Evil Under the Sun
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Written by Anthony Shaffer from a novel by Agatha Christie
1982/UK
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
Poirot: The “Arlena Stewarts” of this world do not count; their domination is of the moment. Really to count, a woman must have either goodness or brains.
Christine Redfern: You can’t actually believe that men care for either of those things, can you?
Poirot: Oh yes I do, madam.
This is perhaps the weakest of the Hercule Poirot all-star mysteries I have seen.
The setting is an exclusive Adriatic Island resort sometime in the 1930s or 1940s. Everyone there has a few things in common and it might just as well be a country house party. The proprietress is Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith). Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is on a case to retrieve a priceless gem given to actress Adriana Marshall (Diana Rigg) by his client. The jewel was substituted for a fake when she married and returned it.
Every one on the island has something against the eventual murder victim, of course. They are a Broadway producer and his wife (James Mason and Sylvia Miles), a biographer (Roddy McDowell), a playboy and his mousey wife (Nicholas Clay and Jane Barkin) and Adriana’s husband and step daughter (Dennis Quilley and Emily Hone).
This is entertaining but the mystery fell flat for me. I just did not care who did it. The production values are nice. Beautiful scenery and the costumes are wild!
