When a woman turns up murdered on an isolated island resort, it is up to a vacationing Hercule Poirot to work out who did it when all present have iron-clad alibis in this Agatha Christie murder mystery adaptation. The film is notable as Peter Ustinov's second turn as Hercule Poirot following 'Death on the Nile' in 1978 and with a Cole Porter soundtrack used just as effectively as Nino Rota's score to the 1978 film and with equally good performances, 'Evil Under the Sun' is likely to go down well with most who enjoyed the 1978 film. That said, this follow-up has never enjoyed the same solid reputation as 'Death on the Nile' and it is easy to see why. The tension is not quite the same with a less claustrophobic setting and due to the fact that the murder does not occur until around halfway in. The way Poirot entraps the killer at the end does not quite ring true either. The solution to the mystery though is deliciously elaborate though and this entry benefits from one of Maggie Smith's most delightful performances. As the resort manager, Smith turns amateur sleuth to help Poirot out, citing that "both our reputations are at stake" and in a way, the film becomes just as much about her fascination with finding out which of her guests is guilty as it is about Poirot's fascination with the case. Couple that with her own animosity towards the murder victim, and it makes for a highly memorable turn. James Mason has a strong supporting part too as he scoffs at Poirot's detective work, very proud of the fact that he does not have an instant ready alibi.

I absolutely worship Agatha Christie and am addicted to reading, watching and listening to everything she ever did. This year alone, I think I read at least twelve of her novels and (re-)watched a handful of movies that are based on her legendary writings. This woman truly was a genius and there are few creative minds that I respect and admire more! It's only been a few months since I watch "Death on the Nile" for the fourth time, but for some inexplicable reason this was just the first time that I laid my hands on "Evil under the Sun". From many viewpoints, this film is extremely similar to the aforementioned "Death on the Nile" (1978) and, to a lesser extent, "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974). All films feature a sizeable cast of characters, of which each and every single one is eccentric and on the verge of loathsome, and - in good old Agatha Christie tradition - they also all have the profile as well as the motives to be a potential and secretive murderer. All three films also take place in a confined and inescapable location (a train, a cruise ship or in this case a remote tropical island) and it takes a relatively long time before the pivot murder is being committed, allowing more than enough time to elaborate on all the suspects' motives and their feelings of hatred towards the murder victim. In this tale, which was moved from the English coast towards a high- society island resort in the Adriatic Sea, the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot investigates the whereabouts of a valuable diamond. The beautiful and famous actress Arlena Marshall is also on the island to spend her honeymoon with her new but much older new husband Kenneth and step-daughter Linda. Poirot quickly notices that literally everyone on the island bears a deep grudge against Arlena, whether it's because of historical feuds, her adulterous nature or her stubborn business decisions. When Arlena's body is eventually found, strangled on the beach, all suspects quickly provide Poirot with waterproof alibis. I'm not entirely sure if Mrs. Christie would have appreciated the fact that her story was transferred to a more tropical location, since she was so typically British with regards to her locations and character drawings, but at least director Guy Hamilton splendidly makes use of the holiday resort setting and masterfully directs the extended A-listed cast. Peter Ustinov literally merges with his Poirot character and many of the great names in the supportive cast clearly had an excellent time appearing in this grotesque whodunit. The 1945 film "And Then There Were None" inarguably remains the greatest Agatha Christie adaptation, and personally I was more blown away by "Murder on the Orient Express" as well, but "Evil under the Sun" nevertheless comes highly recommended in case you're looking for something to watch on a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon.

It's one of those films I'd almost forgotten about after David Suchet's outing, but Ustinov's has a huge charm which can be overlooked no further.The plot for some part is a little far fetched, but such is the quality of the writing and the mystery itself it doesn't matter in the slightest, for it to have worked the timings would have had to have been literally to the minute.The characterisations are the strong point of the film. Ustinov made a brilliant debut in Death on the Nile, and he shows once again just how good he was in the role. Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith are wonderful in their respective roles in particular, both actually make their characters more interesting then they appear in the book, the interplay between the two is wonderful, so much fun. Nicholas Clay and Jane Birkin are fantastic also, her transformation is sensational, what a beauty!It is a lavish looking film, the locations are sensational, and the costumes are superb, they really add a glamorous note to it, Rigg looks sensational in many scenes.Overall 9/10 Great story, brilliantly acted, but the characters are just magical, entertaining!

The fourth in the series of Brabourne/ Goodwin produced adaptations of Christie that began with MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974). This one, set on an island in the Mediterranean (actually filmed in Majorca) has Peter Ustinov in his second outing as Poirot investigating the murder of a self-interested actor (Diana Rigg), with a gang of suspects including hotel-keeper Maggie Smith, cuckolded husband Denis Quilley, camp journalist Roddy McDowall, theatrical producer James Mason and his domineering wife Sylvia Miles, and would-be gigolo Nicholas Clay and his mousy spouse Jane Birkin. Anthony Shaffer's script gives plenty of opportunity for humorous sequences, especially the cat-fights between Smith and Rigg, and the scene where Poirot, clad in a bathing-dress, attempts to have a morning swim. Whereas David Suchet in the television version tended to be low-key in his characterization, referring to his "little gray cells" and how they solved cases on more than one occasion, Ustinov turns in a flamboyant performance, full of little details: the sequence where he overhears Clay and Birkin arguing in their hotel room ends with a shot of Poirot twitching his mustache, as if he doesn't quite believe what they are saying (he is eventually proved right). The score has rightly been praised: John Lanchbery's arrangements of Cole Porter standards are both florid yet particularly appropriate for the film's bourgeois ambiance: the characters' entire lives are dedicated to pleasure rather than work. As Poirot observes, somewhat cynically, they resemble slabs of meat laid out in the sun to brown. Guy Hamilton's direction is both slick and very clear: unusually for most Christie adaptations, EVIL UNDER THE SUN ties up every single strand of its complicated plot, leaving viewers without too many questions to ask as to whodunit and why. Definitely one of the better versions of the great detective novelist's work, even if it departs quite significantly from the source-text.