Clue's Lesley Ann Warren & Colleen Camp Share Set Secrets 40 Years Later (Exclusive)

Starring Tim Curry, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean and Martin Mull, the comedy wasn't exactly a hit when it was released in theaters in 1985.

In the four decades since, however, it has become a major cult classic -- all thanks to the clever, quick script and the killer cast's go-for-broke performances.

To celebrate this month's momentous anniversary, TooFab's Brian Particelli caught up with Warren and Camp -- who played Miss Scarlett and Yvette, respectively -- over Zoom for a nostalgic chat about their first moments working together and favorite unsung moments from the film, before the conversation shifted to one about the realities of working as a character actress in Hollywood and perseverance of comedy.

Watch the full interview above -- or keep reading for more.

Colleen Camp: I don't even know if Leslie Ann remembers this, but I was saying recently, first of all, it's been extraordinary. Memories of how brilliant and conducive it was to work. And as we continue to work on different films and projects, I think the thing that really brings back a memory to me is what the atmosphere was like. And that when I relive that atmosphere and have that memory of how great it was to work together and to have that freedom, to have a director that let you be alive in those characters and that you actually were so excited about all the other actors and have that ensemble has been very emotional and nostalgic for me.

For me, anyway, remember, I was working with icons. So when I got on that set and I'm seeing Lesley Ann Warren, you were from Cinderella. I mean, I'm like, I've hit pay dirt. So that was a very emotional memory of what it was like to be an actress and you're getting to meet your idols. And so that's been an interesting memory to go back and have that experience.

Lesley Ann Warren: One of the great memories I have of that was that we were all brought together, once we were all cast, Jonathan Lynn, the director, brought all of us together at Paramount to sit in a screening room and watch His Girl Friday, because he wanted us all as a group to understand the tempo of the dialogue, the delivery, the tone, the tenor of the voices, all of that as a group so that when we got to the set, we would be on the same page creatively.

That luxury hasn't happened in a while. It's rare to be with a filmmaker or a studio, for that matter, that supports that kind of research as a group together. So, that was an incredible, incredible memory for me. I came in at the very tail end of the studio system. So, I was under contract to Robert Evans, I was under contract to Walt Disney, for a specific amount of films. And I got to really experience what being taken care of, in those ways, I felt that on Clue. So that was, that was something very, very special for me.

Lesley Ann Warren: If we'd done cardio, we wouldn't have made it through one take. It was a lot. But it was so fun. We had such a great time as a group, you know. The one who really was staggering was Tim Curry. Because not only did he run everywhere, but he had so much dialogue, and he had to deliver it at such a speed and then turn on a dime. An amazing, amazing performance and brilliant actor.

Colleen Camp: Oh my god, I love that you said that. And that was almost an improvisation, in the sense that, first of all, my favorite, the lines were, "Well, if I'm frightened to the dark, will anyone go with me?" "I will." "I will." "No, thank you." It was so freaking funny to me.

And then, "There's safety in numbers, my dear." And as we looked at the approach to the stairs, I just made a decision, since they were so narrow, that I was going to physically make that moment land. It's not improvisational, it was just taking the circumstance and looking at the narrowness and my upper body and how am I going to fit [the] stairs?

But it works with the setup. And the setup is so freaking funny.

The 'flames' was just genius. And you're just staring, looking at the flames like, "Oh my god. Have I just witnessed the most brilliant comedy piece ever?" Absolutely.

Lesley Ann Warren: Of course, the brilliance of Madeline Kahn in that moment is staggering.

I love all of her, Miss Scarlett's disdain for everybody and everything going on around her, so maybe that line that I go, "It's my defense mechanism." I don't know, I have so many.

Lesley Ann Warren: I think for me, honestly, it was more of a personal journey that I was determined to make and take. So it really wasn't outside pressure, it was inside pressure. I grew up in movies and film, I started when I was 18 in Cinderella and people have been so appreciative and it's been so beautiful in their responses to me my whole life, I feel so blessed. I thought, if I wasn't that, would they still love me?

But I did this short film, which I'm so insanely proud of, Olive, which is now a contender for an Academy Award and I let myself go there, 100%, and the response has been something I can only dream of ... or my mother would write. I learned that is just my own issue, it's time to put to bed.

Colleen Camp: Ever feel pigeonholed? It's an interesting question, because I was thinking about people that are characters actors and actresses and are stars. I'd characterize Lesley Ann as a character actress and a star and the reason I say that is because when you look at Bette Davis or Stanwyck, or look at certain character actresses that can play any role, whether you're the jezebel or the old maid.

I think, for me, what was really interesting, was in 1975 I did a movie called Death Game -- and I later produced [a remake, Knock Knock] with Keanu Reeves, Ana de Armas and Eli Roth -- and it was an absolute Fatal Attraction kind of crazy character, very dramatic role and it was written by the woman who wrote Play Misty for Me for Clint Eastwood, it was that kind of intense thriller, it was a completely dramatic part but with shades of humor. [A friend] and I went to see the movie about 20 years ago and he said, "Oh my god, if more people had seen this movie at the time, you would have had a completely different career."

Now, that's not necessarily a good or bad thing. It's just, I was cast -- even though I had a voluptuous body and played a Playboy bunny in Apocalypse Now -- I was cast in a lot of comedies. Whether it was Smile or Smokey and the Bandit III, Wayne's World or Valley Girl, I was cast in a lot of comedic roles. The good news about being able to play comedy, which Lesley Ann is brilliant at, is that comedy is something that can sustain for decades. If you can make somebody laugh, you can make them laugh at 20, you can make them laugh at ...

Lesley Ann Warren: 80!

Colleen Camp: What's interesting is I did a House episode once and Penny Marshall called me and you would have thought I was Ingrid Bergman in Notorious. I do think people do get pigeonholed sometimes.

Lesley Ann Warren: I've always thought of myself as a character actress, even when I was 18 years old. Because, the way that I studied, it was all about the character and I never wanted to be known for one thing. That had to do with the way that I was taught and what drew me to acting in the first place.