Book Review: Clue, a novel by Michael McDowell, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn (1985)

My copy of Clue the novel, by Michael McDowell, 1985. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

The cast of Clue. From left to right, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, and Eileen Brennan.

My favorite movie is the 1985 murder mystery comedy Clue. I wrote an appreciation of it earlier this year. In my desire to collect all things related to Clue, I purchased the novel tie-in, written by Michael McDowell, based on Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay. Clue the novel is noteworthy for being notoriously expensive, because Clue the movie is amazing, and people like me want to buy everything associated with it. I’m a little embarrassed to admit how much I paid for it; suffice it to say that it was much more than the original list price of $2.95. 

The novel is well done, and McDowell’s talent is evident. The first few pages of the novel delve into the history of Route 41, the fictitious highway off of which Hill House, the mansion that is the setting for the movie, is located. It’s the kind of detail you couldn’t include in a movie, and it makes the novel fun to read.

Throughout the novel, McDowell has some great descriptions of the characters. One of my favorite lines was “Yvette was the ne plus ultra of downstairs maids.” (p.6) This statement is true, as anyone who has seen Collen Camp as Yvette can attest to. There’s also a great sentence about “Wadsworth’s tediously detailed recapitulation of the evening.” (p.144) 

For dedicated Clue watchers like myself, the novel gives us some minor differences from the movie. (If you haven’t seen the movie a million times like I have, this will no doubt bore you to tears.) In the novel, the cook says that dinner will be ready at 9:30. Who eats that late? In the movie, dinner is served at the more reasonable time of 7:30. The novel also gives us some details of the scenes missing from the movie, but featured in the trailer, like this exchange:

Colonel Mustard: “Why are you screaming?”

Mr. Green: “Because I’m frightened!”

Colonel Mustard: “Of what?”

Mr. Green: “Screaming!” 

Another tiny detail from the novel that didn’t make it into the film is a line about whoever shot the singing telegram girl seeing the headlights of her car coming up the drive towards the house. It makes sense that someone would see the headlights, and thus be alerted that someone else was coming to the house, but I’d never thought of it before. 

Clue the movie is famous for having three different endings, each of which featured a different suspect as the killer. A fourth ending was also shot, and it’s included in the novel. The gist of it is that Wadsworth killed everyone, and then poisoned all of the guests, who will die within three hours if they don’t get an antidote. The police show up, and Wadsworth starts another reenactment of the entire evening, but then steps out the front door and steals a police car. He is then attacked by the police dogs in the back seat. (Presumably, the guests get the antidote in time.) It’s understandable why this ending was cut from the film, but it’s interesting to read. Presumably the film of it is lost, since it’s never reappeared on any of the DVDs of the movie. 

As a Minnesotan, I have to fault McDowell for one error in the book, as he refers to Joe McCarthy as “the Senator from Minnesota,” instead of Wisconsin. (p.67) 

If you’re a fan of Clue the movie, you’ll definitely enjoy Clue the novel. Hopefully you can find a copy somewhere for $2.95.