DEATH ON THE NILE

Bette Davis, David Niven, Peter Ustinov

DEATH ON THE NILE 

(1978). Director: John Guillermin.

"It's been my experience that men are least attracted to women who treat them well."

Following the success of the first screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, it was decided to do another big-scale, star-studded, somewhat overblown adaptation of a Christie novel with Peter Ustinov taking over the role of the great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. This has an interesting hook: Having stolen away her friend Jacqueline's (Mia Farrow) boyfriend, Simon (Simon MacCorkindale of Jaws 3-D), Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles) finds herself and her new spouse being followed everywhere by Jackie while on their Egyptian honeymoon. Poirot, also on the same tour, warns Jacqueline that she may be heading for disaster, and indeed there's foul play afoot and more than one murder. In her modest and entertaining novel, Christie was wise enough not to make virtually everyone on board the ship a suspect, but screenwriter Anthony Shaffer makes the mistake of giving almost everyone a motive, as unlikely as that sounds. Death on the Nile is way too long, but it is handsomely produced, well-photographed by Jack Cardiff, and has a very nice score by Nino Rota. Ustinov is not the perfect Poirot, but he is acceptable. Among the very large cast, the stand-outs are Maggie Smith [Clash of the Titans], as Bette Davis' put-upon nurse-servant, and Angela Lansbury as the soused authoress, Salome Otterbourne. Everyone else is competent enough, but unremarkable. Bette Davis doesn't so much give a performance, but play "Grand Lady," one suspects as much for the cast and crew as for the audience. One could argue that Mia Farrow seems to give better performances in Woody Allen movies than in ones she makes with other directors. Christie later used a certain similar plot device in Evil Under the Sun. NOTE: A remake of this film is scheduled for 2019.

Verdict: Quite entertaining mystery is good to look at with a few fun performances and humor. ***.  

NEVER LET GO

Peter Sellers

NEVER LET GO (1960). Director: John Guillermin.

John Cummings (Richard Todd) is a cosmetics salesman with a wife and children who thinks he might have a chance to really make good now that he owns a car. Unfortunately, his new automobile is stolen by a gang headed by crooked car dealer Lionel Meadows (Peter Sellers). Inspector Thomas (Noel Willman of The Kiss of the Vampire) admits that he couldn't care less about John's car but is out for bigger fish -- bringing down Meadows once and for all will be a cap in his feather. Desperate for his car, and refusing to back down after so many miserable things have happened, including being fired, John infuriates his wife, Anne (Elizabeth Sellars), by going after Meadows and his dangerous gang on his own. Todd [The Hasty Heart] gives a tremendously good performance in this and he is matched by Peter Sellers in a straight dramatic role, playing a nasty character who crushes one underling's fingers and slaps around his girlfriend, Jackie (Carol White). Sellers only chews the scenery in a couple of spots, but is otherwise marvelous. Adam Faith plays Tommy, the unfortunate boy with the damaged hand., and Mervyn Johns [Edward, My Son] has a nice bit as the ill-fated old man, Alfie. It all leads to an exciting climactic battle between the two adversaries.

Verdict: Proof that great actors can do drama as well as comedy. ***.

TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE

Anthony Quayle and Sean Connery 

TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE (1959). Director: John Guillermin.

Tarzan (Gordon Scott) pursues enemy Slade (Anthony Quayle) and his party even as Slade hunts for a hidden diamond mine and its riches. Tarzan is saddled with a somewhat callous woman named Angie (Sara Shane of Three Bad Sisters) who has survived a plane crash and develops more courage and warmth as the movie proceeds. Slade's associates include old Kruger (Niall MacGinnis); pretty Toni (Scilla Gabel); wily Dino (Al Mulock); and strutting, charismatic O'Bannion (Sean Connery). Tarzan's Greatest Adventure seems more intense than the Weissmuller Tarzan films, has an excellent script with well-realized characters, and boasts excellent acting from the entire cast. Quayle [The Wrong Man] underplays beautifully, which only makes him seem more menacing, and more of  a contrast to the swaggering Connery, who demonstrates the star presence he had even before he became James Bond. Scott makes an appealing and attractive Tarzan. The movie is fast-paced and has an exciting cliff-side climax. There's an interesting scene involving Dino and O'Bannion, a locket that Dino refuses to show him, and some deadly quicksand. Cheetah appears, but isn't given much to do, for shame, but the tone of this film is never comic. Guillermin also directed The Whole Truth and co-directed The Towering Inferno.

Verdict: Maybe not his greatest, but this is a brisk and entertaining Tarzan adventure. ***

THE TOWERING INFERNO

THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974). Director: John Guillermin. Action scenes directed by producer Irwin Allen.

Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox each had rights to two separate novels with the same theme: "The Tower" and "The Glass Inferno" both had to do with massive fires in high-rise buildings. The two studios cooperated on one film combining aspects of both stories, thus The Towering Inferno. During an inaugural party in the penthouse of the world's tallest building in San Francisco, a fire breaks out and gets worse and worse as firemen try to cope with the disaster. People are trapped in the Promenade room as other horrible incidents occur on the floors below. As some individuals try to make their way down to the ground far below, the others at the party enact a desperate scheme to save themselves and put out the fire at the same time. Everything is hampered and things made worse by the fact that against the architect's orders a man named Simmons (Richard Chamberlain), the builder's son-in-law, saved money by ignoring the fire codes and safety procedures.

Watching Inferno today with memories of 9/11 in your head makes for a distinctly uncomfortable experience. That being said, Allen has put together a suspenseful and often terrifying movie that grips you for its full length and never lets go. Among the more gut-wrenching scenes are the one where a group tries to get past a shattered, swinging metal staircase, and the horrifying business in the scenic elevator, during which Jennifer Jones' character plunges to a grotesque death. There are a very few moments of pathos in the movie, but most of it is tension and terror. Paul Newman is fine as the architect, an ordinary man, who watches his dream project collapsing and tries to save lives, although Steve McQueen is unemotional throughout as the fire chief. William Holden is the builder, Faye Dunaway is Newman's lover, Fred Astaire is an aging con man, Robert Vaughn is a senator, and Susan Blakely is Holden's daughter, and all are fine. John Williams' score helps sustain the tension. O. J. Simpson is also in the movie,, but that's a disaster of a different kind. Guillermin also directed The Whole Truth and the first terrible remake of King Kong.

Verdict: Not exactly a pleasant experience but certainly well done. ***1/2.

THE WHOLE TRUTH

THE WHOLE TRUTH (1958). Director: John Guillermin.

Max Poulton (Stewart Granger) is a producer with a temperamental star, Gina Bertini (Gianna Maria Canale), and a loving wife (Donna Reed). One day at a party a man (George Sanders) shows up at his house saying he is with the police, informing him that Gina has been murdered, and suggesting that he has had an affair with his leading lady. But if Gina is dead, who just walked into the party? What's going on? There are a few intriguing twists in this generally unpredictable mystery, and Sanders is always interesting. Stewart Granger is glib and way too cool all through the movie, which is not necessarily the wrong approach for his character, however. But it doesn't make for a riveting performance. Similarly, the lazy, jazzy background score is dull and all wrong for the movie. Therefore the climax is a bit of a fizzle.

Verdict: Easy to take and just as easy to forget. **.