Customer Reviews

Pale Horse

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

At what point does a screenplay's "artistic license" exceed limits where such can be attributed to an author like Agatha Christie? This 1996 TV movie (screenplay by Alma Cullen) is titled "Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse" and subtitled "Supernatural British Mystery Classic." Contrast these two opening scenes:

FROM CHRISTIE'S 1961 NOVEL: Mark Easterbrook witnesses a hair-pulling cat-fight between one Thomasina Tuckerton and another woman. A week later he comes across a newspaper notice that Tuckerton died of natural causes. Meanwhile Father Gorman visits another dying woman losing her hair. Walking home, he stops at a local café to jot down a list of names before he forgets them. His cassock having pocket holes, he slips the list into his shoe, leaves, and is promptly murdered on the way home. Coroner Jim Corrigan and Detective Inspector Lejeune hypothesize he was killed in attempts to find that overlooked list and/or eliminate confessional and incriminating evidence of some kind. Later Mark encounters old friend Jim Corrigan. Discussing the case and the list, they note the presence of Tuckerton's name. Thus begins Mark's self-involvement and collaboration with Corrigan and other friends in this increasingly baffling series of possibly interconnected deaths.

FROM THIS 1996 TV MOVIE: Mark and girlfriend are attending a showing of Macbeth. Mark leaves early and witnesses someone brutally attacking a priest with his "borrowed" bicycle wrench. He rushes to assist the priest who hands him a bloodied list and dies. Police arrive, later find Mark's bloodied tool nearby, and see Mark holding the list with blood on his hands. A smug, scowling, abrasive Chief Inspector Lejune, with an previously unknown (to Mark) assistant named Corrigan, promptly accuses Mark of the murder, swearing he will convict Mark and plotting his conviction throughout the film. Mark, released on bail, must proceed on an investigative effort to clear himself.

Christie's original novel is tightly-constructed, well-written, fast-paced and interesting, perfect material for a first-class film. What a pity it is still unfilmed! What was done here was to borrow a couple of ideas from one of her novels, change them as desired, change the environment and characters surrounding the ideas (keeping a few names for appearances), changed crime(s) and murderer(s), then marketed the result under Christie's name. Some would call this "bait and switch."

It is certainly the right of TV or movie producers to fabricate material whole-cloth for television productions. The results may even be entertaining and worthwhile. But impostures under the guise of a major author's work should be exposed for what they are. If these producers had wanted to be truthful, they should have given this not altogether bad film another name, say "The 3-Witch Mystery" subtitled "based on an idea from an Agatha Christie novel" and had a 2, maybe 2½-star film.

DVD picture quality and sound are fine.

Why do some filmmakers seem to think they can improve on Agatha Christie by changing her storylines? "The Pale Horse" is one of her best books, but you'd never know it from this inaccurate and boring adaptation.

One of the rare Christie stories that does not contain any of her 3 famous protagonists (Marple, Poirot, Tommy & Tuppence). However it is one of her most interesting tales. Well acted, it keeps you guessing all the way. An excellent translation of the original. A must for Christie fans.

I am perplexed by the poor reviews some of the other viewers have given this movie. I thought it was great fun. There was not too much blood or gore. It can be viewed by the whole family. Also, there were no indecent scenes. It was just a fun mystery that is so typical of Christie. I can honestly say it is a film I will enjoy over and over.

If we can rise above the transatlantic sniping, dispense with ad hominem finger-wagging over whose sense of syntax is lacking (on this site I've read as many contortions of the Queen's English from overseas as I have from the heartland), and put aside whether or not this version of 'The Pale Horse' ought to be called a movie, a television mystery-drama or Prince Albert in a can, I believe a crosscultural consensus can be reached.

Anyone who has read the book will agree that this interpretation takes license with the story. Its producers, while keeping the basic mystery intact, have chosen to alter some plot elements and retain others and, presumably as a way of tying in the setting with the period during which Christie's novel was published, tap the 1960s as a campy backdrop, all in an effort to make the whole affair hipper and more fun. The result is not in the same league with the BBC's top stock (the Roy Marsden P.D. James series, for instance, Alec Guinness's Smiley, or the playful adaptations of Christie's 'Seven Dials' or 'Evans'), but it is, if ultimately forgettable, eminently watchable. Some (myself included, granting it only a 2 1/2-star rating) may find TPH dull going-- the action is stilted, the dialog at times dim and the acting uneven-- but that's nothing to get up in arms about. After all, despite its flaws, it still prevails in quality, as do four out of five British productions, over the average American made-for-TV fare, not to mention the garbage coming out of Hollywood today.

Life is short. We're patriots and allies. Let's have a little more respect for each others' opinions, well-articulated or not.

Many British films deal with characterization and personal reasoning and thought. Pale Horse falls under this umbrella.
If you are looking for alot of action, like in American movies, you won't find it here. But it is unfair to call this movie boring just because the viewer is not familiar with the British way of expression. This is not the best dramatization of an Agatha Christie book, but it does deserve viewing.

"The names...you'll take them to the police?" The dying woman gives the priest a list of names on a slip of paper. Not long after, Mark Easterbrook (Colin Buchanan) runs down a dark alley to assist a man being beaten. The assailant disappears. As the man dies he hands the list of names to Mark. Yes, the man is the priest. Hmmm.

The Pale Horse, or Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse, has a clever plot and occasionally good acting, It also has a muddied story line, a use of the three witches from Macbeth that teeters between silly and melodramatic, an unfulfilled hint of horror, an irrelevant red herring, too few suspects and a villain who is easily fingered.

When Mark gives the list to the police, they naturally think that Mark himself beat the priest to death. The inspector is no Morse or Dalgliesh. Think of Elmer Fudd with a working class accent and a dumb, sly nature. It's up to Mark to prove his innocence, uncover a dastardly murder business and expose a mastermind who overacts.

Mark, his girl friend Kate Mercer (Jayne Ashbourne) and Sergeant Corrigan (Andy Serkis), a young, friendly copper, eventually realize that all except one of the names are of people who have died far earlier than nature most likely intended. Eventually Mark discovers that the three eccentric old ladies who live in The Pale Horse, their ancient home that long ago had been an inn, believe themselves witches...and witches who have the power to bring death. This seems to give them great satisfaction. Then Mark learns of a bookmaker who has a sideline of accepting wagers on people's lives. With a proper introduction and evidence of financial reliability, he will, for instance, bet Mark that Mark's inconvenient former wife will be dead within two weeks. Mark will bet that she won't. In this case, Mark doesn't have an ex-wife, only Kate...and with her posing as the object of the bet, they'll expose a neat little murder-as-wager business. Ah, but what is the role of the three witches, for they must forecast the death. And if there is, indeed, murder, how can it be so well disguised as illness that no questions were raised about all those names on the list? Things become desperate for Mark when Kate soon takes to her bed, deathly ill and fading fast.

The plot, indeed, is clever. However, the combination of a script which sprawls, direction which allows this, and a basic misconception of how to play up Macbeth's witches with our horrid three, gives us 100 minutes with long stretches of dullness. Colin Buchanan, a good actor, makes an engaging Mark Easterbrook. For years he has been the Pascoe in the long-running Dalziel and Pascoe series. Andy Serkis is an unexpected gem as the sergeant...young, friendly, careful around his dunderhead superior, smart enough when it counts. Overshadowing them all are two practiced, pungent scene-stealers, Leslie Phillips and Michael Byrne. Phillips' talent to play plumy-voiced rogues is unmatched. Byrne is equally adept at arrogant, condescending bullies. Whenever they appear they provide the real pleasure in this story.

There have been many, many British television productions of Agatha Christie mysteries. Most have been very good. A few are a matter of taste (I've never warmed up to Tommy and Tuppence), and some simply have not worked well. The Pale Horse, I'm afraid, falls in this last category. It's not embarrassing or amateurish; it's just not very well done.

The Pale Horse is not as crisp as most people have come to expect of things on newer DVDs. It is, however, easy and pleasant to watch.

It is very unfortunate that fully 70% of the reviews for 'The Pale Horse' are negative as it is an excellent few hours of viewing. It is also a perfect example of why some Americans should not review British productions. Some just don't see the subtle nature of the British approach to television production or mystery-suspense writing. Put bluntly, some just don't get it. We Americans share a basic language with them, but unfortunately, not much else. Americans tend to be Brits on steroids and expect their TV and movies to be the same way. No surprise many simply don't like or appreciate programs like 'The Pale Horse'. It isn't what they want from their viewing experiences.

Most reviewers called this a "movie". It really isn't. It's a made for British television mystery-drama.

Brit TV is not blessed with the huge, unlimited production budgets of American studios. The fact that their production values are often superior to American TV is remarkable when viewed in that light. They use what they have. Actors often wear their own clothes in current day programs. They don't build many costly sets. Most drama is actual location work. Their idea of 'action' is not computer generated special effects, endless physical and verbal aggression, pointless violence, or a blur of mind numbing, rapid fire scene changes. If that is what your looking for, look elsewhere.

British mystery-suspense TV like that featured in 'The Pale Horse' is quiet, subtle and mentally challenging. Its charming, slow and mellow. They don't hit you over the head so often that it no longer hurts. Things that go 'bang' on American programs, go 'bump' on British ones. They love character development, something we have no use for since our characters are often weakly written on purpose to be the butt of someone elses sharp tongue or are killed off by a violent car crash, a series of impossible explosions, a rash of random gunfire, or some other such 'fast action' violence before the opening credits are over and you've finished the second slice of pizza.

In short, either you love British TV or you don't. If you do, this is an excellent piece of British mystery-drama.

I think that the storyline of this movie was good. After the second time that i watched the movie it proved to run smooth the whole time. The clues as to who it was were kinda blurry but besides that i understood it. The acting wasn't that good but that is ok.

Having read all the other reviews, I have to agree with the British reviewers. The ones who are American, give me strength, seem to be illiterate. Nothing wrong with not liking a program, but basic English might be nice. I'm American, and I cringed while reading their attempt at an opinion.

Preposterous as the storyline is, the narrative still manages to intrigue, the characters are enjoyable if a couple are not always believable, and the keen sense of atmosphere make it a totally delightful take on the Christie mystery. I'm an Agatha Christie fan, and an avid reader of mysteries/detective stories, especially the British ones. I read The Pale Horse years ago, but don't recall the plot. So I came to this version, relatively fresh.

I'm also dedicated fan of Dalziel & Pascoe mystery series, so it was also a treat to see the delectable Detective Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) on the other side of the law, with the suitably fluffy hair of the 1960s to boot. The whole 60s-era -- memorabilia, clothes, music and other set decor-- was subtle and cleverly evoked throughout the story. When Mark Easterbrook (Buchanan) is hit on the head for the second (!) time, he staggers to his feet, and leans against a poster advertising Chuck Berry. Likewise, a Lolita movie poster decorates his studio. Hermia's clothes and fake eyelashes are a hoot, and totally in character of the aristocratic Bohemian wannabe.

All the actors were excellent, although the Chief Inspector's obtuseness was too like Inspector Japp of Poirot fame for comfort -- the actor playing the role did what he could with it. Andy Serkis of Lord of the Rings fame was a delight, and the two key female roles well played.

Altogether, a two-hour entertainment well worth the watching.

Adrienne Jones