Murder by Natural Causes

1979
7.6| 1h40m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 17 February 1979 Released
Producted By: Richard Levinson / William Link Productions
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Revenue: 0
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An elaborate mystery involving a famous mentalist, his unfaithful wife who is trying to literally scare him to death, the best friend of the family, and the wife's ham-actor lover -- not only an intriguing who- (or whether) dunit, but also a literate, adult dramatic puzzle with an endless series of twists.

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Director

Robert Day

Production Companies

Richard Levinson / William Link Productions

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Murder by Natural Causes Audience Reviews

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Chase_Witherspoon Very crafty thriller has adulterous wife Ross plotting celebrity clairvoyant husband's murder to ostensibly inherit his fortune and live happily ever after with her obeying younger suitor Bostwick. But there's more to the plot than meets the eye.Holbrook gives an energetic performance to match the wit and wile of his scheming vixen wife, a rare quality role for Ross as her career began to decline in the late 70's. Dependable second lead Richard Anderson is very good in the important supporting role as Holbrook's loyal friend and attorney, whilst former Hollywood almost-a-star Jeff Donnell has a curious role for someone of her status, as Anderson's faithful housekeeper. The ensemble cast are all terrific and their appreciation of the timing and delivery needed to keep the plot tight and the audience guessing is pitch perfect.This is one of those TV movies they used to make in the halcyon era of the 70's/80's that you'd want to seek out and find on DVD to keep for posterity; not only a great whodunnit- style mystery, but a reminder of the quality of TV movies before networks apparently abandoned the concept for sitcoms and never-ending procedural dramas. Vale TV movies, especially when they're made like this one, an absolute pearler.
gridoon To appreciate "Murder by Natural Causes", first you have to accept its TV-movie limitations: few sets, few characters, pauses for commercial breaks, direction with no cinematic interest. The emphasis here is on the writing and the acting. The script has many clever (but not phenomenal) twists. The main plot device reminded me somewhat of Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" (which was filmed three years later). The acting is top-of-the-line: the term "bad Hal Holbrook performance" hasn't been invented yet, as for Katharine Ross, judging from the three films I've seen her in ("The Stepford Wives", "The Swarm", and this one), she must be one of the most underrated (in beauty as well as talent) actresses of the seventies. (**1/2)
secragt Just reinforcing what everyone who has seen this will tell you: out and out brilliant from start to finish. Katherine Ross, Hal Holbrook, Barry Bostwick and Richard Anderson are all in top form but the fiendishly twist-laden Levinson / Link script is the real star. This is the duo's very best effort, topping even their finest COLUMBO offerings.Besides a time capsule dollop of 1970s talk show topicality, I cannot imagine ANY fan of crime drama or whodunits being anything but thrilled with this continuously clever and original story. Probably among the very best TV mystery movies of its kind you'll ever see and smarter than 99% of features. Must see!
rhoughton Probably the best of the Levinson/Link made for TV movies. They take the audience by the hand, and lead them completely in the wrong direction. I would defy anyone seeing this for the first time, to pick the ending. This is great "edge of the seat" stuff, but don't miss a word of the dialogue, especially the last 20 minutes, as there are more twists than a corkscrew.