See China and Die

See China and Die (released in Europe as Hearsay) is a 1981 television film written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen.

Premise
A maid who reads detective stories finds herself embroiled in a real life mystery involving her dead boss and a mysterious statue he brought back from China. She acts as an amateur sleuth to solve the murder of her employer.

Cast

 * Esther Rolle as Momma Sykes
 * Kene Holliday as Sgt. Alvin Sykes
 * Frank Converse as Tom Hackman
 * Paul Dooley as Ames Prescott
 * Andrew Duggan as Edwin Forbes
 * Laurence Luckinbill as Dr. Glickman
 * Jean Marsh as Sally Hackman
 * Fritz Weaver as Poston
 * Jane Hitchcock as Ruth
 * Claude Brooks as Jessie Sykes
 * William Walker II as Andy Sykes
 * Miguel Pinero as Gonzalez
 * James Dukas as Transplant

Production
The film was originally produced as a pilot for a mystery/crime series starring Esther Rolle called Momma the Detective, but the show never materialized.