Phoebe (Sean Young) spent all her money to move to Rome but she gets stood up. With no money, she notices a Dachshund Lost ad in the newspaper with $5k reward. The owner is in Monte Carlo and unemployed actor Julian Peters (Richard Lewis) joins her for a cut. On the train there, Julian sells the dog to Augie Morosco (John Candy) who married Elena (Ornella Muti) for her money. Neil Schwary (Jim Belushi) is going for the gambling but his wife Marilyn (Cybill Shepherd) is leery of him wasting all their money. Julian and Phoebe get kicked off the train for not having vet papers for the dog. They finally arrive to find the owner dead. Inspector Bonnard (Giancarlo Giannini) leads the investigation and Julian becomes a suspect. Neil steals a suitcase and finds a dead body inside. Alfonso de la Pena (George Hamilton) is a local gigolo.

These are all unlikable ugly American characters. A manic John Candy gambling from one table to the next is almost funny. It's chaos. The screwball comedy falls flat. I wouldn't mind Bonnard putting every one of them in prison. Eugene Levy as a director may not be the best but the writing is no winner either. The cast is stacked but this is simply not funny.

I admit that "Once Upon a Crime" probably will not add anything to the cinematic landscape in the near future. But it's so funny. Set in Monaco, a group of unacquainted tourists (among them John Candy, Jim Belushi and Cybill Shephard) get involved in a murder plot, the answer to which may or may not be closer than they think.

If absolutely nothing else, this movie will prove that Monaco is like Las Vegas, only much more desirable in every way. And John Candy is his usual goofy self, Jim Belushi and Cybill Shephard are at each other's heels constantly, and Giancarlo Giannini plays the police chief. More or less, the whole movie is "Murder on the Orient Express" set in Monaco. I should remind you that unless you tolerate the kind of off-the-wall humor that dominated movies throughout the '80's and early '90's, you won't like "Once Upon a Crime" one bit. Otherwise, you'll have a great time.

I saw this ages ago when I was younger and could never remember the title, until one day I was scrolling through John Candy's film credits on IMDb and noticed an entry named "Once Upon a Crime...". Something rang a bell and I clicked on it, and after reading the plot summary it brought back a lot of memories.

I've found it has aged pretty well despite the fact that it is not by any means a "great" comedy. It is, however, rather enjoyable and is a good riff on a Hitchcock formula of mistaken identity and worldwide thrills.

The movie has a large cast of characters, amongst them an American couple who find a woman's dog while vacationing in Europe and decide to return it to her for a reward - only to find her dead body upon arrival. From there the plot gets crazier and sillier and they go on the run after the police think they are the killers.

Kind of a mix between "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" and a lighter Hitchcock feature, this was directed by Eugene Levy and he managed to get some of his good friends - such as John Candy - to star in it. The movie is mostly engaging due to its cast, and the ending has a funny little twist that isn't totally unpredictable but also is kind of unexpected.