Evil Under the Sun
Evil Under the Sun is a 1982 British mystery film based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie.
This is a must-watch movie for everyone that loves Agatha Christie movies.
The cast is:
Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective
Maggie Smith as Daphne Castle, the owner of the island resort
Colin Blakely as Sir Horace Blatt, a millionaire industrialist
Diana Rigg as glamorous actress Arlena Stuart Marshall
Denis Quilley as Kenneth Marshall, Arlena's husband
Emily Hone as Linda Marshall, Kenneth's teenage daughter from an earlier marriage
Roddy McDowall as Rex Brewster, a pompous writer and theatre critic
James Mason and Sylvia Miles as Odell and Myra Gardener, New York City theatrical producers
Nicholas Clay and Jane Birkin as Patrick and Christine Redfern, a handsome young man and his mousy wife
Differences from the book:
In this film adaptation of the book by Agatha Christie some substantial differences appear:
- In the film the story is set in an island in the Mediterranean Sea, in the novel it is set on on the Island of the Smuggler, off the Channel of the Channel; the name of the hotel instead is always Jolly Roger.
- In the film there are no characters like Major Barry, the fashion designer Rosamund Darnley and the priest Stephen Lane.
- Emily Brewster, woman, in the film becomes Rex Brewster, male.
- In the book, to help Poirot, there are two detectives from a nearby island; in the film the investigations are conducted exclusively by him.
- In the book there are also two characters who pretend to be ornithologists, when they are actually heroin pushers, who will later be arrested; in the film this story was completely omitted.
Here are some frames from the movie:
In 2001 this movie was reinterpreted by David Suchet. Although I prefer Suchet as Poirot, as it is more close to the Agatha Christie Poirot, I believe the first film with Peter Ustinov is better then the second one as it is more complete, has a better atmosphere, explains more in details the story and how Poirot found the solution of the case.
