Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 October 18

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October 18

cyanide murder mystery

Forty years ago I read a murder mystery novel (which was probably already old then) in which the weapon was (some form of) cyanide hidden in candied almonds. Someone other than the intended victim bites into one, says "Wow, it's 200 proof, but I can take it," and dies. Later someone else (the detective?) is targeted with a bowl of liquid poison, strong enough to kill through the skin, hung in a car so that the driver will bump it with his head on entering.

Possibly by Rex Stout or, less likely, Agatha Christie. Ring any bells? —Tamfang (talk) 04:48, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is a 41 year old film, based on the 43 year old The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (novel). I only saw the movie, which featured potassium cyanide in almond cookies. I don't recall liquid poison being used, though, but perhaps it was in the book. StuRat (talk) 05:46, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Definitely no liquid poison in the movie. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:18, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Google Books to the rescue. I just searched on "It's 200 proof" and found the line here in The Red Box, which is indeed by Rex Stout. --69.159.60.147 (talk) 08:54, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Thank you. The name Glenna and the term "ortho-cousin" also resonate with my memory, though I couldn't have said they're in the same book. —Tamfang (talk) 12:44, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Agatha Christie was at least a good guess, since several of her novels and short stories feature poisonings (though the poisons tend to vary from story to story). Guess what the cause of death is in Sparkling Cyanide (1945). Dimadick (talk) 11:43, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Stout did the cyanide-in-the-champagne bit, too—in Champagne for One. Deor (talk) 20:11, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Which opens like a Bertie Wooster story, and I yearn to know if Wodehouse returned the compliment; they were friends. —Tamfang (talk) 09:11, 24 October 2017 (UTC)

Brazilian video where family starts eating their meal but then they murder each other at the table

Does anyone remember a Brazilian short film where a family is peacefully eating their meal, but then they start murdering each other at the table?

I believe the film is around 5 to 10 minutes long. I'm pretty sure I watched it around 2006-2008, so it can't be newer than that, naturally. I had it in a VHS tape. Thanks in advance. --Daniel Carrero (talk) 06:37, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Zillions of short films are made every year by students and then almost entirely forgotten, so if it doesn't have some notoriety it might be very difficult to track down again. (Unless you can remember more about where you got it, who was in it, etc.)

However, there's a chance you're remembering one of the vignettes from Killed the Family and Went to the Movies (1969 film), or the remake Killed the Family and Went to the Movies (1991 film). (I haven't seen it but my understanding is that these films were basically collections of weird shorts, with the framing device of a guy who did exactly what the title suggests.)

Either of those might have been available on VHS in 2006.

ApLundell (talk) 14:38, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll look into it. --Daniel Carrero (talk) 05:59, 21 October 2017 (UTC)