Who Did It? The Clue VCR Game
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- In 1985, Parker Brothers produced the CLUE VCR Mystery Game for VHS.
Filmed in Massachusetts, it would cast a group of unknown actors to portray the iconic CLUE characters such as Col. Mustard and Professor Plum. While most productions were filmed in Hollywood and New York City at the time, Parker Brothers took a chance and broke the mold by filming with New England based talent.
At the time, it became the most successful video board game of its time, revolutionizing the medium of VHS and video gaming. A few years later, Nintendo and Sega would hit toy stores across the country and the VHS began to fade away as the gaming industry quickly changed.
30 years later, the cast and crew reunite to tell the tale which many have forgotten. The trail blazers that helped change the toy market and the actors who put Boston back on the map as a destination for filmmaking, each give their personal and professional opinion on the importance of what the CLUE VCR Mystery Game was all about.
Winner - 2014 Audience Choice for Best Short Documentary - SENE Film Festival
Winner - 2015 Best Documentary - Shawna Shea Film Festival
Official Selection 2015 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival
Official Selection 2015 401 Film Fest
Official Selection 2015 All Seas Film Festival
Official Selection 2016 MAGFest Games on Film Festival
Official Selection 2016 Atlas Awards International Film Festival
CLUE® is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc., for its detective game equipment. Clue and Clue Logo © Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
I'm the one who designed VCR Clue
I didn't realize that this very polished video had been made.
The first time i saw it after I was interviewed, it was just some stills and voice overs.
This is amazing. I always believed it was going to be an influential cult classic.
Everyone who worked on it was so dedicated and driven. I've been proud of it all my life.
Wish they had said more about Hy Conrad - the brilliantly funny writer who took my ideas and characters and made them his own.
Isabel, it is my honor to be leaving you this message. On behalf of myself and all my other Clue players during the 80's I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our Wednesday nights fun.
Thank you so much Cricket. And I'm so glad to hear from someone who didn't think the game was "too hard". It wasn't. Delighted that you had fun with it and enjoyed "logic of elimination" challenge.
Here's a scoop no one knows - In order to get a green light on the project I had to write and direct and edit a test version using PB employees and filmed in a local "mansion" over one weekend. When it was done we held a formal focus group with "people who regularly played board games' (not affiliated with the company) play testing it. One way mirrors and Parker execs watching the whole thing.
The first test run ended with someone solving the case but incorrectly identifying the player suspects. Something no one ever thought would happen. OMG! now what! My game was threatened!. I thought up the "Suspense Round" right there on the spot to fix the glitch. The second round worked perfectly and the rest, as they say, was mystery. ; )
It's me, Cricket. Wow, thank you so very much for the story. Very interesting. I wish I could have helped out with the making of these games. I live in Massachusetts. The actors did look like they had fun. We loved all the characters. Madam Rose and the teddy bear was the best, one of the best parts with Madam Rose was when they were looking through the fortune cookies, in Clue 2 and I believe Grey takes one out of her had and throws it back into a huge pile of cookies and she growls and then smiles, PRICELESS. Sargent Grey looked like the hotel manager when I worked at the time. I wish this would come out on DVD!!! Listen up Parker Brothers!!!!
Isabel Garrett Where was Clue VCR shot and where is the Mansion you guys used?
The Mansion for the first video was in Wenham MA which was a short drive from the Parker exec offices in Beverly.
Clue II was shot in Newport RI at Belcort Castle.
Love this game. The butler, Didit, was my grandfather, and I distinctly remember being 7 years old and how cool it felt to have my grandfather on the cover of a game!
He was not in the next version. Had he passed on by that point?
That is so cool. Your grandfather was a part of my childhood.
@@dolphinsneu I believe so yes.
@@ChrisLucas1 What happened to him?
Wow ! Very cool
I can't believe this exists. I LOVED VCR clue...and couldn't get people to understand how to play. Man...a ton of memories. Would have worked great on DVD! Ha!
I received this for my 10th birthday. I watched the tape more for entertainment than I ever played the game. The actors had real chemistry. Not a weak performance among the whole bunch.
I was just a little kid when these games came out, but a friend of mine had the second one and I played it so many times at his house in the late 90s that he wanted to give it to me but his step dad wouldn't let him. 25 years later, I've finally gotten my hands on a copy of the first one and can't wait to find some people to play it with. I think the biggest flaw with the game is that it was released on VHS, when something like DVD would have been better suited for it. Thank you very much for making this and letting me see what went on behind the scenes.
I literally just played Clue VCR today with my siblings, using UA-cam for the scenes (we have all the original equipment, but what are we supposed to play the tape on??). Yes, we actually break out the game once in a while, because it's still awesome.
Awesome, You can get vcrs at thrift stores still but UA-cam is optimal 😅👍
I stumbled upon a used copy of this game last week at Zia Records. I played this game with my family so much as a kid. Looking through the instructions now, I cant believe we were able to figure out how to play. I wouldn't have the patience to do it now. Seeing this game reminded me of my brother who passed away a couple years after the game came out. Glad to have a good memory come out of the blue.
I love this behind the scenes/ making of Clue. It was a part of my childhood.
This is the documentary I never knew I wanted. And yes, like Isabel and Michael said, this did leave a lasting, positive influence on me. When both my parents were alive and there was indeed a hot meal on the table and me and my best friend pulled this out, dusted it off and threw it in the VCR. To this day, I think of Mrs. White when I windex a mirror and Mr. Green when I make popcorn. And sadly Srgt. Grey when I loose my temper.
Yes to all of this. It was a staple in my house for several years, even though we rarely ever played the game. To this day my dad will say the line "I was never IN Sumatra" whenever said location is mentioned!
My friends and I played this game almost every Wednesday night during the 80's. We loved it! We enjoyed it so much that I bought Clue II as soon as it was released. We liked the cast. GREAT JOB TO THE CAST. We never found the instructions hard to follow or understand. We still today use quotes from the games. I am a Clue fan. I had most versions of Clue. I went through two board game versions as a kid. I had the computer version, two VCR versions, saw all three versions of the movie. Anyone up for a game of Clue? Thank you Parker Brothers!!!
Right?? Let's play!!
...Oh my... That. Was. Incredible! Not only is this one of the best made documentaries I've ever seen, but it's also the most surprising. I'm amazed that people took the time and effort to remember such an obscure era of gaming, a flash in the pan that most of the world has forgotten about. And that's really sad, since I believe that these games deserve much more attention. We have online critics like Spoony unearthing these memories and giving them some good-natured ribbing, but I never would have expected that a tribute like this would ever exist! It was fascinating to have a behind the scenes look at this game, to actually see the original actors and crew tracked down and interviewed. The part where they're discussing trying to play the Clue game was hilarious. And the amount of data that was contained in this video?! Where was all this information when I was doing my review of it?! I was begging for people to tell me even the slightest piece of background behind this thing, and to see this video contain the most obscure of video clips and newspaper/magazine articles is enough to blow my mind! This is a video that needs more attention, that every gamer must see to learn about a brief but fascinating time of games that took advantage of what they had and challenged the idea of what video technology was capable of.
So to all the wonderful people behind this video, whether you're an actor who starred in the Clue VCR games, or a producer that made this documentary possible, I just want to say one thing:
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing us this fantastic series and for preserving it for a new generation to learn and experience.
Earlier this year, Betty Lee Bogue (Mrs. Peacock) passed away
Yup on January 16 according to IMDB.
Yes, she was my mother. She was in her 80s and had dementia when interviewed for this. She had a great time filming the CLUE games! She died last year 1/16/2020, at 93.
I absolutely loved this!
This game was a staple in my house growing up, In fact, I still own both clue 1 and 2 and have since converted these to dvd. One day, I hope to play them with my son.
I had heard about this movie a few years back and had tried and tried to locate a copy to no avail.. It was a real treat to finally be able to check it out, and to see what these special people from my childhood are doing today.
Well done!
Same! Still have both - I think it's time to bring them out and set up some play dates!
I LOVED this game as a kid! I had it on Beta. My little sister and I would act out the video; we used food coloring for the different colored wines! Loved the video, rarely played the actual game. FANTASTIC documentary!
Beta lol I’ve never seen a beta video but we had vcr and my brother and I and our neighbor also acted out they game. My brother did a great Mr Green “ near As I can figure- the knife slipped off the wall - flew across the room A s missed her by a hair “ lol I still know all the line... “Mozambique? I’ve never been to Mozambique.” I was Ms Scarlet lol
@@DanniTheMagicJunkDrawer I learned geography due to the clue vhs: Sumatra Borneo Mozambique
I have had an exceptionally bad week, and it had to have been God who put it in my mind to search for this--what a wonderful treat. I've watched those videos for years and I still love them. Very weird, very campy and very memorable. Thanks so much! :)
what an amazing little movie!!! i used to watch these videos on repeat when i was a kid, i absolutely LOVED them!!! how great to see all of those great actors again! thank you so much for this treat, i really enjoyed this!!!!
Interesting documentary, You can tell when you play this game, The actors had a blast making the video. I'm glad they did, acting isn't worth it, if you can't have fun.
Janet Wong 😍😍😍😍😍
I seriously still watch this. I remember getting the game at a thrift store in the early 90s (I was like 10) and I watched the video so much and I still watch it like once a month now. Such a great campy thing and the actors really do look like they had a blast doing it.
I was never in Sumatra...❤️
To this day my dad and I still say this quote if we ever hear of that location (or Borneo) LOL
@@Stefan-ji2ek
Or Mozambique (we still quote it too and growing up- I was always Ms scarlet
I never played the game (too advanced for a 6 year old). But I just loved hanging out at my grandmother's house (she owned it) watching this video and enjoying all the performances.
Rip actors in clue , they will all be missed.
Amazingly nobody else has died as of yet.
Who died?
Wow, I still remember lines of dialogue from this.... Years and years ago I saw Michael Dell'orto in a stage production of Driving Miss Daisy (I think) and recognized him from his role as Monsieur Brunette.
I always think of my cousin, who left this world too early, when I go back to this game. We used to just watch it, oddly enough. Not even play the game but enjoy it as a campy piece of entertainment. I’m very fond of Clue, thanks to that videotape. Wonderful to see I’m not alone...
Only found this youtube clip now! :( I had this game as a kid.. Loved it.. everyone i got to play it, loved it too.. it was fairly easy to pick up the rules, you just had to be patient, and you were rewarded :) Only ever got to play the blue game though
Really wonderful. I played BOTH of these games to DEATH (no pun intended) as a teenager. I still have the first one, and I just played with my husband the other night. I have found a used copy of the 2nd one and just ordered it. I want this back in my life. It was hours and hours of fun for me and my friends. I've found a few of my local friends who also grew up with it, and we plan on playing it soon (and YES I have a working VCR). Indeed, I will still be playing this game years from now.
It’ timeless isn’t it :)
Thank you Phelous for having a link to this video. I remember trying to play these games at a birthday party when I was a kid. We couldn't really follow the rules so we ended up just watching the videos for fun. I was such a huge fan of Clue, I had the board game of course, the SNES video game, I read the books with the mini mysteries, I watched the movie over and over. But I never owned the VCR games, and I was really jealous of my friend who did because I wanted to watch these videos over and over. Now, later in life thanks to UA-cam I'm able to watch them again and came across the game show as well. So when I saw a link to this from a video that Phelous did on the game, I couldn't believe they came back and revisited it after all these years. It's great to step back in time to see how much of a hit the first one was back in the day. I certainly remember it, but even as a kid by the time we had discovered it I wonder if it was even being solid in stores anymore in the early to mid 90's.
Loved this game ! Mostly watching the video!! Great to see the back story and interviews!
If any cast or crew members read this, I want you to know that the original Clue VCR video was MY original Clue movie growing up. I didn't see the big screen one with all the famous actors until years later. But I watched this over and over again with my sisters in the late 80s and early 90s. We actually even played a few times, but it was complicated and not suited for our young, short attention spans! You all have a special place in my heart and I am so glad the original video is up on UA-cam for me to watch. Thank you all!
When I was a kid, I absolutely love the Clue board game, video game, the movie, & the book series. I wish I'd known about the VCR game & the British TV series.
+Jill Sandwich I loved all of those two and I have the vcr game. One time I was in the car with my brothers and we heard a story about a toddler who was saved when he landed on his teddy bear after he fell. We all laughed and remembered the line, "Do you know how many people are killed by teddy bears each year?
My dad still to this day says the line "I was never IN Sumatra" whenever said location is mentioned lol
Please do more docs on these forgotten gems. Nightmare is a stone cold masterpiece
Thanks Eric! So glad you liked it. Never know when the next passion project will pop up- My neighbors had Nightmare II, definitely remember playing that in the dark -- But definitely check out the Night Trap doc by My Life in Gaming if you haven't yet! ua-cam.com/video/df2zptiviBo/v-deo.html
Yes this documentary reminded me so much that one!!!
P.S. Nightmare was great. Another gem of the VHS game era is The Partymania Game.
Haha.. my family got this for christmas one year from my Aunt and Uncle..I don't think we ever actually played the game but I sure did watch the video alot :)
When I was a kid I would just watch the VHS tape without playing the game. Fast forward to the 90's, and I rented "Clue" the 1985 movie from West Coast Video expecting this production & was so disappointed it wasn't this interactive game video. 😞 😑 😄
14:08 DING DING DING! Yes, I was one of those kids, whose parents gave them this game and we watched it many times! We did love it though. Edit: For 3 kids this wasn't too hard to play.
They said they had so much fun doing these Clue shows, so why weren't they asked to do an actual Clue movie? You don't know my surprise when I saw the Clue movie, and didn't see one of these people in it. I stuck the characters with each of their respective actors. I couldn't think of them being played by other people.
Same lol.. I saw the game tape first and then watched the movie and was like who are these people
The Clue movie was in production at about the same time as the game was being developed. The two projects happened independently. Parker Brothers got a copy of the film shooting script a few weeks after the game edit was completed. I remember making an illicit copy of it and sending it to the writer of our game because I thought his version was so much funnier and more clever. Just before the movie was released, the producers held a special screening for PB employees. What both versions had in common was the use of all the standard mystery cliches. I remember sitting in the audience thinking things like "NO! Mrs White isn't the husband killer, Mrs. Peacock is!".
Our unknown New England actors would have loved being in the movie but thats not the way Hollywood works. I'm sad that none of our talented cast ever got a better break.
I'm dying at the fact that NOBODY who was in the video knows how to play the damn game lol
If I got this for Christmas 😮 clue was my jam, lucky enough to have gotten these at the goodwill a couple years ago, never played but loved having it 😅
I don't think I ever played this as a game, I'd just watch it as a movie. In fact, I love this way more than the movie "Clue."
Omg I played this ALL THE TIME.
Walter Covell (Colonel Mustard) died in 2008 at age 91. This must have been done before Barry Doe died in 2013. Barry Doe looks bad in this, so it must have been just before he died.
I believe Bill Lucas died not long after the game was released, which is why he wasn't in the sequel.
@@Stefan-ji2ek no he died in 1990
@@jessyleppert2 do you have obituary for him? I've looked extensively but haven't been able to find anything.
This is amazing! Grinning ear to ear; thank you for making this ❤️
I was so excited to find this documentary. I can't believe I somehow missed it for the last decade.
Out of curiosity, does anyone have professional contact information for Janet Wong (Miss Scarlet)?
A friend of mine in the past had this game and we always played it even though it was hard to figure out
Thank you kindly for your efforts on this
Yup loved this growing up. Great doc. It was clue and let's go to the races.
As a kid, I was intrigued by the novelty of the VCR game. I wanted it, but it was not cheap. I think it retailed between $30 and $35. My parents took one look at the price tag and said “No. Don’t ask again.”
THIS IS AMAZING!!!
Mara is married now
According to her IMDB page Mara Clark died on March 30, 2022 at the age of 92.
Nah, she was one of the youngest of the cast.
I assume Betty Lee Bogue must not be in very good health, as she was only interviewed for a few seconds and seemed to slur her words a bit.
She was my mother. She was in her 80s and had dementia when interviewed for this. She had a great time filming the CLUE games! She died last year 1/16/2020, at 93.
@@schuylerbogue7226 Thank you for the response. I loved watching her in the movie as a kid :)
What a great bit of nonsense from my childhood to do a documentary about. Seriously, this rules.
A great interview with Michael Dell'Orto where he reveals some additional behind the scenes tidbits:
www.oocities.org/cluevcr/cluebehind3.html
17:34 the video tells you how to play it seems kinda easy and fun forget the book 😅 (realizing I’m an avid clue player tho) and I can imagine playing on vhs is a pain when u are looking for clues but I played atmosfear and gargoyle vhs both worked well
This was a great game
thanks for this good game , until we don't have part 2 in france :)
I'm curious did anyone tried to covert the Parker Brothers VHS Board games to DVD format?
Difficult to play?! I Had this way back when it came out and I was 9. My family and friends played it and it was fairly easy... but we were a family that played D&D so maybe, who knows. 🤷♂️
You have an awesome family I must say :)
I read where Jack Neary was born in 1917, which would make him 106 years old this year. From any sources I saw with his name, his death date is not shown. Is he still alive?
He died shortly after its release I believe.
Does anyone know what clue is featured at the 30 minute, 30 second mark when they are showing the other adaptations through new technology ???? It’s the only clue related thing I’ve never seen!
Hi Aaron! It is CLUE FX - it incorporated sound and speech with certain areas you landed on with your character playing piece. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8069/clue-fx
Thanks for the reply! Still confused though at that being CLUE FX, since I know that one well. I guess more specifically I was looking at the live action clip of colonel mustard and mrs. Peacock from 30:30-30:33, in which they are walking and then CM turns back around.
@@AaronMIchaelA Hi Aaron, it's from the Clue FX tv commercial.
Ms peach 🍑 still had it 🥵
I would help finance it if you could do a documentary about Titanic: Adventure Out of Time:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic:_Adventure_Out_of_Time
Miss Scarlet was knocked up who did it -_-
Betty Lee Bogue is not mentioned in this documentary
She was featured very briefly, saying "I enjoyed making the game, and thought it was a lot of fun". She seemed to be in poor spirits though, slurring her words and whatnot. It wouldn't surprise me if she has dementia, which is probably why she wasn't featured much.
@@Stefan-ji2ek How do you know this?
@@dolphinsneu it's not hard to tell if you watch her interaction. Also of note she passed away on January 16 of this year.
@@Stefan-ji2ek Where in the video? Can you give me the timestamp?
@@dolphinsneuaround 10:30 for like 10 second. Pretty much you blink and you'll miss her.