A Golan-Globus production of an Agatha Christie novel?, you may ask. Thankfully, the financers of Charles Bronson's entire 1980's filmography, among many other (cheapie) things, actually put some money into this project, allowing for location shooting in England, Italy and (mainly) Israel, period costumes and vehicles, etc. However, the locations are shot without much flavor and the film ends up feeling more like a TV movie than a theatrical release. The plot itself is not among Christie's strongest, though co-screenwriter Anthony Shaffer at least tries to mix it up a little with some interesting ideas (Poirot assembles all the suspects for the first time, we expect him to reveal the murderer....and he doesn't). Ustinov is still delightful, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, as Poirot; he reminds me in a way of Roger Moore's James Bond: purists argue that these two are not 105% accurate to the books, but I'm having too much fun watching them to care. In the supporting cast, the standout is clearly Jenny Seagrove, who has all the beauty, the elegance, the spirit and the courage of the best Christie heroines.
The latest (2008) David Suchet - Poirot season also produced a version of this book. It changes the story almost completely, only keeping a few names and relationships intact. Personally I preferred it for its dark, psychological approach and its truly magnificent scenery, but for a more faithful, lightweight version, this 1988 film holds up better than I remembered. (**1/2)
The latest (2008) David Suchet - Poirot season also produced a version of this book. It changes the story almost completely, only keeping a few names and relationships intact. Personally I preferred it for its dark, psychological approach and its truly magnificent scenery, but for a more faithful, lightweight version, this 1988 film holds up better than I remembered. (**1/2)