Trailer of the Week - Evil Under the Sun

Sorry for the quiet around here; a lot of personal stuff has been going on, including starting a new temp job, so not as much time for writing and seeing films.  But I'm going to try to keep more regular, this is basically my sort of therapy.  I'm aiming to do at least ten posts per month about various things, although I'm having to prepare a little backlog of posts as I have Worldcon in Dublin this month too.  So if things are erratic again, that's why.  Anyway, back to where I left off.  With the trailers I'd just done some Miss Marple, so let's turn our attention to Hercule Poirot, with 1982's Evil Under the Sun

This was the second outing for Peter Ustinov as the Belgian Sleuth, after Death on the Nile in 1977, and like that one the script was done by Anthony Shaffer, who also wrote The Wicker Man, and more relevant to this genre Sleuth.  It follows the path of the book well, with the main changes being the tone (it's another Guy Hamilton film, so high camp is the order of the day!) and the location.  The 1941 novel was set in Devon, and was based on a real hotel, Burgh Island, which I'd like to go to some time.  In fact, when this story was adapted for the Poirot TV series, they filmed at that hotel, using all the authentic details, like the weird tractor thing you have to use to get there when it's high tide.  This film on the other hand takes place in the Adriatic sea, near a Tintin-style made up country (ooh, another famous Belgian!).  It was filmed in Majorca in Spain, and whatever else you can say about this one, it looks gorgeous, the locations are superb.  Hamilton was rather limited by the English village surroundings in The Mirror Crack'd, here he's playing to his strengths.

As I said, a Guy Hamilton film means a larger-than-life style (look at his Bond films!), and this cast is no exception.  It's a fantastic group of performers in and of itself (James Mason, Sylvia Miles, Roddy McDowell...), but they all seem to be having a ball and letting loose.  There's a centre-piece moment of Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith singing a duet of a Cole Porter number, which is basically a polite way of telling each other to go f*** themselves, and it is glorious to watch.  The main mystery itself is a little bit rushed, although that may be because the film ditches a few red-herrings and such from the book, it streamlines the plot, which is fine when making a story feature length.  Also, the ending is a prime example of "the evil voice" principle in these mysteries, including milking the reveal to a ridiculous degree.  That's this film in a nutshell, it takes the humour up to almost an absurd level, but remembers that it has to deliver a satisfying whodunnit, so it knows when to reign things in, and importantly the murder itself is no laughing matter.  I do have a lot of fun with Ustinov's Poirot films, and whilst I think Death on the Nile is the better film, I think I enjoy this one more, if that makes sense.  I am curious to check out the TV films he did as Poirot though, especially as one of them includes David Suchet in the cast.

Bonus Trailer, here's a TV spot for the film, with some more of Ustinov talking to the audience as Poirot directly.  I love the way he pronounces "Rated PG"!