Evil Under The Sun (1982)
"You see, it is folly to try and trick Hercule Poirot... even in a dead language."
Daphne Castle: Arlena and I were in the chorus of a show together, not that I could ever compete. Even in those days, she could always throw her legs up in the air higher than any of us... and wider.
Anthony Shaffer, Evil Under The Sun (1982)
I'm trying toĀ work outĀ how many Agatha Christies have made it to the Silver Screen.Ā I'm not entirely sure.Ā There have been so many. There'sĀ Witness for the ProsecutionĀ (1945). Thereās AndĀ Then There Were NoneĀ (1945) and the 1970s and 80s All-Star blockbustersā Sidney Lumet'sĀ Murder on the Orient ExpressĀ (1974), John Guillermin'sĀ Death on the NileĀ (1978), Guy Hamilton'sĀ The Mirror Crack'dĀ (1980) and Michael Winner'sĀ Appointment with DeathĀ (1988)ā plus the various television adaptations, the excellent Joan Hickson in the BBC's Miss Marple series (1984-1992) and, of course, David Suchetās Poirot in LWT/Granada'sĀ Agatha Christie's Poirot,Ā which ran between 1989-2013. And relatively recently, there's been Mister Mumble himselfā Rufus Sewellā in an underwhelming adaptation ofĀ The Pale HorseĀ (2020), Kenneth Branagh'sĀ Murder on the Orient ExpressĀ (2017), with its dreaded CGI, which, in my opinion, ain't a patch, on the version of '74ā and Branagh'sĀ Death on the NileĀ (2022), which I have yet to see.
Which takesĀ us to Guy Hamilton'sĀ Evil Under The SunĀ (1982), a personal favourite amongst the Agatha Christie adaptations I've seen so farā a witty, bitchy catfight with the sparkle of the 30s, set to the music of Cole Porter and perhaps, owing more to the urbaneā and sometimes causticā pen of Anthony Shaffer (and Guy Hamilton's slick direction) then, perhaps Dame Agatha herself. I'm one ginormous, slathering, uncompromising fan of Anthony Shaffer, the brother of Sir Peter (The Royal Hunt of the Sun,Ā Black Comedy,Ā EquusĀ andĀ Amadeus)ā the genius (script-wise) behind Hitchcock'sĀ FrenzyĀ (1972),Ā The Wicker ManĀ (1973),Ā Murder on the Orient ExpressĀ (1974),Ā Death on the NileĀ (1978) and, of course, my number-one-favourite-film-of-all-time,Ā SleuthĀ (1972), starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier.
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