Best movie of this year hands down!

Really Surprised!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Very crafty thriller has adulterous wife Ross plotting celebrity clairvoyant husband's murder to ostensibly inherit his fortune and live happily ever after with her obeying younger suitor Bostwick. But there's more to the plot than meets the eye.Holbrook gives an energetic performance to match the wit and wile of his scheming vixen wife, a rare quality role for Ross as her career began to decline in the late 70's. Dependable second lead Richard Anderson is very good in the important supporting role as Holbrook's loyal friend and attorney, whilst former Hollywood almost-a-star Jeff Donnell has a curious role for someone of her status, as Anderson's faithful housekeeper. The ensemble cast are all terrific and their appreciation of the timing and delivery needed to keep the plot tight and the audience guessing is pitch perfect.This is one of those TV movies they used to make in the halcyon era of the 70's/80's that you'd want to seek out and find on DVD to keep for posterity; not only a great whodunnit- style mystery, but a reminder of the quality of TV movies before networks apparently abandoned the concept for sitcoms and never-ending procedural dramas. Vale TV movies, especially when they're made like this one, an absolute pearler.

To appreciate "Murder by Natural Causes", first you have to accept its TV-movie limitations: few sets, few characters, pauses for commercial breaks, direction with no cinematic interest. The emphasis here is on the writing and the acting. The script has many clever (but not phenomenal) twists. The main plot device reminded me somewhat of Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" (which was filmed three years later). The acting is top-of-the-line: the term "bad Hal Holbrook performance" hasn't been invented yet, as for Katharine Ross, judging from the three films I've seen her in ("The Stepford Wives", "The Swarm", and this one), she must be one of the most underrated (in beauty as well as talent) actresses of the seventies. (**1/2)

I am in absolute agreement with the other reviewer - you simply cannot top this plot. If there ever was a title for the cleverest script in TV movie history 'Murder By Natural Causes' would win hands down. Yes, there are very few (The Last of Sheila, Guilty Conscience) that are pretty close but this one is as close to perfection as any script of the genre will come. It is no surprise, of course, that the same team that created Columbo is responsible for this movie.Practically unknown, it will probably never be issued on a DVD. What a pity - a textbook script that nobody will remember only because people prefer to watch Dumb and Dumber instead.

I must admit that before editing this movie I was dreading having to watch this movie just because the year was 1979 when it was made. As I began watching this movie I totally forgot about the year and got caught up in the mind reader. I also was curious to where I had seen the wife's secret lover before. And then I realized it was the Mayor from Spin City. It was pretty funny watching this movie because of the way this character was acting.I like the whole plot though. It kept me in suspense throughout the whole movie. This is a good movie to rent. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE YEAR 1979!!!2 THUMBS UP!