::DARK COMEDIES WITH PESKY CORPSES, BOTCHED KIDNAPPINGS, MURDEROUS BLUNDERS & ACCIDENTAL DEATHS::
THE GIST OF THE LIST: Dark comedies where a dead body proves to be a very pesky problem, mistaken identities often lead to mistaken kidnappings and murders, and some deaths happen to be just freak accidents...
[LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER]
OTHER LISTS:
CAMMANDO (MEN-ON-A-MISSION) THRILLERS
CON THRILLERS
COURTROOM THRILLERS
CULT EUROPEAN SUPERHERO MOVIES
DARK COMEDIES WITH PESKY CORPSES, BOTCHED KIDNAPPINGS, MURDEROUS BLUNDERS & ACCIDENTAL DEATHS
DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
DINNER PARTIES FROM HELL
DON'T PERFORM THE AUTOPSY! I'M NOT DEAD!
GOTHIC HORROR
HEIST THRILLERS
HEROIC BLOODSHED + BULLET BALLET + GUN-FU
HOLLYWOOD GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
INNOCENT FUGITIVE ON-THE-RUN THRILLERS
ITALIAN GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES + IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES
LO-FI SCI-FI
ONE ROOM THRILLERS
PARALLEL UNIVERSES, ALTERNATE REALITIES, FEVERISH DREAMS
POLICE PROCEDURALS
PRISON ESCAPE THRILLERS
RURAL-COUNTRY THRILLERS
THEOLOGICAL FILMS
THRILLING SHORT FILMS
THRILLING TV EPISODES
THRILLING TV MOVIES
UNKNOWN + UNAVAILABLE THRILLERS
VANISHED PERSON THRILLERS
[LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER]
OTHER LISTS:
CAMMANDO (MEN-ON-A-MISSION) THRILLERS
CON THRILLERS
COURTROOM THRILLERS
CULT EUROPEAN SUPERHERO MOVIES
DARK COMEDIES WITH PESKY CORPSES, BOTCHED KIDNAPPINGS, MURDEROUS BLUNDERS & ACCIDENTAL DEATHS
DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
DINNER PARTIES FROM HELL
DON'T PERFORM THE AUTOPSY! I'M NOT DEAD!
GOTHIC HORROR
HEIST THRILLERS
HEROIC BLOODSHED + BULLET BALLET + GUN-FU
HOLLYWOOD GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
INNOCENT FUGITIVE ON-THE-RUN THRILLERS
ITALIAN GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES + IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES
LO-FI SCI-FI
ONE ROOM THRILLERS
PARALLEL UNIVERSES, ALTERNATE REALITIES, FEVERISH DREAMS
POLICE PROCEDURALS
PRISON ESCAPE THRILLERS
RURAL-COUNTRY THRILLERS
THEOLOGICAL FILMS
THRILLING SHORT FILMS
THRILLING TV EPISODES
THRILLING TV MOVIES
UNKNOWN + UNAVAILABLE THRILLERS
VANISHED PERSON THRILLERS
List activity
30K views
• 18 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
371 titles
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsFrançoise RosayMichel SimonJean-Pierre AumontIn Victorian London, a crime novelist and his wife fake their disappearance in order to hide from an uptight Anglican bishop who is leading a campaign against the "evils" of crime fiction.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonJane BryanAllen JenkinsFormer bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.A terrific oldie that's based on a stage play... many of these early screwy dark comedies that deal with pesky corpses, mistaken identities, confused kidnappings, and accidental deaths are based on plays.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsCarole LombardJack BennyRobert StackDuring the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.Plays out like a screwball comedy directed by Alfred Hitchcock - mistaken identities, clever escapes, and a dead body that proves troublesome for his look a-like who is very much alive. Probably my all time favorite screwball comedy.
Remade in 1983, to less effect, by Mel Brooks. - DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.As above, this is based on a stage play... and is probably the best example of a play doing this sort of stuff!
- DirectorAlbert HermanStarsJ. Edward BrombergIsabel RandolphFrank JenksA feud between rival newspapermen Kruger (Bromberg) and McDonald (Guilfoyle) goes deadly when blackmailing McDonald ends up murdered and his corpse planted in the trunk of Kruger's car.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsFred MacMurrayHelen WalkerMarjorie MainProfessional pollster Pete Marshall gets more than he bargained for when he heads deep into the Ozarks to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues.Hillbilly hijinks mixed up with murder, stashed loot, and other zaniness.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
- DirectorCarlo RimStarsFernandelBerthe BovyGermaine KerjeanThe aunt of Alfred Puc, a meek tax-collector in Paris, dies while riding in a moving van. The driver, not wishing to be bothered by a police interrogation, hides her corpse in a cupboard before notifying Alfred. But the van is stolen. Alfred, being the heir of a rich lady, begins a frantic search to locate the missing van and the cupboard because one can't claim an inheritance if there is no 'corpus delecti.' In his search, he gets caught up in an underworld web and finds the body of a murdered gangster in his room. He finally locates the cupboard but promptly loses it again. But, wait, it isn't "finis' time, yet.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsRex HarrisonLinda DarnellRudy ValleeA man dreams of revenge when he suspects his wife is unfaithful.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.A man wants to be a duke... so naturally he murders all the heirs to leave himself the only surviving member! A fine, dignified, classic comedy that just so happens to dabble with a murder spree.
- DirectorSacha GuitryStarsMichel SimonJean DebucourtJacques VarennesThrough a series of circumstances and plot twists an enterprising man manages to get away with murdering his wife, even though he cheerfully admits his guilt in court.
- DirectorClaude Autant-LaraStarsFernandelFrançoise RosayMarie-Claire OliviaA group of travelers, including a monk, stay in a lonely inn in the mountains. The host confesses the monk his habit of serving a soporific soup to the guests, to rob their possessions and to bury them in the backyard. The story unfolds as the monk tries to save the guest's lives without violating the holy secrecy of the confession.The manager of the inn confesses to a monk whose staying overnight that he has a nasty habit of poisoning the guests with soup... The monk obviously tries to warn the other guests that their lives are in danger, but the twist is that he can't break the holy secrecy of confession! What to do?!
- DirectorMario MonicelliStenoStarsGina LollobrigidaMay BrittPierre CressoyAn industrialist has his wife tailed because he secretly hopes she is betraying him so that he can ask for a divorce and marry the model he's fallen in love with. This leads to a series of thefts, blackmail and a suicide as well.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsErnesto AlonsoMiroslavaRita MacedoThe delirious journey of a mentally disordered man, who is obsessed with committing the perfect crime.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessPeter SellersCecil ParkerFive oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.Another classic comedy about a group of thieves who are tempted to murder their landlady out of fear she knows too much... but when the begin to fear one another, the bodies begin to pile up.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn ForsytheShirley MacLaineEdmund GwennHarry's dead and, while no one really minds, everyone feels responsible. After Harry's body is found in the woods, several locals must determine not only how and why he was killed but what to do with the body.Hitchcock's take on this peculiar sub-genre... a proper, dignified comedy about a corpse who simply seems to pop up in the most inconvenient places...
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAlfred HitchcockCedric HardwickeJohn WilliamsMr. Princey's daughter has just murdered the schoolmaster. A murderess in the family? That won't do. It's up to Mr. Princey to frame someone else for her crime.An episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" where a father has the thoroughly unsavory duty of disposing a body... and the unquestionably unpleasant task of finding someone to blame in order to protect his daughter... after all, we can't have a murderer in the family, can we now?
- 1955–196230mTV-147.5 (751)TV EpisodeDirectorJules BrickenStarsAlfred HitchcockDorothy StickneyCarmen MathewsCissie Enright is not exactly thrilled with the idea of poisoning the real estate man. But her sister, Joanna, insists that it's the only way.Two old ladies meticulously plot the poisoning of a rather horrid man... Their plan works... but forget they never planned on what to do with the corpse!
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAlfred HitchcockDavid WayneSteve BrodieSam Jacoby has his wife's corpse in the trunk of his car, and is menaced by a motorcycle cop, who nags him about a taillight.
- 1955–196230mTV-146.9 (592)TV EpisodeDirectorPaul HenreidStarsAlfred HitchcockPeter LorreGeorge PeppardA married couple stands to inherit 30,000 British pounds when the wife's aunt riding with them dies, but while in Mexico their car with her body inside is stolen.
- DirectorPaul HenreidStarsAlfred HitchcockJoan TetzelScott McKayA murderer holding a bickering married couple at gunpoint, tries to decide which one to kill, but their constant arguing over who should die confuses him.
- 1955–196230mTV-148.3 (1.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAlfred HitchcockBarbara Bel GeddesHarold J. StoneAfter Mary Maloney's police chief husband is murdered, the police investigate but have a hard time figuring out the murder weapon.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsAlfred HitchcockSteve ForrestJoanna MooreA wife refuses to let her husband squander away the money from a 133,000-dollar sweepstakes ticket inherited from her first dead spouse, so he plans on killing her.
- 1955–196230mTV-146.9 (559)TV EpisodeDirectorJames NeilsonStarsAlfred HitchcockDennis MorganEstelle WinwoodA handsome homicide detective is befriended by four old ladies who invite him for tea and proceed to play out a variation of Arsenic and Old Lace for his benefit.
- DirectorRobert DayBasil DeardenStarsAlastair SimGeorge ColeTerry-ThomasAn assassin is annoyed by a vacuum cleaner salesman determined to stop him.An assassin can't quite seem to kill his target and a man tries to stop the assassin but no one quite seems to believe him.