MovieChat Forums > Clue (1985) Discussion > Wish they had filmed the 4th ending

Wish they had filmed the 4th ending

posted 8 years ago by averagejoeman2013
8 replies | jump to latest

"The novelization was written by Michael McDowell based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn. There was also a children's adaptation entitled, Paramount Pictures Presents Clue: The Storybook written by Landis, Lynn, and Ann Matthews. Both adaptations were published in 1985, and differ from the movie in that they feature a fourth ending cut from the final film. In this ending, Wadsworth, after pretending to be dead, says that he killed Boddy as well as the other victims, and then reveals to the guests that he has poisoned them all so that there will be no witnesses and he will have committed the perfect crime. As he runs through the house to disable the phones and lock the doors, the chief detective – who had earlier been posing as an evangelist (Howard Hesseman) – returns, followed by the police, who disarm Wadsworth. Wadsworth then repeats the confession that he had given earlier to the guests, physically acting out each scene himself. When he arrives at the part about meeting Colonel Mustard at the door, he steps through the door, closes it, and locks it, leaving all the guests trapped inside. The police and guests escape through a window, while Wadsworth attempts to make a getaway in a police squad car, only to hear the growling of a Doberman Pinscher from the backseat."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clue_(film)#Remake

[–] Abz78615 8 years ago

They did film it, it was shot.

[–] rye9969 8 years ago

Where's the source to back up your bold statement?

Everything that I've ever read, or heard about the 4th ending, was that it was never shot.

[–] sdgresham 8 years ago

Pieces of the 4th ending have surfaced over time. There's an ad spot for a TV airing of the film featuring a brief shot of Plum and Peacock (seen here: https://youtu.be/7Bsidte2im4 You'll also notice a different dub of Mustard's exclamation when the cops come into the house, heard in this spot as "I'm only a *dinner* guest.") which does not appear in the final cut, and which logically can only be from the 4th ending. There is also a still photograph of the Chief tackling Wadsworth near the front door which was used the storybook of the movie, published around the time the the movie novel was printed (voila: http://www.geocities.ws/notjustagameanymore/storybook3.jpg). That site also has the text from the storybook retelling of the scene: http://www.geocities.ws/notjustagameanymore/Fourth.html

That storybook also has a photo of an extended conversation between Peacock and the Chief, taken from the original cut of the Peacock ending where she is shot outside her car (the smoke from his gun is still visible in the final cut, and her final line delivered only, you'll notice, in voice over).

Michael McKean has said he cannot remember how much of the 4th ending was actually filmed. It's possible only the interior scenes were completed, with the ending being abandoned before trying to fill Wadsworth's escape attempt.

Other fun bits:

A still shot of Wadsworth greeting Boddy at the door, in a scene which eventually was cut & played out only in off screen dialogue: https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7710/17317407483_88a82b7836_b.jpg

A shot of the Chief as he kills Peacock: https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7696/17750070468_c36c4928c3_o.jpg

[–] hilaryjrp 8 years ago

That site also has the text from the storybook retelling of the scene: http://www.geocities.ws/notjustagameanymore/Fourth.html

Wow, this is why I wish IMDB allowed posts to be rated. I not only watched the Siskel and Ebert review, I read all the links. Subscribed to that Siskel and Ebert channel.

Curiosity is a bad thing. The fourth ending was definitely too dark for the happy 80's. It would have changed the film's genre totally. Revisionist history destroys mystery. In 2017, it's quaint to remember there was a time when not all desires were satiated.

Anyone born in 1985 and after will never have this fantastic experience of being denied.

Thank you.

[–] sdgresham 8 years ago

I'm a massive fan of Clue, both the movie and the game which inspired it. As much as I'd love to see whatever does exist of the 4th ending, I agree that tonally, it's not entirely in line with the rest of the movie. That's probably why Peacock getting shot to death by the Chief was cut in favor of the much funnier "Get your hands off me, I'm a senator's wife!" line. All the existing endings manage to be both deathly serious and dryly funny. Wadsworth poisoning everyone, then getting mauled by police dogs is just dark.

[–] hilaryjrp 8 years ago

All the existing endings manage to be both deathly serious and dryly funny.

Why it's genius--"philistine" [NOT] genius overlooked by the "literati." Genius very frequently is philistine.

Wadsworth poisoning everyone, then getting mauled by police dogs is just dark.

Exactly. Curiosity can be idle. William Blake, "The Proverbs of Hell": "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

[–] Underdog_73 8 years ago

You'll also notice a different dub of Mustard's exclamation when the cops come into the house, heard in this spot as "I'm only a *dinner* guest.") which does not appear in the final cut, and which logically can only be from the 4th ending.

That scene is in the movie. I won't pretend to know why they cut out the word dinner, but he still says "I'm only a guest". So why would the inclusion of the word dinner logically only coincide with an alleged filming of the 4th ending? The meaning of the statement is the same either way, and it makes sense with all 3 endings, with or without the worder dinner.

Whether or not anyone wants to believe a 4th ending was filmed, this scene is no proof at all. It does not only logically coincide with the 4th ending.

[–] sdgresham 8 years ago

 I never said that bit was from the 4th ending. I was merely pointing out another difference between that bit of footage & the final cut. Ads & trailers are often assembled before the final cut is ready, so it's not surprising there are bits & pieces which don't coincide with the movie we've all seen.

Seriously, I share a trove of evidence pointing towards at least *some* of the 4th ending having been filmed, but all you can fixate on is the one unrelated bit I pointed out?

EDIT: I see where the confusion comes from, after rereading my post. What I was referring to as only logically being a snippet of the 4th ending is the brief shot of Plum & Peacock, not Mustard's redubbed (possibly even reshot) line. My comment about Mustard's line was intended as an aside, nothing more. Reread my post without the parentheticals, and the sentence becomes clearer.

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