Put on your finest 80s ski gear and grab a cup of cocoa, because this isn’t your grandmother’s cozy mystery. Well, it is, but someone accidentally swapped the script with a slasher.
Season 5, Episode 4: Snow White, Blood Red (November 13, 1988)
Jessica Fletcher heads out to the luxurious Sable Mountain Lodge to hit the slopes with her nephew Grady. Unfortunately for Grady, he never even makes it on screen (as per tradition, poor guy gets ghosted by plot logistics), and Jessica finds herself trapped in a full-blown blizzard. But the weather isn’t the only thing freezing cold—someone at the lodge is packing a crossbow, turning a peaceful mountain getaway into a blood-soaked alpine nightmare.
Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?
Outside of our patron saint of typewriter ribbons, this episode packs an incredible 80s guest cast:
- John Laughlin (Mike Lowery): Recognized for playing Willard in Footloose and appearing in Cujo.
- Jamie Rose (Anne Lowery): Best known for starring as Vicki Gioberti in the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest. Also in Just Before Dawn.
- Cyril O’Reilly (John Dowd): Cult cinema icon famous for playing Tim in Porky’s, Stone in Splatter University, and various genre favorites.
- Tony O’Dell (Larry McIver): Instantly recognizable as Jimmy, the vicious Cobra Kai student who sweeps the leg in The Karate Kid.
- Eric Allan Kramer (Gunnar Tilstrom): A legendary character actor and giant of physical comedy famous for playing Little John in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights and an early Thor in The Incredible Hulk Returns.
- Emma Samms (Pamela Leeds): Soap opera royalty, globally famous for playing Fallon Carrington Colby on Dynasty and Holly Sutton Scorpio on General Hospital.
- Bo Svenson (Karl Anderson): Iconic Euro-cult and exploitation powerhouse starring as Nordic tough guys and villains in The Inglorious Bastards, Walking Tall Part II, Breaking Point and Deep Space.
- Barry Newman (Ed McMasters): Legendary cult action lead, unforgettable as Kowalski in the high-speed car chase classic Vanishing Point and the gritty 1970s legal drama Petrocelli.
- Ronnie Claire Edwards (Sylvia McMasters): Beloved television fixture eternally etched into history as the prim, buttoned-up storekeeper Corabeth Walton Godsey on The Waltons.
- George Wyner (Dr. Lewis): Comedy legend best known as the villainous Colonel Sandurz in Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs, with dozens of memorable appearances across classic television.
- Smaller roles are played by Kenny Davis, Craig Branham, John Arndt and Andrew Amador.
What happens?
Jessica arrives hoping to ski, but immediately walks into high-stakes tension between the lodge owners, a playboy ski pro and his ruthless agent Pamela. Before anyone can even unpack their sweaters, champion skier Gunnar is murdered on the slopes with a crossbow—in broad night-skiing illumination, no less!
Because of the blizzard, the lodge is entirely snowed in with a corpse, and the local authorities can’t get through. When a gynecologist is drafted to help examine the body alongside a deeply obnoxious ex-cop named Ed, the body count starts climbing. Another skier, Larry, turns up brutally strung up in a shower room in a scene straight out of a slasher and surviving team member Johnny takes an arrow to the shoulder.
Who did it?
It turns out the “ex-cop” Ed wasn’t an ex-cop at all — he was a mob hitman hired by a Nevada mob boss (whose wife Gunnar was sleeping with) to take out the skier. When Ed realized the murder was dragging him into a high-profile mess, he tried to cover his tracks by staging more killings and framing the drunken coach. But Ed made one fatal mistake: he underestimated Jessica Fletcher.
Jessica notices that Ed’s supposed cop instincts are garbage, catches inconsistencies in the gunshots and realizes Ed’s wife, Sylvia, was helping him coordinate via walkie-talkie—giving away their conspiracy with the telltale sound of sleigh bells in the background. Jessica traps Ed in the ski shop as he sets up another hit, leaving the fake cop dead to rights.
Who made it?
- Director: Vincent McEveety, who also worked on Columbo and Perry Mason.
- Writers: This was written by series creator Peter S. Fischer.
Does Jessica dress up and act stupid? Does she get some?
- Jessica bundles up in classic 80s winter resort gear, trading her tweed blazers for heavy winter coats as she trudges through snowbanks at midnight. Yet she doesn’t act dumb. While everyone else is panicking or saying offensive nonsense about the Bronx, Jess stays focused, keeps her cool while examining a crossbow victim, and lays an intellectual trap that makes the killer look like an amateur. Zero romance for Jess this week—she’s far too busy dodging arrows and outsmarting mob hitmen to worry about a ski lodge fling.
Was it any good?
If you normally find Murder, She Wrote a little too gentle, “Snow White, Blood Red” is an absolute revelation. Crossbows, a shower murder, massive 80s ski knitwear and an escalating body count make it one of the wildest episodes.
Any trivia?
Partly filmed at Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, California.
Give me a reasonable quote:
John Dowd: Mrs. Fletcher.
Jessica Fletcher: Johnny! You know, I had an idea that was you.
John Dowd: You’re not half bad. I thought you were out of practice.
Jessica Fletcher: Well, cross-country I can handle. But downhill it was total terror all the way. I have a feeling I’m gonna regret this tomorrow.
What’s next?
When a former student, now a lawyer, is arrested, Jessica heads to a small town in West Virginia to bail her out. Matters escalate when the businessman she was there to sue gets shot and killed. And will Jessica get Hoyt Axton all up in her guys?
Where can I watch this?
