Movie: Murder by the Book

Top 10 Billed Cast

Robert Hays
Robert Hays

D.H. 'Hank' Mercer / Biff Deegan

Catherine Mary Stewart
Catherine Mary Stewart

Marissa

Christopher Murney
Christopher Murney

Lt. Greenberg

Fred Gwynne
Fred Gwynne

Victor Greville

Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm

Claire

Jonathan Moore
Jonathan Moore

Nicholas Rubinstein

Martin Neufeld
Martin Neufeld

Pete

Michael Copeman
Michael Copeman

Bunty Webb
Bunty Webb

Eric Keenleyside
Eric Keenleyside

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    Mild-mannered mystery writer D. H. Mercer has become so immersed in his material that his creation, hard-boiled private eye Biff Deegan, constantly appears to him as a hallucination. Intent on getting rid of Biff, and replacing him with a more civilized detective, Mercer soon finds himself in a genuine mystery involving art fraud, murder, and a beautiful lady in peril.

  • Release Date

    1987-03-17

  • Average

    6.25

  • Rating:

    3.1 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Schizopolis
62%

Schizopolis(en)

1997-04-02

A man works for the unpleasant guru of a Scientology-like movement.

Another Thin Man
71%

Another Thin Man(en)

1939-11-17

Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.

LaRoy, Texas
69%

LaRoy, Texas(en)

2024-04-12

Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.

The Thin Man Goes Home
71%

The Thin Man Goes Home(en)

1944-12-24

On a trip to visit his parents, detective Nick Charles gets mixed up in a murder investigation.

Shadow of the Thin Man
70%

Shadow of the Thin Man(en)

1941-11-21

High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.

Song of the Thin Man
68%

Song of the Thin Man(en)

1947-08-28

Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.

The Glass Key
66%

The Glass Key(en)

1942-09-08

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Deadly Estate
71%

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Deadly Estate(en)

2017-04-09

When Hailey helps her friend Pam sell her recently deceased parent’s estate, she becomes suspicious when Pam suddenly leaves town without notice. To make matters worse, Pam's boyfriend is the sudden victim of an accident and the man Hailey's dating, Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Jonas McClellan, falls critically ill. Now Hailey must determine: Are all these events a coincidence?

No Name on the Bullet
66%

No Name on the Bullet(en)

1959-02-01

When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.

The Blue Gardenia
65%

The Blue Gardenia(en)

1953-03-20

Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.

Revenge of the Pink Panther
64%

Revenge of the Pink Panther(en)

1978-01-08

Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau is dead. At least that is what the world—and Charles Dreyfus—believe when a dead body is discovered in Clouseau's car after being shot off the road. Naturally, Clouseau knows differently and, taking advantage of not being alive, sets out to discover why an attempt was made on his life.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again
69%

The Pink Panther Strikes Again(en)

1976-09-16

Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
69%

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story(en)

2005-07-23

The maniacal baby of the Griffin family, Stewie, meets his future self. In doing this he discovers that his future image is not what he has anticipated because of a near death experience.

Return to Mayberry
62%

Return to Mayberry(en)

1986-04-13

After being away for awhile, Andy Taylor returns home to Mayberry to visit Opie, now an expectant father. While there he ends up helping Barney Fife mount a campaign for sheriff.

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love
73%

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love(en)

2016-10-23

Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?

Henry Danger: The Movie
76%

Henry Danger: The Movie(en)

2025-01-17

Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.

Slumberland
73%

Slumberland(en)

2022-11-18

A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.

The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex
78%

The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex(en)

2013-06-01

While trying to prove to her family she can be mature and responsible, teen wizard Alex Russo conjures up a spell to rid herself of her bad qualities, unintentionally creating a Good and Evil Alex. When Evil Alex gets involved in a plan to take over the world by a dark wizard, Good Alex must find a way to save her family, humankind, and ultimately herself in an epic Good vs. Evil battle.

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition
65%

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition(en)

2024-10-17

A young, aspiring hero and superhero fan inadvertently unleashes a powerful new villain looking to rid the world of the Avengers.

Our Man Flint
64%

Our Man Flint(en)

1966-01-16

When scientists use eco-terrorism to impose their will on the world by affecting extremes in the weather, Intelligence Chief Cramden calls in top agent Derek Flint.

Similar Movies

The New Nose
70%

The New Nose(de)

1916-12-15

Ernst is on the prowl and therefore seeks advice from a matchmaker. As he likes the athlete Anna Muskel, but she only wants a man with a so-called "forend nose", he has an operation. The new nose is still a little sore and not healed, so he hurries to Anna. She is delighted with his new prong and gives Ernst a firm hug. This doesn't do the still "soft" nose any good and it is flattened. Ernst flees and tries to save what can be saved. Then Ernst wakes up in horror: it was only a dream.

What a Whopper
62%

What a Whopper(en)

1961-10-17

A writer attempts to raise some cash by writing a book about the Loch Ness Monster. No publisher will take it because they all think there isn't really a monster. The writer and some of his friends make a fake monster and take photographs and then travel to Scotland to see if they can convince the locals.

Swimming Pool
65%

Swimming Pool(en)

2003-05-21

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.

Caché
70%

Caché(fr)

2005-10-05

George, host of a television show focusing on literature, receives videos shot on the sly that feature his family, along with disturbing drawings that are difficult to interpret. He has no idea who has made and sent him the videos. Progressively, the contents of the videos become more personal, indicating that the sender has known George for a long time.

Psycho
84%

Psycho(en)

1960-06-22

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

Fight Club
84%

Fight Club(en)

1999-10-15

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Arsenic and Old Lace
76%

Arsenic and Old Lace(en)

1944-09-01

Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!

Breakfast at Tiffany's
76%

Breakfast at Tiffany's(en)

1961-10-06

Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.

The Snow White Murder Case
64%

The Snow White Murder Case(ja)

2014-03-29

Beautiful Noriko Miki works at a cosmetic company. One day, Noriko is murdered. People begin to suspect her co-worker Miki Shirono might have killed her. Television begins to cover her story. A TV show interviews Miki Shirono's colleagues, family, people from her hometown. Rumors turn into fear. Is she a wicked a woman?

Reservoir Dogs
81%

Reservoir Dogs(en)

1992-09-02

A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.

Housebound
66%

Housebound(en)

2014-09-04

When Kylie Bucknell is sentenced to home detention, she's forced to come to terms with her unsociable behaviour, her blabbering mother and a hostile spirit who seems less than happy about the new living arrangement.

Fermat's Room
66%

Fermat's Room(es)

2007-10-07

Four mathematicians are imprisoned in a shrinking room; with the walls closing in, they must try anything to escape this fatal puzzle.

Sleep Has Her House
67%

Sleep Has Her House(en)

2017-01-01

The shadows of screams climb beyond the hills. It has happened before. But this will be the last time. The last few sense it, withdrawing deep into the forest. They cry out into the black, as the shadows pass away, into the ground.

I Know Who Killed Me
45%

I Know Who Killed Me(en)

2007-07-27

An idyllic small town is rocked when Aubrey Fleming, a bright and promising young woman, is abducted and tortured by a sadistic serial killer. When she manages to escape, the traumatized girl who regains consciousness in the hospital insists that she is not who they think she is and that the real Aubrey Fleming is still in mortal danger.

Secret Window
66%

Secret Window(en)

2004-03-12

Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.

Adaptation.
73%

Adaptation.(en)

2002-12-06

Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean's book, become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others'.

Hearts Under the Olive Tree
54%

Hearts Under the Olive Tree(en)

2023-08-19

When a world-renowned author can’t find inspiration for her next fantasy book, her over-bearing mother takes her to a farmland retreat to get her creative juices flowing, but what she finds is even more magical…

The Woman Hunter
49%

The Woman Hunter(en)

1972-09-19

A wealthy woman, vacationing in Acapulco with her stuffy husband, stumbles upon evidence that she is being stalked by an international jewel thief and murderer.

Mr. Brooks
69%

Mr. Brooks(en)

2007-05-31

A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.

Kafka
65%

Kafka(en)

1991-11-15

After a colleague is murdered, insurance worker Kafka gets embroiled in an underground group who are attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society.