Although it was a flop at the time, Clue has become a massive cult favorite in the years since its release. Starring a string of other impressive names, it’s an excellent example of the kind of madcap comedy that isn’t done often or well.
During the original theatrical run, theaters received one of three endings, something that wasn’t known to moviegoers until after the fact. The need to have everything in place to multiple possible endings goes a way to explain some inconsistencies, there are still a few things that don’t quite have any explanation in the movie.
How Did The Butler Switch Happen?
We eventually find out (in one ending, at least) that Mr. Boddy is the butler, while Wadsworth is the blackmailer behind the plan the whole time. Obviously, Boddy knew enough from the beginning to go along with it, so why did he agree to it?
He had to have known there was at least a chance it could go badly for him, even if someone just jumped on him before other guests pulled him off. It obviously went very wrong for him. Did Wadsworth have dirt on him, too?
What Was His Original Plan?
It seems like Mr. Boddy’s gift of the weapons to the other guests wasn’t part of Wadsworth’s original plan—at least in the two endings where he’s an FBI agent—based on his reaction to it. What was his original plan for how things were supposed to go in any of the endings?
Why did he even bring them there in the ending where he was the blackmailer all along? It seems like the best solution in that ending would have been to have never had the party.
Mister Green Says Recordings Can’t Be Used As Evidence
When Wadsworth is telling the guests why they’re all at the mansion and outing them each for the reason they’re being blackmailed, he tells them that he’s recording the entire thing. Understandably, everyone is unhappy with this; they’ve all been paying blackmail to keep their secrets.
Why does Mister Green (played by Michael McKean) say a recording can’t be used in court? He should know better; he’s the FBI agent... at least, in one ending. There’s nothing to prevent a legal recording from being used if you can prove who is on it.
Why Didn’t Professor Plum Say Mr. Boddy Was Alive?
In the first “murder” after the weapons are handed out, the lights go off, and, when they’re back on, Mr. Boddy is on the floor, and, as far as everyone can tell, he's dead. Professor Plum leans over this corpse to check on it, and obviously can tell Mr. Boddy is actually still alive. Why does he keep it to himself? There’s never any reason to think that they’ve had any time to conspire with each other.
Why Do All The People That Know Each Other Pretend That They Don't?
As the movie goes on, we find that more and more of the guests know each other in the world outside. Sometimes they acknowledge this, as was the case with Mrs. White and Yvette. Other times, they choose not to mention their familiarity.
Why do all of these people—seemingly all on their own with no prior discussion—decide to keep their knowledge of one another to themselves? What do they hope to gain from it? There’s obviously evidence in the mansion about everyone’s reasons for being blackmailed, so they all know that the others are not innocent. Why keep up the charade?
What Happens When They Find Cook Dead?
At some point while they’re all ogling the poor cook’s body and bringing it back to the study, someone stuff Mr. Boddy into the toilet. Why the toilet? Did it have something to do with thinking he was dead and then seeing him… not dead? How did the candlestick get on top of the door to conk Wadsworth on the head? Why did it happen to fall off at just the right time?
The Call From J Edgar Hoover
Regardless of the ending, someone in the house was undercover for the FBI. In two of them, it’s Wadsworth. In the third, Mr. Green. First, why would Hoover think it was a good idea to call the house during the operation? Surely the only good that’s going to do is blow the agent’s cover and make everyone more paranoid and close-mouthed.
Second, Wadsworth takes the call... so what’s the meaning of the call in the ending where he isn’t the agent?
Why Doesn’t Mister Green Want To Tell The Cop?
He’s dead set against telling the cop that shows up at the door what is going on at any cost, and he's quite vocal about it. Shouldn’t the cop be someone you would want to tell, even if only to start proving your own innocence, since people keep just showing up dead randomly?
He not only originally slams the door in the cop’s face, but he still takes the cop around the house later, acting sketchy the whole time. For someone that didn’t want the cops involved, his actions shouldn’t have been too comforting to the cop or anyone else. It’s a bad look, whether he’s guilty or trying not, to blow his cover.
How Is Wadsworth Both So Good And So Bad At Lying?
Regardless of the ending, Wadsworth played his part as either "not the bad guy" all along or "not an FBI agent" all along so well that no one suspected he wasn’t really Boddy’s butler that’s in the middle of this mess against his will. He also manages some great misdirection with the fallen chandelier, only to immediately almost send the cop into the room with the bodies and then make a hash out of his coverup.
Why Put All The Visitor By Themselves In Random Rooms?
The motorist and the cop, even though they weren’t part of the dinner party, all turn out to know someone already there, and each end up having something to do with the reasons the guests were being blackmailed. Why do they get put in rooms by themselves with one or more murderers running around? In two endings, Wadsworth was an FBI agent; he should have been a bit more responsible for not getting tangentially involved bystanders killed.
