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However, I recently watched the 1982 version of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun in which Peter Ustinov played Poirot, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the acting and the movie – I was quite pleasantly surprised. I guess I was especially surprised because I remembered having seen Ustinov’s Poirot in other movies (he played Poirot a total of six times between 1978 and 1986) and, although I remember enjoying the movies, I didn’t remember his Poirot as completely hitting the mark. Now I think he does a perfect job. Ustinov is able to give Hercule a certain (dare I say it!) normalcy of sorts, and also plays Hercule with a twinkle in his eye. I truly enjoyed him in this movie.
Maybe it was something about this production – Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun – that caused me to see Ustinov’s Poirot in a different and better light. The story takes place in a fictional island off the coast of Albania. The movie is set in a beautiful location (it was actually filmed on location in Spain’s Majorca) and has a high quality cast – Maggie Smith, James Mason, Roddy McDowall and Diana Rigg (among others) each performing splendidly in the idyllic setting of a hotel/villa overlooking the sea.
The film is filled with gorgeous costumes – beautiful colors surround the wonderful acting by this veteran cast. It just leaps off the screen that the actors were having a good time together. To cap it all off, the use of Cole Porter songs as (mostly) background music was a brilliant stroke. The setting, the cast, the costumes, the music, the period, and of course Agatha Christie’s classic story beautifully told make for a great couple of hours of movie watching.
P.S. Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun is available on Netflix.
Carol says
Try watching some of the really old Perry Masons with William Warren on TCM. Not Raymond Burr’s version (he plays Perry as cool), but an interesting hotter Perry.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carol, I probably have some of those old Perry Mason movies on my DVR. I’ll have to check for them.
Patrick says
Erle Stanley Gardner hated the Hollywood movies & the way they always miscast Perry Mason.
Julie says
I was fortunate to live in England for 6 years and the first time I saw David Suchet on TV in a British drama, my first thought was “he shaved off his mustache!”. It never dawned on me that David Suchet would play anyone BUT Hercule Poirot. It took a while to get used to, that is for sure. He is still my favorite Poirot. I still watch all variations of the books because I like the different perspectives each director/cast add to the familiar story lines.
Thanks for discussing this! I am a big fan of Agatha Christie and have been for over 40 years.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julie, I still find it odd to see David Suchet in a show where he isn’t playing Poirot. The Way We Live Now was such a departure from his Poirot…
Janice says
Evil Under the Sun is scheduled to run tonight at 10:00 p.m Eastern time on TMC. They have several Agatha Christie movies on tonight including my favorite Witness for the Prosecution. If you are an Agatha fan and have never seen this movie, you’re really missing out on great performances.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Janice, thanks for posting this comment.
For those of you who are interested, make sure to check the July Mystery Movies on TV entry. As Janice says, there are several Agatha Christie movies airing tonight (into the am hours) on the TCM channel.
Thanks, again, Janice!
Suzanne says
This version of Evil under the Sun is the best I have ever seen. Ustinov brings a slightly humorous twist to Poirot and with Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg playing off each other it is a light hearted take on a somewhat somber David Suchet’s Poirot. I also enjoy Death on the Nile with Ustinov, Mia Farrow, Angela Landsbury and David Niven just to name a few. Another good Miss Marple to check out is A Carribean Mystery with Helen Hayes as Miss Marple. Even though my all time favorite Miss Marple is Joan Hickson, she can’t hold a light touch to this version as Helen Hays does.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Suzanne, my husband and I are making our way through Ustinov’s Poirot movies again. We had forgotten how good he is. I hope everyone is able to DVR it tonight on the TCM channel. The women’s costumes are absolutely phenomenal!
Suzanne says
I know they really bring life to the movie and remind me how people dressed back in the 30’s
Stash Empress says
I saw the Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun & really loved it — as a stand alone movie — whose detective coincidentally happens to have the same name as Dame Agatha’s famed detective…. but to me Suchet just *IS* Poirot, so I just can’t wrap my brain around anyone else being him — does that make any sense? But I really loved the Ustinov version, it was really well done & particularly loved seeing all the great actors in it (particularly Maggie Smith & Diana Rigg).
Now then having Angela Lansbury playing Miss Marple is just plain wrong!!!!! I mean Jessica Fletcher has to stay in Murder She Wrote movies! — I think when you have an actor that is so totally identified as a certain character, its very disconcerting to have them show up as a different character in the same genre — it looks too much like their “character” walked into the wrong set that day by mistake! (Having them play totally different kinds of characters in different genres is OK).
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, that’s exactly how I felt about the Inspector Lynley television series. At first I absolutely could not get past the beautiful and thin actress who portrayed Barbara Havers. Once I was able to look at the series as not the Elizabeth George mysteries, I enjoyed them.
Maggie Smith’s and Diana Rigg’s interactions in the movie were terrific!
sammie says
I must admit that I’m finding it hard to view Peter Ustinov as Poirot as I feel David Suchet is the one and only Poirot, and now to see this other Poirot, is strange. The cast I must say to have such talent in an old style movie is wonderful but I feel I have seen this movie with David as Poirot.
Greenway says
Angela Lansbury playing Miss Marple~ in The Mirror Crack’d (movie) was in 1980. Murder, She Wrote started in 1984. I may be wrong, but seem to recall in the excellent book Murder on the Air, about TV series detective fiction, that la Lansbury’s Miss Marple influenced the choosing of her for the role of JB Fletcher.
Can’t help preferring the lay-on-the-superstars glories of The Mirror Crack’d film to the dimmer TV versions. The original story goes deeper into speculative psychology than even the ruminations of Poirot’s little grey cells. Nothing like old-fashioned star power! The Albert Finney as Poirot version of Murder on the Orient Express is my favorite movie. It and Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun (Ustinov) just sweep me away every time!
Those and the other Ustinov Poirots have the extra fun factor of playing ‘rep company’ with interchanging casts (then there are the returning players in different roles in M,SW). Who would have thought someone like Jane Birkin would be a great actress?
Kenneth Branagh’s recent version, among other oddities and CGI overkill, makes Poirot an almost-invulnerable action hero! Like the True Grit remake, you know they did it for the rush, but just hung on the coattails of the original and dragged themselves in the dust…But I’m a sucker for the story, and my chief guilty pleasure is just loving trains and train fiction, while having no illusions: the history of trains is just horrendous!! Ditto re shipboard mysteries…And the end of Branagh-Poirot suggested he’s thinking of re-doing Death on the Nile. Gotta give him credit for being the first to make Poirot’s ‘mustaches’ properly ‘outrageous’.
Christie wanted Joan Hickson to play Miss Marple. How right she was!
dana says
Simply LOVE that movie. Ustinov was terrific. Enjoyed seeing him in a bathing suit too.
I agree, the location and the costumes are beautiful. Between the beaches, the big red Chinese hat and the finale makes me wish I were a witness on location. The wife walking down the stairs in the black and white outfit dressed to the nines. Love, love, love.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dana, and Maggie Smith’s outfits, they went out of their way to give her bright colors, and played with the red colors next to her red hair. I’m with you: “Love, love, love.”!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dana, the “swimming scene” was something I am pretty sure we never, ever, would have seen David Suchet’s Poirot do!
Donna Mc says
This is my favorite of the “modern” Christie movies. I vaguely remember seeing the Helen Hayes films, and would love to see them again one day. I think they were made-for-TV movies.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, after my husband and I make our way through all of Peter Ustinov’s portrayals of Poirot, we probably should take a look at Helen Hayes’ playing Miss Marple. I haven’t seen that in years.