Production notes

Producer Debra Hill initially acquired the rights to adapt the game Clue from Parker Brothers and intended to distribute through Universal Pictures. As early as 1981, Hill mentioned plans to adapt the game into a movie, with P. D. James reported to be writing the screenplay with multiple endings.

John Landis, who had initially been set to direct, would go onto to work with Jonathan Lynn on the story for the film. Landis is credited for coming up with the multiple endings for the film. Playwright Tom Stoppard was initially approached to write the screenplay and worked on it for a year before giving up and returning all of the money he had already been paid. Landis then asked writer and composer Stephen Sondheim and actor Anthony Perkins to write the screenplay, both of whom asked for too much money. The script was ultimately finished by Lynn, who was invited to direct as a result.

Scrapped fourth ending A fourth ending was written for the film; according to Lynn, "It really wasn't very good. I looked at it, and I thought, 'No, no, no, we've got to get rid of that.'" In it, Wadsworth committed all the murders and reveals he poisoned the champagne, leaving no witnesses when the six guests soon die. The police officers arrive and capture Wadsworth, but he breaks free and steals a police car only to be ultimately thwarted when three police dogs lunge from the back seat. Tim Curry suggested the ending was never released due to the reveal being considered "too obvious."

Carrie Fisher was originally cast to portray Miss Scarlet but withdrew to enter treatment for drug and alcohol addiction; she was replaced with Lesley Ann Warren, who was originally cast to play Mrs. White, who was then played by Madeline Kahn. Jonathan Lynn's first choice for Wadsworth was Leonard Rossiter but he died before filming commenced. The second choice was Rowan Atkinson but it was decided that he was not sufficiently well known at the time, so Tim Curry was cast. The entire cast received the same salary and billing, despite their different levels of notability at the time.

Clue was filmed on sound stages 17 and 18 at the Paramount Pictures film studios in Hollywood. The set design is credited to Les Gobruegge, Gene Nollmanwas, and William B. Majorand, with set decoration by Thomas L. Roysden. To decorate the interior sets, authentic 18th- and 19th-century furnishings were rented from private collectors, including the estate of Theodore Roosevelt. After completion, the set was bought by the producers of Dynasty, who used it as the fictional Carlton Hotel. All interior scenes were filmed at the Paramount lot, except the ballroom scene. The ballroom and two driveway exteriors, including the front gate and retaining wall, were filmed on location at a mansion in South Pasadena, California. The driveway and fountain were recreated on the Paramount lot and used for most shots, including the guests' arrivals. Exterior shots of the South Pasadena mansion were enhanced with matte paintings to make the house appear much larger; these were executed by matte artist Syd Dutton in consultation with Albert Whitlock. The mansion was destroyed in a fire on October 5, 2005 but has since been rebuilt. The original front gate and retaining wall as seen in the movie were preserved and still stand alongside the new house. Jonathan Lynn screened His Girl Friday for the cast as inspiration for how to deliver their lines. Madeline Kahn improvised her monologue about "flames".

The film initially received mixed reviews. Janet Maslin of The New York Times panned it, writing that the beginning "is the only part of the film that is remotely engaging. After that, it begins to drag". Similarly, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "Clue offers a few big laughs early on followed by a lot of characters running around on a treadmill to nowhere." Siskel particularly criticized the decision to release the film to theaters with three separate endings, calling it a "gimmick" that would distract audiences from the rest of the film, and concluding, "Clue is a movie that needs three different middles rather than three different endings." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing that it has a "promising" cast but the "screenplay is so very, very thin that [the actors] spend most of their time looking frustrated, as if they'd just been cut off right before they were about to say something interesting". On Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, both agreed that the "A" ending was the best while the "C" ending was the worst. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A robust ensemble of game actors elevate Clue above its schematic source material, but this farce's reliance on novelty over organic wit makes its entertainment value a roll of the dice." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Clue has grossed $14.6 million in North America, just short of its $15 million budget.