Since Peter Ustinov had gained such a huge popularity playing Hercule Poirot in two great movie masterpieces, "Death on the Nile" and "Evil Under the Sun", US TV producers decided to start a series of TV movies starring him as Agatha Christie's great Belgian detective. The first one was "Thirteen at Dinner", an adaptation of one of Christie's most successful books, "Lord Edgware Dies" - and the recipe seemed perfect for a big audience success; which it actually was. Ustinov once again delivers his very own, distinctive and lovable performance of 'his' Poirot, Faye Dunaway gives a great performance in a double role, and the third 'big name' in the cast, Lee Horsley, very popular at the time among the young viewers, is an additional attraction; and the script is remarkably close to Christie's novel - the only thing missing is... any trace of a period atmosphere...
"Lord Edgware Dies" had been written in 1933 - and yet, the clothes, hairstyles, interiors (except for those of the old British manors), and even cars here are 'purely' 80s. Now, whether that choice was made for the sake of the audience or for saving extra production expenses is a mystery; fact is that it considerably weakens the artistic value of the otherwise very suspenseful and entertaining film. Alright, being a lifelong Agatha Christie fanatic, and inevitably comparing this adaptation to others, I may be a bit preoccupied; especially a young audience will certainly enjoy the movie just as it is - a well-done, highly entertaining murder mystery, with Peter Ustinov at his very best as always.
And by the way: Chief Inspector Japp, who's as always one or more steps behind Poirot in the procedure of solving the crime, is played by - David Suchet, who only a few years later would become THE perfect Hercule Poirot in the long-running, extremely successful and very authentic 30s' style British TV series!
"Lord Edgware Dies" had been written in 1933 - and yet, the clothes, hairstyles, interiors (except for those of the old British manors), and even cars here are 'purely' 80s. Now, whether that choice was made for the sake of the audience or for saving extra production expenses is a mystery; fact is that it considerably weakens the artistic value of the otherwise very suspenseful and entertaining film. Alright, being a lifelong Agatha Christie fanatic, and inevitably comparing this adaptation to others, I may be a bit preoccupied; especially a young audience will certainly enjoy the movie just as it is - a well-done, highly entertaining murder mystery, with Peter Ustinov at his very best as always.
And by the way: Chief Inspector Japp, who's as always one or more steps behind Poirot in the procedure of solving the crime, is played by - David Suchet, who only a few years later would become THE perfect Hercule Poirot in the long-running, extremely successful and very authentic 30s' style British TV series!