List of Cluedo characters

The board game Cluedo (Clue in North America) and the associated 1985 film Clue contains six murder suspects, all of whom survive into the new 2002 edition of the game. They typically represent "types" or stock characters of European and American high society, as typified in the murder mysteries pioneered by Dame Agatha Christie. The characters have also become stock types in pop culture, and served as the basis for an Australian advertising campaign by photographer Richard de Chazal, with each character being photographed with one of the weapons and in one of the rooms from the game.

Characters in the English versions of the game

Colonel Mustard

Colonel Mustard is the stock character of a Great White Hunter and colonial buffoon. He is a military man with a European heritage and a tendency for botching things, both dignified and dangerous. As with many of the male characters, the Colonel is rumored to have an affair with Miss Scarlet in some sources. Mustard is sometimes portrayed as a rival to Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy). In one scenario, Mustard was paid a vast sum of money to write an autobiography of his adventures in the Punjab, from which he was mustered out . He has not gotten very far in the book, but has quite gone through most of the money. He travels to Dr. Black from halfway across the world to speak with him on a matter of grave importance, and tends to sleep with a revolver under his pillow. There is a rumor from the movie that he made a sum of money stealing radio parts during the war and selling them on the black market. In the book series, his years of fighting have made him extremely trigger-happy, and he will not hesitate to brandish his revolver at any (almost always imagined) threat and call for a duel. In America, Col. Mustard is usually portrayed as an old buffoon, but in Europe, he has been depicted many times as very young and handsome with a more intelligent look. Mustard frequently is given the first name of Michael. In Master Detective his first name is given as Algernon and in the original book series his name is Martin. He has also been called Ivor in the Cluedo Armchair Detective book, and Lewis in the computer game. He frequently wears typical African safari clothes and a monocle and has a bushy moustache. In Clue Junior, he is known as Mortimer Mustard. Starting with Book 8 of the Clue Jr. series, Mortimer Mustard changes race.

In the 1985 film, Colonel Mustard is an American officer who works in the Pentagon. He is played by Martin Mull.

Miss Scarlett/Miss Scarlet

Miss Scarlett (Miss Scarlet in the North American version) is the stock femme fatale character. She is typically portrayed as young, cunning, and beautiful. When the game was made in 1949 she was a blonde. A 1972 redesign of her features led to speculation that she was of Eurasian ethnicity. In 1996, Miss Scarlett became a sinister brunette with sexy looks. In a recent version, she is the beautiful (and somewhat ditzy) daughter of Mrs. Peacock; in at least one CD-ROM version, she is billed as the niece (and theoretical heir) of Mr. Boddy. The two editions that deal heavily on her characterization are very different. In Master Detective she is a ruthless 'mercenary' who will stop at nothing to garner a profit. Her looks are plain but her expression more sinister than others. In 2003 she is described as a childish yet beautiful actress with a fondness for dating perverted, old, rich men. Unfortunately for the recent depiction her dumb personality and her lecherous interests leave an uncertain motive for her to kill Mr. Boddy/Dr. Black (though it is implied that it may have to do with her possible relationship to Mr. Boddy's uncle, Sir Hugh Black). Her looks in this manifestation are bland. In the VCR game her character (again of Eurasian ethnicity) is a sexy, cunning spy with Col. Mustard as her worthless henchman.

She is usually named Vivianne Scarlett but she has had many other first names including Evelynne in a Swiss edition, Lydia or Diana in the computer game, Cynthia, Ming or Gloria in Germany, in the recent edition and others. In the book series the character is named Charlotte Scarlett. In various forms of Clue Junior she is known as either Samantha Scarlet or Vivianne. In Clue Mystery her name is Josephine. Recently this has become a more common name for her, replacing Vivianne.

In the 1985 film, Miss Scarlett is a madam who owns a brothel in Washington, DC. She is played by Lesley Ann Warren.

Professor Plum

Professor Plum is the stock character of Absent-minded professor. Often depicted as either a young or middle aged fellow with a bow tie and glasses, he is widely seen by many characters as the most intellectual and knowledgable, particularly about poisons. The movie suggests that he is a psychiatrist. Most of the canon states that he is an archaeologist, who has a past he would rather clam up about, including a possible question about his writings. The VCR game gives him the occupation of a college chemistry teacher dealing mostly with poison who is Dr. Black's son-in-law. In some editions he is an older man with a moustache (something of an Albert Einstein look-alike), this is prominent in the early British edition and some out-dated American editions. other times however he is depicted as a very young man who is closer to Miss Scarlet's age. His personality ranges from confused and bumfuzzled to serious and in deep-thought.

He is usually known as Peter, but has been given many other names including Albert and Benjamin. Paul in the book series, Jonathan in the computer game and Edgar in Master Detective. He is Peter Plum in Clue Junior.

In the 1985 film, Professor Plum is a psychiatrist who works for the World Health Organization. He is something of a pervert, and his license to practice medicine has been revoked due to an affair he had with a patient. He is played by Christopher Lloyd.

Reverend Green/Mr. Green

Reverend Green or Mr. Green has two very different manifestations. As Reverend Green, he is the stock type of snake oil salesman, a hypocritical evangelist. By all accounts, he is not really a graduated reverend. He donned the ways of the cloth, but uses them to fleece the flock as a traveling evangelist. He appears to have stopped travelling at last, being named as a Reverend in Hampshire, where the game of Clue takes place most of the time. It is here where he has made contact with the extraordinarily wealthy Dr. Black, and this is quite a lucrative prospect for him.

Until 2002, he was known simply as Mr. Green in North American versions of the game. His new stock character became that of mobster or corrupt business tycoon, complete with a cigar, greasy suit, and sweaty sort of paunch. Mr. Green represents the very essence of greed (possibly because green is the color of American bank notes), fitting nicely with his new stock persona. Allusions to the mafia have remained until the 2002 version.

The British Reverend Green is different from the above owing to different stereotypes in British culture. On the one hand, snake oil salesmen and travelling evangelists are less common in British, while the British, being a less religious nation than Americans, are less cautious about mocking organised religion. Accordingly, in the UK the Rev. Green is an Anglican vicar (parish priest). In the original board game he has a bland face and red ears and looks rather 'soft', but as they say 'still waters run deep' he may have a dark secret that he is willing to go to desperate lengths to protect. On the Cluedo game show he has been portrayed as everything from a bumbling do-gooder who becomes wild when his favourite cause is threatened to a crafty old cleric who may well know some of the church's dirtiest secrets.

Rev. Green has had many names including Jonathan (John), Colin in the computer game, Horatio, Gerald in the book series and Thallo in Master Detective. The Clue Junior parallels to Green are Georgie and Johnny, and at one point, Reverend Green becomes a girl called Greta Green.

In the 1985 film, Mr. Green is portrayed as a hapless homosexual man who works for the United States Department of State. However, in one of the three endings he is revealed to be an undercover FBI agent, and his homosexuality has (supposedly) been part of his ruse. He is played by Michael McKean in the 1985 film.

Mrs. White

Usually the stock portrayal of frazzled servant, but has also had a couple of divergent characterizations. The movie portrays Mrs. White as a serial husband-killer, a black widow type. More frequently, Mrs. White is regarded as the housekeeper at Black Manor, appearing in a traditional maid's costume. The only difference between the games is that sometimes she is young, as in the Franklin Mint edition or the 1985 release. More commonly, she is an elderly lady. She is often seen to have been Dr. Black's illicit lover, and to have known all his secrets. This characterization is given a tongue-in-cheek humor by having Smithers cast as Mrs. White in the Simpsons version of the game, with Mr. Burns as the deceased host. In the book series, she is somewhat lazy, occasionally outright refusing to fulfil her assigned duties; fortunately for her, Mr. Boddy's astoundingly non-confrontational nature allows her to get away with it. Most sources agree that Mrs. White is rather bitter towards her employer, in addition to being colorblind. Supposedly, she shares this latter flaw with Sgt. Gray.

White bears the first name Blanche in nearly all versions except for the computer game where her name is Anna, the Armchair Detective game where her name is Beryl and the Clue book series where her name is Wilhelmina and Wilma. She is known as Wendy White in Clue Junior and does not appear at all starting with Book 8.

She is played by Madeline Kahn in the 1985 film, where she is portrayed as a "black widow" who has had five husbands.

Mrs. Peacock

Mrs. Peacock is the stock character of grande dame. She represents an elder woman, who maintains her dignity in almost all cases and almost all versions. There are 4 different physical versions of her. The first being a rather elegant Queen-esque socialite (Original Cluedo). The second being an elderly old busybody who is dressed correct and proper, probably a well-mannered prude (1972). The third being a middle-aged classy lady who is still retaining her looks (2000 UK), and the fourth being an young lady, similar to Scarlet in some respects, though she is widowed/married (Franklin Mint). According to post-2002 Clue games, she is the mother (or sometimes stepmother) of Miss Scarlet, who drags Scarlet along for the ride (this is debatable), which leaves questions as to Scarlet's motive to kill Boddy/Black. True to her characterization, Mrs. Peacock is often portrayed as obsessed with breeding, "good society", gossip, manners, and wealth. Clue Master Detective reveals that she is an ornithologist, president of the 'Peacock salvation society,' of which she is founder and sole member, having single-handedly saved the logger-headed shrike. In the VCR game, she is given a more sinister persona as a kleptomaniac who kills off her husbands as a hobby.

She has been given names of Henrietta in Master Detective, Samantha in the computer game, Elizabeth pre-2002, Patricia post-2002, and Penelope. Others names include Camilla, Ethel and Prudence. She is known as either Polly or Lizzie in Clue Junior and does not appear starting with Book 8.

Interestingly, while all of the other characters need to move at least eight spaces to enter a room from their starting positions, Mrs. Peacock needs to move only seven.

She is portrayed as a flamboyant yet corrupt U.S. Senator's wife by Eileen Brennan in the 1985 film.

Dr. Black/Mr. Boddy

Black/Boddy , and Prof. Plum met university. The true love they felt for each other was not featured in the earlier versions of the game, but their true has romantic ties have come out of the closet in later editions. He is the owner of Tudor Mansion who takes the stock character of a generic colourless victim. In Clue, he is the unseen host who is murdered, in which inspires the premise to mind to discover who murdered him, with what implement, and where the crime scene took place in his mansion. His personality is not known but most likely not well liked as he gets killed often. In the book series, he is portrayed as a well-meaning but sometimes rather stupid young man whose capacity for forgiveness is almost staggering, considering one of his guests kills him at the end of each novel and yet he accepts their claim that it was "just an accident" at the start of the next novel. Mr. Boddy is usually depicted as a man in his 20's or 30's, while Dr. Black is depicted more middle aged in one edition. In America and Canada he is known as Mr. Boddy while other places refer to him as Dr. Black.

The 2002 North American edition of Clue attempts to reconcile these differences by stating that while his true name is Dr. John Boddy, he is often called Dr. Black by his neighbors after his well-known deceased uncle, Sir Hugh Black. In the book series, his name is Reginald, in America his name is commonly John, and in Britain, he is mostly named David or Lawrence.

In the 1985 film, Mr. Boddy is an ultrapatriotic McCarthy supporter and also an opportunist. Convinced that the six main characters are "all thoroughly un-American," he has been blackmailing them for some time. The motive for his murder, therefore, was to stop the blackmail. He is killed by different suspects in each of the endings, but always with the candlestick. He is played by Lee Ving. In one of the endings, it is revealed that this character is actually a butler posing as Mr. Boddy, while real Mr. Boddy has been disguised as the butler.

Characters appearing in Cluedo Master Detective and UK Super Cluedo Challenge

Miss Peach

An American Southern Belle type who claims to be Boddy's long-lost stepniece. When pressed, she decided on short notice to take a vacation in the country. Any country. Her favorite flower is deadly nightshade. Nearly every variation and update of Clue has included Miss Peach, leading some to consider her the seventh "canon" guest. Her character traits and looks are similar to the earlier Miss Scarlets. She also has been considered as Miss Scarlet's rival as the youngest suspect. Clue Mysteries confirms this. Her first name is Georgia in Master Detective (pun likely intended). She also starred in Clue FX as an innocent investigator of the murder of Mr. Meadow-Brooke, and becomes a suspect in Clue Mysteries, the game where her name is Amelia.In the British version, Miss Peach is the local schoolteacher, and is usually engaged to either Dr. Black or Mr. Slate-Grey. Her name in Britain is supposedly Emily. She was mentioned in the recent 'Clue Mysteries' book series as Georgia Peach, a friend of Miss Scarlet.

Monsieur Brunette

An art and arms dealer, Monsieur Brunette is the British stereotype of a French artiste. In laters editions, he would be replaced by Prince Azure, M. Brunette nearly made a killing in Paris, producing the missing arms of the Venus D'Milo. His business is in ruins now because Boddy has questioned some of the works of Brunette sold him. He is a man of many talents, many accents, and many passports. This is the only board game he appeared in, but he did feature in the VCR Mystery games. In Master Detective, he is depicted as a young man with a stereotypical French buret along with thick dark brown hair and moustache, where his name is Alphonse. This is similar to his depiction in the VCR games except that he is older and sports an eyepatch. In Europe, Brunette is depicted as clean shaven handsome beau. Gone are the stereotypical French accessories.

Madame Rose

Madame Rose represents the stock character of fortune teller and medium. The Clue VCR game suggested that she was Mr. Boddy's sister, but the board game states she is his secretary. It is possible that she might, in fact, be both. She resigned from his office and moved to Hungary to set up a shop as a seer, when, in a trance, she saw Mr. Boddy's death. She left her shop a few days later and took a very slow boat back to England, and when she got to Tudor Close, she discovered she was too late. Or was she . . . ? Usually, she is portrayed as an obese, middle-aged Hungarian, this is the same for the VCR games. However in Europe, she is much more refined as she is younger and thinner, dumping the haggard look.

Sergeant Grey

Sergeant Grey is a handsome, charming man, release from the RAF to join the British army. He is less a stock character than most. After leaving the armed services, he joined to the police force, although often appears in his original uniform. Although he appears at first to be a hero come to save the day, but is later shown to be either a corrupt blackmailer or even an escapee from an insane asylum. Seeing things as either black or white, his approach to solving crime is unimaginative and straightforward. His expression Master Detective is serious and no-nonsense unlike the VCR games where he is displayed as mentally unhinged and frazzled. In Europe, he is a much older plump man similar to the old versions of Mr./Rev. Green complete with the scarce of hair. Unlike other two Sgt. Greys, he is displayed with a more wealthy look, losing the police outfit. This perhaps suggests that he is either not here on business or he is at the mansion in a disguise of a regular rich guest. In Passport to Murder, he is no longer a sergeant but has become either an Earl or a Count. He is replaced by Lord Grey in Clue FX, as well as Mr. Slate-Grey in many Cluedo versions.

Captain Brown

Featured only once, in the Super Cluedo Challenge. Presumably a drunk who thinks he's a ladies man. His name is supposedly Robert.

Mr. Slate-Grey

Also featured only in Super Cluedo Challenge, Graham Slate-Grey has the distinction of being the only character in Britain with only a "mister" in front of his name.

Mrs. Boddy

The mother of Mr. Boddy and sister of Dr. Black. In the film, her character was replaced by Mrs. Ho, the cook. In UK Super Cluedo Challenge, She is mentioned but not seen. She was befriended by Mrs. Peacock. She appears to be an old woman in a formal dress and she wears diamond earrings with white hair and glasses.

Clue FX

Recently Hasbro released a new game of Clue called Clue FX. It's an electronic talking version with audio voices and clues. The victim in this version is no longer Mr. Boddy or Dr. Black but is Mr. Meadow-brook. Along with it came some new characters.

Lady Lavender

An herbalist who possibly poisoned her husband, Lord Lavender, Lady Lavender is an honorable lady who tends to be a slight bit of a trouble-maker at times. Her Oriental heritage is reminiscent of the earlier Miss Scarlets (Circa. 1972-1992). In Clue FX, she was an innocent investigator of the death of Mr. Meadow-Brooke. Interestingly, in the Clue Junior book series, there is a stock character named Mrs. Lavender.

Mrs. Meadow-Brooke

Wife of the deceased Mr. Meadow-Brooke whose murder investigation was headed by Miss Peach with the aid of Lady Lavender, Prince Azure, and Lord Grey. She is situated on a turquiose base, correlating with her Namesake (Meadow/Green, Brook(e) /Blue)She is the local gossip according to Clue cannon, and she and Mr. Meadow-Brooke were strongly implied to have severe marital problems.

Prince Azure

An art and arms dealer, possible partner to M. Brunette, Azure has both an elusive royal lineage and a knack for cashing in on it. This indicated a master fraud and manipulator. He is known to have a rivalry with Colonel Mustard, and an intense dislike for Mr. Boddy, but he is not a suspect in anybody's deaths thus far. He is the first black character in official Clue canon.

Rusty Naylor

Crusty and old, Rusty is the gardener at Tudor Mansion. He makes his first appearance in Clue FX as a suspect in the murder of Mr. Meadow-Brook(e). He returned in Clue Mysteries and the Clue DVD Game. Not much is known about this character, save minor details hidden throughout the games. It is strongly implied that Rusty, whose last name is given as Nayler, is soon to retire on a pension set aside for him, which may explain why he is not present in the original version of Clue. Either this, or both Nayler and Ashe are on vacation during the murder.

Lord Grey

Grey is a hard color for Clue to decide how to use, as MD gave us Sgt. Grey and FX gave us Lord Grey as an investigator who looked more like a director or a journalist. We later learned that he designs water gardens.

Film and DVD

The Butler

The butler is rarely used in Clue, but when he is, he is usually a character that is most connected with the watching audience. The butler was the lead character in the 1985 film Clue: The Movie, and was played by Tim Curry. He appeared as a handsome Englishman named Wadsworth, who was always ever so neat and tidy with his buttling. There might be more to him however than there seems: in one of the endings, the character turns out to be the actual Mr. Boddy. Because he organized the whole gathering, he appoints himself as the de facto leader of the group.

Also in 1985 the butler appeared in the VCR games. This time named Didit, he provided interaction with the audience to describe the rules and gameplay. The butler has also made unnamed appearances in the computer games. In recent editions the butler has made prominent appearances as Mr. Ashe. The butler also appears for a humorous moment or two in the movie clip sequences. He was called Hogarth in the special Cluedo Super Sleuth and was not a suspect. Instead he was there to either help or thwart players. He is called Ashe in the Australian version.

The Inspector

The Inspector works for Scotland Yard, and is mentioned in a couple of Clue games. He is named Inspector Brown in Clue (2003), Cluedo SFX, Clue Mysteries, and is a narrator on the Clued DVD Game. In Cluedo Super Sleuth, he is Inspector Gray and either helps or thwarts the players.

The 1985 film has two policeman characters arrive at the mansion. The first is "the Cop", a middle-aged police officer and the only African-American character. The Cop arrives at Hill House ostensibly looking for the owner of the Motorist's abandoned car. Like the Motorist (see below), he is murdered (with the lead pipe) while using the telephone. He is later revealed to be a dishonest police officer in the Washington area. He has been taking bribes from Miss Scarlett to keep quiet about her brothel, and at the same time informing on her to Mr. Boddy. He is played by Bill Henderson.

The second police character, usually known as "the Chief", initially seems to be a gag character, an evangelist who comes to the door talking about "the Kingdom of Heaven". However, in all three endings he acts as the film's deus ex machina, turning out to be an undercover police chief who arrests the murderer or murderers. He is played by Howard Hesseman in an uncredited role.

The Chief is accompanied by three cops in credited non-speaking roles, played by Will Nye, Rick Goldman, and Don Camp.

Yvette

A young and rather revealingly-dressed French maid, she appears in the 1985 movie. She speaks English only passably and with an accent. Although she is murdered with the rope late into the movie, she is still considered a prime suspect, and her French accent is ultimately shown to be a ruse. She was played by Colleen Camp.

Mrs. Ho

The chef at Hill House. Initially she was meant to be Mr. Boddy's mother, but because the creators could find no way to place this into the story she was simply cast as Mrs. Ho, or more commonly, "the Cook." She appears in two brief but memorable scenes: her infamous "knife pointing" scene and her bashing the gong. Her unwieldy corpse gets much more screen time, as she is stabbed with the knife early in the film. She was played by Kellye Nakahara.

The Motorist

The first "outsider" to arrive at Hill House, the Motorist seems to be an unfortunate middle-aged man who seeks shelter from the rain because his car has broken down. However, he is murdered (with the wrench) while making a telephone call. He is revealed later as one of Mr. Boddy's informants. He is played by Jeffrey Kramer.

The Singing Telegram Girl

She is something of a gag character: while the Motorist and the Cop are killed not long after their arrival at the mansion, she is shot with the revolver almost immediately, even before she can complete her singing telegram. She is later revealed to be a former patient and lover of Professor Plum.

References

Books

Except as noted, the original hardcover books were published by Turtleback, and had various authors. Later paperback reissues are credited "Book created by A.E. Parker", and are published by Scholastic Press. Dates below are for the first publication. ISBNs are for the paperback reissue.

Who Killed Mr. Boddy?, by Eric Weiner (1992) ISBN 0-590-46110-9
The Secret Secret Passage, by Eric Weiner (1992) ISBN 0-590-45631-8
The Case of the Invisible Cat, by Eric Weiner (1992) ISBN 0-590-45632-6
Mystery at the Masked Ball, by Eric Weiner (1993) ISBN 0-590-45633-4
Midnight Phone Calls, by Eric Weiner (1994) ISBN 0-590-47804-4
Booby Trapped, by A. E. Parker and Eric Weiner (1994) ISBN 0-590-47805-2
The Picture Perfect Crime, by Jahnna N. Malcolm (1994) ISBN 0-590-48735-3
The Clue in the Shadows, by A. E. Parker (1995) ISBN 0-590-48934-8
Mystery in the Moonlight, by Marie Jacks (1995) ISBN 0-590-48935-6
The Case of the Screaming Skeleton, by Marie Jacks (1995) ISBN 0-590-48936-4
Death by Candlelight, by Marie Jacks (1995) ISBN 0-590-62374-5
The Haunted Gargoyle, by Marie Jacks (1996) ISBN 0-590-62375-3
The Revenge of the Mummy, by Marie Jacks (1996) ISBN 0-590-62376-1
The Dangerous Diamond, by Marie Jacks (1996) ISBN 0-590-62377-X
The Vanishing Vampire, by Marie Jacks (1996) ISBN 0-590-13742-5
Danger After Dark, by Dona Smith (1997) ISBN 0-590-13743-3
The Clue in the Crystal Ball, by Dona Smith (1997) ISBN 0-590-13744-1
Footprints in the Fog, by Dona Smith (1997) ISBN 0-590-13745-X

Other media

Jonathan Lynn (Director) (1985). Clue (Film). USA: Paramount.
- Landis, John (1985). "Clue (script)". AwesomeFilm.com. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Clue official web site
- Suspect bios (official site)
Clue the Musical cast
Extensive Clue Collection and Fan Discussion Forums TheArtofMurder.com