This is one of my favorite movies from when I was a kid and my grandparents first got cable. For some reason they were able to receive HBO for free and Murder by Death was one of those movies that always seemed to be on. I enjoyed it at the time but barely understood what the references were.
For those unfamiliar, it's a parody of the all-star cast Agatha Christie type mystery movies, in which mysterious gazillionaire (Truman Capote) invites a bunch of famous detectives to his mansion for some sort of mysterious gathering. They have knockoffs of Sam Spade (Peter Falk), Charlie Chan (Peter Sellers), Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot (can't remember) and Nick and Nora Charles (David Niven & Maggie Smith) plus each detective has someone else with him and there are hapless servants, the blind butler (Alec guiness and Nancy Walker).
I watched it again a couple of years ago and it just got better now that I get all the jokes and references. It's a bit of a mess in terms of the actual plot but that's somewhat intentional I think and anyway the plot is hardly the point. I love the way all the characters are parodied (the casting is perfect) and the actors all seem to be having fun.
Apparently the movie was a pretty big hit when it came out in 1976 but it's fallen off the radar almost completely. I am thrilled that it is on Netflix's Watch it now lineup and hope that helps it find some new fans.