Evil Under the Sun

I love this film. Completely entertaining, wonderful performances by a wonderful cast, funny but with a serious backbone, absolutely gorgeous to look at. Yes, Suchet is the prototype Poirot but Ustinov is great and a lot of fun. One interesting thing is about the DVD print. A friend of mine has one copy that's too clear and sharp. The color comes off as flat and dull. Basically, you can see the character's warts (to use the term.) I'll never forget such a clear view of Ustinov's double chins later in the movie. I got my own DVD version (with the cover picture like the one here) and it's like I saw it when I was growing up. Softer around the edges and much richer colors, like someone has applied cinematography makeup to it. The movie is meant to be seen in this softer, richer print. It gives the film that beautiful, almost dreamlike quality that fully brings out the beauty of the scenery. Read more

Love this movie. Great picture. Read more

Evil Under the Sun is one of my favorite of movies made from an Agatha Christie mystery. I've seen it several times and recently bought the DVD. This film has a perfect cast which includes the marvelously witty and fabulous Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg. Peter Ustinov plays Hercule Poirot. Ustinov is not my favorite Poirot, but he is excellent in the film. Jane Birkin, James Mason and Roddy McDowell are all in it. The film is gloriously beautiful as it was filmed on an island off the coast of Majorca. The music is mostly 1930s Cole Porter. What more could one ask? Read more

I saw this film for the first time on cable and fell in love with it's bitch filled dialogue and cast. The Mediterranean settings are beautiful, costumes delightfully over the top and witty dialogue that lets the marvelous cast go not only for the jugular, but for bone marrow. Who can resist Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Diana Rigg ripping each other to shreds, all the while smiling at each other like the dearest of friends. Dame Maggie's line about Diana throwing her legs in the air higher than anybody else in the chorus is classic. Peter Ustinov is, as always, a delight as Hercule Poirot. All in all, it's a very fun film to watch and I'll bet you'll never guess where the missing diamond is hidden. Enjoy this film for the wonderfully fun bit of froth that it is. Read more

By: Revit The film version of Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun, staring Peter Ustinov as Christie's favorite detective Hercule Poirot, was released in 1982. Anthony Schaffer wrote the screenplay, Guy Hamilton was the Director, Cole Porter wrote the music and Anthony Powell designed the magnificent modernistic campy costumes. As the story opens a hiker, Alice Ruber, is found strangled on the Yorkshire moors. Poirot was hired by the insurers to investigate the murder and added the investigation of a faux diamond being substituted for the genuine one belonging to millionaire industrialist Horace Blatt (Colin Blakely). Poirot interviewed Horace Blatt on his yacht who said that he given the diamond, valued at $50,000, to a New York City music show star, Arlina Stuart, (Diana Rigg), in contemplation of marriage. She had left him on the boat trip back to England and married Kenneth Marshal; he demanded the diamond back. Now he knows that she returned a faux copy of the diamond to him. The participants all gathered at an exclusive island resort in the Adriatic, formally the summer palace of the King of Tyrania and now owned by Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith). Resort guests included: Odell and Myra Gardener (James Mason and Sylvia Miles), New York City theatrical producers, and Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall) a writer and theatrical journalist. Newly arriving guests included: Kenneth Marshal (Denis Quilley), his wife Arlina and his 16 year old daughter Linda; Patrick Redfern, a dashing young man and his wife Christine (Nicholas Mason and Jane Birkin); and of course Hercule Poirot . Odel and Myra Gardner face financial ruin resulting from Arlina quitting their successful musical in the middle of its run, and her refusal to accept a role in their newly planned musical. Rex Brewster faces serious debts due to having spent advances on the book he had written about Arlina. She refused to let him publish it. Horace Blatt will loose $50,000 on the diamond he had given to Arlina, unless he can get her to return the genuine one to him. Arlina is found strangled on the beach near the faux diamond. Daphne Castle urges Poirot to investigate fearing a spot of murder would ruin her resort hotel. Poirot accepts planning to get a recovery fee on the diamond. As is often the case in Christie's mysteries, a lot of the participants have motives but their alibis seem to preclude the possibility that any of them committed the crime. Poirot questions all of the suspects several times. He uses his little grey cells to evaluate and organize the responses into a timed matrix. The next day, he awakens refreshed, and asks that they all gather in the lobby after he has had breakfast; then he will tell them how the crime was committed and who the guilty party was. Can you solve this crime before Poirot finishes breakfast? I strongly recommend that you save your sanity, buy the DVD, and tell your family to join you with popcorn in hand to see the movie. You can watch it over and over until your little grey cells organize the information into a timed matrix. Then you can compare your solution with Poirot's. Incidentally if you also have a copy of this same mystery with David Suchet playing Poirot you can compare the two of them. You will find that disc in the "Definitive Collection" of twelve Agatha Christie mysteries. I believe you will find this version with Peter Ustinov playing Poirot to be far superior; I certainly do. Read more

EVIL UNDER THE SUN (1982, Universal Pictures in the US) Director: Guy Hamilton. Adapted script: Anthony Shaffer, based on the 1941 Agatha Christie novel. Adapted music: Cole Porter. Hat makers: Freddie Fox & Woody Shelp. This posh 1930s-set murder mystery has so much sun in it (as per the title), you may need suntan oil while watching it. This is the second film with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot; most of his performance lies in his mustache and belly. It's a shame the film isn't English captioned, as his French accent (and the British accents) can be hard to penetrate. The film is a mannered cozy mystery set on an island off the coast of the mythical Adriatic nation of Tyrrania (actually Mallorca). You may want to read the book first because the film has a flood of characters who are hard to keep straight in the first half, before the murder occurs. Ultimately, only three emerge as fully drawn: those played by Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg, and Emily Hone (the youngster in the mix, and a terrific actress who sadly did little on the screen after this film). Smith and Rigg play old rivals always one-upping each other. (You have to hear Rigg say "hello" like "go to the devil.") The others are types, but they're fun types. The book is loosely adapted by Shaffer, but the plot and major characters persist (the book is set in Britain). As usual with Christie, the mystery is clever and challenging. The film adds comedy to the proceedings, especially in the first half. The Porter music is a stroke of genius, and if you wonder why I listed the hat makers in my opening credits, watch the film to find out. Highly recommended to fans of stylish whodunnits. Read more