Customer Reviews

Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile

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This is the second of four Agatha Christie films from the producers of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, and it's great fun. The inimitable Sir Peter Ustinov is Hercule Poirot, and his relaxing(!) Nile cruise is rudely interrupted by murder and mystery. His fellow passengers are the usual A-list assembly of stars, and there's an unusually high mortality rate among them--several murders and a few maimings. Everyone aboard wants to kill the beautiful heiress (Lois Chiles), and someone succeeds. Is it the crooked lawyer (George Kennedy)? The crooked doctor (Jack Warden)? The slanderous romance novelist (Angela Lansbury) and her nervous daughter (Olivia Hussey)? The larcenous lady (Bette Davis) and her grim companion (Maggie Smith)? The unhinged romantic rival (Mia Farrow)? Or is it her handsome, mysterious husband (Simon MacCorkindale)? Poirot gets to the bottom of it, natch, accompanied by eye-popping views of the great river and its tourist attractions, sensible direction by John Guillermin (THE TOWERING INFERNO), and a moody, graceful musical score by the great Nino Rota (THE GODFATHER, Franco Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET). DEATH ON THE NILE is one of the best Christie film adaptations. Highly recommended.

This is a good adaptation from the book. After watching "Evil under the Sun" (1982) and "Appointment with Death" (1988) you naturally think of Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. The whole movie is packed with great actors, yet even thought you recognize them they do not distract from the characters that they play.

I thought that it was a nice touch when the kids along the shore mooned Mrs. Van Schuyler (Bette Davis) as kids would do everywhere.
Simon (Simon MacCorkindale) and his new bride Linnet (Lois Chiles) are being perused by Jacqueline De Bellefort (Mia Farrow) the girl he jilted. Once onboard a boat going down the Nile bodies are dropping like flies. Everyone is a suspect. Everybody could have done it as we see the proof acted out. And yet nobody could have done it as all alibis hold up. Only Hercule Poirot can logically figure this out. Naturally as usual Hercule Poirot is in the right place at the right time to hear everything and extract the truth.

Evil Under the Sun