In this season of Only Murders in the Building, the trio goes to Hollywood. Well, they physically go to Hollywood for about half an episode before returning to the familiar hallways of the Arconia to get back to the business of amateur sleuthing. But thematically, at least, the entire season is a clever homage to the silver screen and to the eccentric people who devote their lives to it.
After the last season set the scene under the bright lights of Broadway, Season 4 sees the trio mixing with oddballs of the film world as their podcast is adapted for the screen. After a quick trip to Los Angeles and a pit stop at the iconic Paramount Studios lot, the trio head back to New York to investigate the murder of Sazz Pataki, Charles' stunt double. As the mystery unfolds, it becomes clear that Sazz‘s death may have been linked to the on-going production of the film. It also might have something to do with the “Westies,” the residents who live in the west tower of the Arconia across the courtyard from Charles’ apartment—who are, it eventually turns out, also movie people.
Not only is the murder mystery literally set within the world of film, the loose strands of the mystery mimic the illusory quality of the silver screen, too. The mystery revolves around the concept of doubles. Sazz is Charles' stunt double and her murderer may have been targeting Charles. Actors enter the scene to double as the main trio. Loretta’s stand-in causes confusion for Oliver. The film’s directors are a pair of (not-so) identical twins. If film is a copy of reality—a double—so is this season’s murder.
As fans of OMITB know all too well, the show is jam packed full of Easter eggs. And this season, it’s the film clues that prove the most interesting. For a start, each episode takes its name from a classic film, whose plot and structure offers a little hint about the mystery. Plus, each episode is packed full of other more subtle nods to the world of cinema.
In a season dedicated to the world of film, could the film references provide the key to unlocking the mystery?
Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968
The title of the first episode is taken from Sergio Leone’s 1968 spaghetti western. On a practical level, the title works for this episode. After all, the trio head “west” to Hollywood to meet with the production team about the film. In the next episode the west theme continues when we meet the so-called “Westies” who live in the west tower of the Arconia.
Once Upon a Time in the West also gets shout-out in the episode. Charles falls asleep watching the film. In his voiceover, he uses this film to highlight the thematic importance of film this season: “A great movie moment can live in your head forever,” he says. ”The opening of Once Upon a Time in the West is seven minutes of nothing but sounds and images, but when you see it you never forget it.”
At the end of the episode this filmic technique is used as the trio discovers Sazz’s body in the incinerator. No words are spoken. Instead, the discovery plays out cinematically, taking inspiration from Leone’s film. The silent opening scene of Once Upon a Time in the West is intercut with the sequence to highlight that, yes, Season 4 of OMITB is paying homage to cinematic storytelling.
Mulholland Drive, 2001
A more subtle reference in the first episode. Film fans may spot that Sazz appears to live at the very same apartment complex that was used as the set for David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive. The trio also meet the team at Paramount Studios, where Naomi Watts' Betty has her first Hollywood audition in the 2001 film.
Lynch’s dark, dream-like film is both an homage to old Hollywood and a dark critique of its inner workings. This is a hint that Only Murders may, in its own way, be delving into both sides of Hollywood this season. Everything is not what it seems in Mulholland Drive—eventually, it turns out that each character is actually someone else. In this season of OMITB, filled with doubles and stand-ins, the same theme may emerge.
Gates of Heaven, 1978
Episode 2 is named after an oddly touching 1978 documentary about a pet cemetery business. In a flashback to a documentary about Sazz’s work as a stunt double, she mentions the film. "Gates of Heaven. You ever seen it? It‘s the first time I ever saw real people just being themselves and being worthy as characters, too," says Sazz in the documentary, before Charles’ imagined version of Sazz adds, “It was about pet cemeteries. That was some deep existential shit about the afterlife.”
Interestingly, animals seem to be becoming important this season. We meet a cadaver dog, a guard cat, and a Portuguese pig. Howard is even busy with his own podcast about “animal jobs.” Perhaps the Gates of Heaven reference might indicate that the animals this season are worth keeping an eye on.
Rear Window, 1954
In Episode 2, Charles introduces Oliver and Mabel to the “Westies.” He has been watching them through his window from across the courtyard of the Arconica. The odd set-up of the building means he has an intimate view into their daily lives. His view of these windows, each of which contains its own fascinating little world (and, perhaps, a murderer) is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, in which James Stewart’s Jeff, a bedridden photographer, watches his neighbors through their back windows and becomes convinced he’s witnessed a murder through his window.
Two for the Road, 1967
The third episode is named after the 1967 film Two for the Road, which starred Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney as an unlikely couple who are thrown together on a road trip. In this episode, the trio find themselves paired off with their own unlikely partners in the form of their acting doubles. Two for the Road unravels in flashbacks, much like the mystery in OMITB.
Stunt Man, 1980
Episode 4, which sees the trio investigating at Concussions, a bar for stunt people, is aptly named after the 1980 film Stunt Man. Much like this season of OMITB, the film plays with the idea of doubles. In the film, a run-away criminal accidentally kills a stuntman on a film set. The director helps him escape when he takes the stunt man’s place. In other words, he doubles as the double.
More and more doubles are emerging this season—in the next episode, Episode 5, we even get a photoshoot that involves a stand-in for the acting double, effectively leaving us with not one but two reflections of each main character.
Could the Stunt Man reference be a hint that there might be a third double involved in the mystery? Could Sazz have yet another look alike who played a part in her death?
John Wick, 2014
A John Wick poster hangs on the wall of Concussions alongside a poster for CoBro, the fictional action franchise that starred Ben Glenroy, last season’s victim.
Presumably, Keanu Reeves' stunt double frequents the bar.
Is there more to this reference? In the next episode, Marshall has a book entitled They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog by Edward Gross and Mark Altman, which features an essay about, you guessed it, the murder of John Wick’s dog, which sets the action of the film in motion. Once again, animal murder seems to be a very subtle running theme. Oh, and it may be worth noting that Oliver’s dog, Winnie, was poisoned way back in Season 1—and we still don’t know who was responsible.
Jack--- Forever, 2022
Glen Stubbins, Ben’s stunt double, had a stand-in role in the film—because of course he did.
Adaptation, 2002
In Episode 5, the film references start coming in thick and fast. The title of the episode is Adaptation, a reference to the 2002 film by Charlie Kaufman, in which Nicolas Cage plays a fictional version of Kaufman himself, who finds himself living a double life within his own screenplay, an adaptation of Susan Orlean’s real The Orchid Thief. It’s a wacky film that plays with the ideas of reality and fiction and, yes, doubles, through the lens of cinema.
This episode focuses on Marshall P. Pope, the writer of the Only Murders in the Building film. He is, it turns out, struggling with imposter syndrome. Feeling like a fraud, he wears a false beard and non-prescription glasses to give himself the aura of a writer. Could the reference to Adaptation indicate that Marshall is more involved in the story he is adapting than the trio realizes? Could his fake beard and glasses indicate that he himself is the double of a different writer?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
Marshall has a Post-It note with the basic structure of another Kaufman film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, on his mirror. Next to it is a book by Kaufman and a picture of Kaufman. Essentially, he’s a Kaufman wannabe—and his imposter syndrome may turn out to be more warranted than it seems.
Ace Ventura, 1994
Marshall mentions an especially silly film from the Jim Carrey oeuvre, Ace Ventura, saying he wants to look like he can quote “David Foster Wallace and Ace Ventura." In other words, that he’s both book smart and pop culture savvy—just like the writers on Only Murders are.
There may be a little more to this reference: Ace Ventura follows a pet detective who looks into crimes against pets. This plays into the theory that there is more to Howard’s Animal Jobs podcast, the previous Gates of Heaven reference and the John Wick reference—could the murder of a pet become important as this season’s mystery continues to unfold?
Singin' in the Rain, 1952
After Marshall raises concerns about the logistics of the murder timeline, Charles pitches the murder to the team, much as someone might pitch a film to a producer. “Picture this,” he says, as the film ratio morphs into a cinematic widescreen. It seems to be a subtle nod to a filmic trope of a movie within a movie as seen when Gene Kelly’s Don Lockwood pitches his idea for a movie to his producer in Singin' in the Rain’s famous “Broadway Melody” sequence.
James Bond
Charles' pitch for the murder plays out like an opening sequence to a James Bond film, white suit, martini, music and all. After all, how could a season dedicated to movies not reference one of the most famous on-screen franchises of all time?
Barbie, 2023
Bev Melon notes she passed on producing Greta Gerwig’s Barbie last year. A big miss for her, no wonder she’s desperate.
The Godfather (1, 2 and 3)
While the trio are posing during the photoshoot, the Brothers Sisters ask them to do "The Godfather 1, 2 and 3." Of course they do, they’re film nerds.
Dune, 2021
Another passing reference to a modern phenomenon, Eva Longoria says it’s too dusty. “What is this, Dune?"
Blow-Up, 1966
In Episode 5, Marshall has a giant poster of this film on his wall. And, surprise surprise, it’s a poster that features a row of identical faces doubled over and over again. (It’s very on-theme).
This film is also the title of the sixth episode, which is structured as a found footage documentary created by the Brothers Sisters. On one hand, this title makes perfect sense: by the end of the episode, the text messages from the killer effectively blow up the trio’s investigation and they are forced to flee the Arconia.
But the film also makes sense thematically: Blow-Up is about a photographer who believes he has accidentally captured proof of a murder during a fashion photoshoot in a park. It’s a psychological thriller that ultimately hints that he may in fact be an unreliable narrator. Maybe, there was no murder in the first place.
At the beginning of Episode 6, Tawny Brothers states that their documentary will be told in “the language of film. The footage is sourced from many different angles, cameras and lenses to give a multi-dimensional perspective, as only cameras can, of the truth.”
By the end of the episode we still don’t know why Tawny’s footprint was seemingly on the windowsill of Dudenoff’s apartment. If she wasn’t there to shoot Sazz with a rifle, maybe she was there to shoot footage. And maybe, much like in Blow-Up, perhaps some of this footage might contain a (reliable or not-so reliable) clue about the night’s of Sazz’s murder. In a season dedicated to the art of film, it’s likely that the camera lens might offer both a glimpse into the truth and a distortion of it—just as it does in Blow-Up.
Un Chien Andalou, 1929, Metropolis, 1927 and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920
The trio turn to the Brothers Sisters' creepy student film The Desecration of Alice while searching for clues about their relationship with Dudenoff, their old film professor. Their black-and-white film is an eerie surrealist piece about twin sisters who do the bloody bidding of their creator—and there’s some kind of anti-sugar message. That seems to nod to the avant garde surreal films of the 1920s such as 1927’s Metropolis, 1929’s Un Chien Andalou or 1920’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Endearingly, hilariously, this is exactly the kind of weird s--t a pretentious young film student would be inspired to make.
Moonstruck, 1987
In Episode 6, we learn that the Westies are, in fact, all film people, too. In fact, they all found their rent controlled apartments because they were once film students of Dudenoff. Vince Fish loves the movies! And to prove it, he immediately quotes a memeable moment of Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck, and Charles and Oliver soon join in. “I lost my hand! I lost my bride! Johnny has his hand! Johnny has his bride!”
It’s not the first time OMITB has seemingly referenced Moonstruck: Meryl Streep‘s character is named Loretta, just like Cher‘s character in Moonstruck and last season’s Dr. Cammareri shares the same last name as Cage’s character, Ronny.
Catch Me If You Can, 2002
Rudy apparently had a cameo in Catch Me If You Can that was cut after he kept looking at the camera.
Valley of the Dolls, 1967
Episode 7 is named after the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls. The trio camp out at Charles' sister’s Long Island house—which is filled with her very creepy doll collection.
The 1967 film follows three young women on their rise and fall in showbiz, uncovering the dark side of the industry. As this season continues to shed light on the inner workings of Hollywood, it seems to be gearing up for a mystery that somehow also brings this darker side of show business to light.
Lifeboat, 1944
Lifeboat is the title of the eighth episode, and it also bookends the episode.
“Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat is a film set entirely in a small boat filled with disparate characters who learn how far they’d go to survive the rough waters of their perilous circumstances," says the voiceover of Professor Dudenoff, as the episode begins with clips from the film. He goes on to compare this set-up to his own “lifeboat” filled with strangers in the West Tower of the Arconia: “In New York City, a lifeboat can look a lot like an affordable apartment in a nice building on the Upper West Side.”
By the end of the episode, we have learned that Dudenoff wasn’t murdered—rather, he killed himself and asked his lifeboat full of Oh Hell players to cover up his death so that they could continue living in their rent controlled apartments and keep the lifeboat going.
“Whether or not everyone makes it back to shore in the movie Lifeboat I’ll leave for you to discover," he says. “But what the film is really about is found families fighting together for their survival in waters that can be really tough to get through if you’re all alone.”
This may not be a clue to the mystery of Sazz’s death, but it is a lovely metaphor for one of the show’s on-going themes of loneliness and found-families in the big Apple.
A Few Good Men, 1992
Rudy performs the entire Jack Nicholson “You can’t handle the truth!” speech from the 1992 Rob Reiner film A Few Good Men. It’s an iconic speech from film history and, similarly, it’s an iconic moment for OMITB.
“One day we watched A Few Good Men in Professor Dudenoff’s class," explains Rudy as he recalls how he met the film professor. “I ran up to him afterwards on the street and I said, ‘I studied the monologue from that film for my previous class.’”
Apparently, Kumail Nanjiani memorized the entire speech before filming the scene and left the entire cast completely floored.
It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946
Vince Fish recalls watching the Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life in Dudenoff’s class. “You know, the reason It’s a Wonderful Life is timeless comes down to one thing. Casting. You know, if you can populate your story with the right people your work will live forever," says Dudenoff of the film, referring to the unforgettable performances from Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
This introduces the idea that Dudenoff surrounded himself with his own cast of irreplaceable characters at the Arconia.
The Apartment, 1960
Dudenoff continues to chat casting, mentioning “Jack Lemon in The Apartment." He’s not wrong. Plus, it’s an apt reference since this show is—you know—all about apartments.
Terms of Endearment, 1983
Dudenoff is a film guy and the eighth episode is filled with little film references. Evidently, it’s the lens through which he sees the world. As he explains his little plan for faking his move to Portugal, he reassures his friends that it’s he’s “an old guy so it’s not like Terms of Endearment sad."
Casablanca, 1942
Dudenoff’s final words to Helga are, appropriately, a reference to one of the most famous classic films of all time. “Here’s looking at you, kid,” he says in his filmed goodbye message.
Escape from Planet Klongo, 2024
Not a real movie—episode nine is also the first episode whose title is not inspired by a classic film. It is, however, a pretend upcoming Ron Howard film. As Bev says, “No one knows what it’s about or who’s in it but I did hear that it’s very autobiographical, very personal, very small and the budget is $200 million.” Based on Charles and Oliver’s bizarre green screen appearance as background actors, it has something to do with terrified aliens and will involve some deplorable CGI.
