It can be a full movie or even an episodes of a show.
I am nearly done reading The Westing Game with my kids at school and want to reward them with a mystery movie at the end.
I am aware there is a Westing Game movie, but it is really bad. Badly acted and entirely different from the book. Forget it. 
My top consideration is Lemony Snickett, a movie I love and it kind of has a mystery in it.
Any suggestions?
Hugo Cabret is excellent, and surprisingly historically accurate.
Kind of my backup already. Good pick. Any more standard mysteries, with the mystery upfront and a bunch of folks trying to solve it.
Clue is out, though it is great. It’s PG, but pushing PG-13.
Looks like all of Hitchcock’s mysteries are rated PG. Can’t think which would be the best for kids, though.
Murder By Death is much like Clue, very fun.
The Thin Man movies are good. Pink Panther is good but probably too racy for kids.
Would these kids sit still for old B & W movies, or does it have to be a more modern movie?
If old ones are okay, there’s And Then There Were None (the classic "10 people on an island, and someone is killing everybody one by one).
There was a Nancy Drew movie a few years ago.
National Treasure is rated PG. Love the puzzling out historic clues.
I like Lemony Snickett, I wish there was a series of them, but is it really a mystery? I remember it as more a story of stalking and grown-ups not realizing the painfully obvious.
Kids may be tired of it, but if you look past the magic Harry Potter is a series of great mysteries stories.
The Prisoner of Azkaban is maybe the best of the movies for relating the mystery aspect because of the fantastic scene in the screaming shack.
The Return of Martin Guerre. They shouldn’t be afraid of reading subtitles. It was one of my favorite movies when it came out (I was in 7th grade), and it’s a mystery!
Hmmm. I know a lot of mysteries in print that would be appropriate. I know a lot of mystery movies, but they generally involve people dying and infidelity and other rotten things that make good motives.
Nevertheless, if they’re up for it, you might try Charade, which is a very clever mystery with a light touch. And at least five deaths. But at least it’s not bloody.
Avoid the remake, The Truth about Charlie, by all means.
If you can find it, the TV movie ** Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders** has a really clever hook and solution. Since it was made for TV, all the blood and gore is off-screen. But it’s suggested.
You can actually rent it from Blockbuster:
http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/86012
I also have a copy I can dub.
How about The Trouble with Harry?
DIAL M FOR MURDER: the bad guys don’t get away with it, or even manage to pull it off – which is about as kid-friendly as a murder mystery gets – and it’s easy for twelve-year-olds to follow, since (a) the whole plan gets helpfully spelled out for the hired killer beforehand, sure as (b) the amateur sleuth patiently explains what happened at the crime scene, albeit without meaning to or even realizing it.
Well, of course they have murder and all the usual motives, but I would think that Nero Wolfe might fit the bill. Timothy Hutton did a series of them ten years ago on A&E. Hour long episodes, with maybe some two parters.
Hmm. I can’t really tell what’s age appropriate at times. would the bbc Sherlock be a bit much? Prob so, I’m thinking.
Episodes of Monk could be fun and, I think, age-appropriate.
I recommend the original French version of “Diabolique” but make sure the subtitles are modernized and readable. When I first saw this film, the white letters of the subtitles were difficult to read against the black and white background, especially when the murder was being plotted. I also recommend “Mirage” starring Gregory Peck; “Experiment In Terror” starring Lee Remick; “The Lady In The Lake”; “The Lineup” starring Eli Wallach; “I Saw What You Did” starring John Ireland; so they don’t like black and white movies? Okay how about “Murder By Death” or “North By Northwest” for the kids? How about “Ten Little Indians” with Oliver Reed?
I think 7th-graders could handle any Agatha Christie adaptation.
Oooh, what about Young Sherlock Holmes?
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090357/
I loved this movie when I was around that age.
“Clue is out, though it is great. It’s PG, but pushing PG-13”
Aren’t most 7th graders at least 13?
That’s a great suggestion. The episodes are usually straight-up mysteries, and the running time is classroom-friendly, too.
Yeah - I came in to recommend “Murder on the Orient Express.” Read the book in 8th grade and loved it; your students might enjoy the movie.
The school only allows PG movies unless parents turn in a permission slip. I’m not going through that mess. Besides, lots of parents ban their kids from anything PG-13.