve happened. But how about this?”
Ending B: Peacock. Mrs. Peacock killed all the victims to cover her engagements with foreign powers. She holds them at gunpoint and tries to escape from her car. Wadsworth is revealed to be an undercover FBI agent and Mrs. Peacock is caught by the police.
Another title card between Ending B and C reads “But here’s what really happened.”
Ending C: Everybody. All of them killed one person ( Professor Plum killed Mr. Boddy, Colonel Mustard killed the motorist, Mrs. Peacock killed Mrs. Ho, Scarlett killed the cop, and Mrs. White killed Yvette ). Mr. Green is accused of killing the singing telegram girl but Wadsworth takes out the gun, admitting to her murder. They figure out Wadsworth is actually Mr. Boddy and Professor Plum killed the butler instead. Mr. Green then pulls out a gun and shoots Wadsworth/Mr. Boddy, revealing he’s an undercover FBI agent who was on Mr. Boddy’s case. The cops come in and Mr. Green tells them it was all of them who did it, except he killed Mr. Boddy in the hallway with the revolver.
