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| Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith |
"Even in the old days she would throw her legs up higher than anyone -- and wider." Daphne referring to Arlena.
At a resort run by former showgirl Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith), one of the guests is a former colleague and now star, Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg of The Avengers). Although married, Arlena is fooling around with Patrick Redfern (Nicholas Clay), who is also married, to the plain-Jane Christine (Jane Birkin of Seven Deaths in the Cats Eye). When Arlena is strangled in an isolated cove, the suspects also include her wannabee biographer Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall), and the producing team of Myra and Odell Gardener (Sylvia Miles and James Mason). Then there's Arlena's husband, Kenneth (Denis Quilley) and his obnoxious young daughter, Linda (Emily Hone). It is up to the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) to find out who the true murderer is. Evil Under the Sun is another over-produced, not quite "all-star" Agatha Christie adaptation, with a script by Anthony Shaffer that makes some changes but doesn't do too much damage to the novel. Overlong, the movie is very slow-paced and often dull, although some of the actors, especially Maggie Smith [Downton Abbey] and James Mason, do their best to keep things interesting with their performances. Mason and Sylvia Miles certainly make a very odd pair, and Miles is vivid if typically vulgar. McDowall does his usual middle-aged fop act. Ustinov is not the perfect Poirot, but he is amusing at times, and indeed the movie often plays like a parody. The picture only really picks up in the final quarter when Poirot assembles the suspects and reveals the clever solution, which (as usual) works better on the printed page than spelled out in wide screen and TechniColor. Still, it sends the audience out possibly fooled into thinking they've seen a better movie than they actually have. The film has absolutely none of the suspense of the novel, and you probably won't even care who killed Arlena. Rigg is excellent as the victim, and Clay and Birkin also make their mark as her lover and his discarded spouse. Smith's character refers to McDowall's with a stupid comment about "cherchez la fruit." The score consists of adaptations of the songs of Cole Porter. Since Porter's bouncy music is hardly appropriate for an alleged movie of suspense and intrigue, it almost kills the movie, lovely tunes notwithstanding, right there. Ustinov also played Poirot in Dead Man's Folly, which was a better Christie adaptation than this.
Verdict: Read Christie's book instead for a much more entertaining experience. **1/2.
I like this one way more than you do, Bill, in fact it is my favorite of the filmed Agatha Christies, followed by Death on the Nile. I just find the camp value irresistible... Maggie Smith is such a sly scene stealer, the Adriatic locations are so delicious (so is Nicholas Clay in a black speedo) and I always love Jane Birkin's transformation from mousy frau to Chanel-clad bitch-diva. Add in Sylvia Miles and Roddy McDowall and Diana Rigg (growling You're the Top!) and the Cole Porter score and I'm hooked. Have seen this one at least a dozen times--maybe even 20!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Bill, guess I'm a sucker for camp and guilty pleasures! LOL
-C
That's okay, Chris! I admit that I liked the picture more when I first saw it in the movies, and it isn't exactly bad. I still can't get over James Mason and Sylvia Miles playing a married couple. I met her once or twice and I can't even imagine what she and Mason would have had to say to one another, assuming they even spoke... Who knows? And I agree that the Birkin transformation is a hoot -- that's one of the reasons why I liked the final section of the film.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Angelman66's comment above. My wife and I just adore this film. We both saw it on its first release--and have lost count how many times we've watched it since. It's one of those movies that just entertains us to the hilt--I mean, holy cow! Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg, James Mason, Roddy McDowall... as well as Ustinov's extremely non-Agatha interpretation of Poirot, but that man is such fun to watch and is bursting with charisma. I much preferred his Poirot over Albert Finney's, as Finney was a totally unconvincing fabrication--a wheezing, stiff-necked mannequin. Seriously, he seemed to have no neck! I so wish they'd gotten Ustinov for ORIENT EXPRESS, as I think it'd be a much more enjoyable film to watch now. We also love Ustinov's version of DEATH ON THE NILE, and feel it's pretty much on the same level as this one, as far as being a fun Agatha Christie movie. But then, we're die-hard fans of both. I did read the novel long after seeing this, and wasn't surprised at how different it was, but I WAS surprised that even the David Suchet version (which we also like) made so many changes to the novel. And DEAD MAN'S FOLLY might be a more faithful adaptation, but IMO it's nowhere near as well-made or as much fun.
ReplyDelete--Mark
For my money David Suchet was the best Poirot, but you are right that even those supposedly faithful adaptations on PBS made a lot of changes to the books. You are also right that Ustinov is very amusing as Poirot. Finney I could have done without and Kenneth Branagh doesn't really seem like Poirot to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for "Evil Under the Sun," no I didn't like it as much as you or Chris did, but I freely admit it's quite entertaining for most of its length.
I think Suchet is wonderful and his meticulous and fussy interpretation of the character is pretty remarkable. As for the stories, his series isn't as faithful as one might expect, but the shows are so entertaining it's hard to care. I didn't like either of the first two Branagh films--but I watched the most recent one a few nights ago and was pleased how much I enjoyed it. I think one reason was that it was based on a novel that hasn't been filmed to death. It seemed completely fresh, almost original--but really, they made so many changes, it might as well have been. Still, the exotic locale, the ghostly atmosphere and the relatively unfamiliar story all worked for me. I'm now very curious to see where Branagh takes it from here--if his series continues, that is.
ReplyDelete--Mark
Mark, I watched "A Haunting in Venice" with some trepidation a couple of days ago but I also enjoyed it very much. I am posting my review of it later next week. The movie has very little to do with "Hallowe'en Party" -- aside from the Halloween party, that is!
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