Evil Under the Sun (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Peter Ustinov, who played sly Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in 1978's Death on the Nile, returns in Anthony Shaffer's witty adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1941 novel, 'Evil Under the Sun' (directed by Guy Hamilton). While vacationing at a luxurious hotel on an isle in the Adriatic Sea, a sexy, yet beastly, self-centered actress, Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg), is murdered. Everyone at the seaside hotel has a motive for knocking her off, and yet … they all have alibis. Poirot is not used to beach activities (Ustinov exhibits humorous physical comedy in a 1930's styled bathing suit). Nonetheless, he has an acute eye for details & a strong resolve to solve any crime that crosses his path.
So, who killed Arlena? The suspects consist of the resort owner & archenemy of Arlena from their past, Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith); Arlena's husband/Daphne's lover, Kenneth Marshall (Denis Quilley); Arlena's resentful young stepdaughter, Linda (Emily Hone); a greedy American couple who were financially shafted when Arlena refused to appear in the NY show they were producing, Odell & Myra Gardener (James Mason, Sylvia Miles); gay columnist Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall) who has written a book about Arlena that she did not want released; Arlena's handsome lover, Patrick Redfern (Nicholas Clay), his own mousy wife, Christine (Jane Birkin); and a rich industrialist (Colin Blakely) who thinks that Arlena stole a jewel of his.
Now, 'Evil Under the Sun' doesn't reinvent the wheel, so to speak (a masterpiece, it is not). But it has a smartly verbose screenplay, wonderfully idiosyncratic characters, a nifty mystery at the core, gorrrrgeous settings {to DIE for, wink wink}, lovely period designs, a cracker of an ending, & jovial performances along the way. Each actor & actress delivers their lines of dialogue with relish & knows exactly how to play their part so that we have no idea who the murderer is. Particularly fun is Maggie Smith, who – despite bring one of the prime suspects - is Hell bent on Hercule Poirot solving the murder before bad word-of-mouth spreads about the lavish hotel she runs. Fun movie.
So, who killed Arlena? The suspects consist of the resort owner & archenemy of Arlena from their past, Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith); Arlena's husband/Daphne's lover, Kenneth Marshall (Denis Quilley); Arlena's resentful young stepdaughter, Linda (Emily Hone); a greedy American couple who were financially shafted when Arlena refused to appear in the NY show they were producing, Odell & Myra Gardener (James Mason, Sylvia Miles); gay columnist Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall) who has written a book about Arlena that she did not want released; Arlena's handsome lover, Patrick Redfern (Nicholas Clay), his own mousy wife, Christine (Jane Birkin); and a rich industrialist (Colin Blakely) who thinks that Arlena stole a jewel of his.
Now, 'Evil Under the Sun' doesn't reinvent the wheel, so to speak (a masterpiece, it is not). But it has a smartly verbose screenplay, wonderfully idiosyncratic characters, a nifty mystery at the core, gorrrrgeous settings {to DIE for, wink wink}, lovely period designs, a cracker of an ending, & jovial performances along the way. Each actor & actress delivers their lines of dialogue with relish & knows exactly how to play their part so that we have no idea who the murderer is. Particularly fun is Maggie Smith, who – despite bring one of the prime suspects - is Hell bent on Hercule Poirot solving the murder before bad word-of-mouth spreads about the lavish hotel she runs. Fun movie.