"THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD" (2000) Review

As many fans of Agatha Christie are aware, one of her most highly acclaimed and controversial novels is "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". I had checked the Internet to see how many adaptations had been made from well-regarded tale. I was surprised to learn there were at least seven adaptations, considering its difficult plot twist. The third to the last adaptation proved to be the last adaptation was the 103-minute television movie that aired on ITV's "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT" in 2000.

"THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD" seemed like your typical Christie novel....

"NEMESIS" (2007) Review

Without a doubt, Agatha Christie's 1971 novel, "Nemesis", is one of her most unusual works. It is not as celebrated as 1934's "Murder on the Orient Express" or her 1926 novel, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". But it was the last novel she had written. And it possesses a slow, yet melancholic air that I find very rare in her body of work.

Two adaptations of the novel have aired on British television. BBC aired the first adaptation, which starred Joan Hickson as Jane Marple, in 1987. Twenty years later, the ITV network aired its own version with Geraldine McEwan in the lead....

"DEATH ON THE NILE" (2004) Review

This 2004 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 novel, "Death on the Nile", was the second to be adapted for the screen. In the case of this movie, it aired as a 90-minute presentation on the long-running television series, "Agatha Christie’s POIROT".

Like the novel and the 1978 movie, "DEATH ON THE NILE" centered around Hercule Poirot’s investigation of the murder of an Anglo-American heiress named Linnet Ridgeway. Linnet had stolen the affections of her best friend’s fiancé and married him. When the newly married couple vacationed in Egypt, the best...

"THE MOVING FINGER" (1985) Review

I might as well put my cards on the table. I am not a fan of Agatha Christie's 1942 novel, "The Moving Finger". I do not regard it as one of the author's more remarkable works. In fact, I have difficulty in viewing it as mediocre. When I first learned about the 1985 adaptation of the film, I did not bother to get my hands on a video or DVD copy.

In the end, I found myself viewing the 1985 television movie, due to it being part of a box set of Jane Marple movies. Before I express my opinion of it, I might as well reveal its plot. "THE MOVING FINGER" is basically...

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (1988) Review

Agatha Christie's 1938 novel, "Appointment With Death" has proven to be a problem over the past 75 years or so. If I must be honest, it is not a great novel. Considering that if featured the topic of emotional abuse, it had the potential to be great. But I feel that Christie never achieved what could have been a memorable and haunting tale.

The novel also produced adaptations in the form of a 1945 stage play, a 2008 television movie and a 1988 theatrical release. Of the three adaptations, the 1988 film, "APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" came the closest in being...

"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" (1974) Review

Whenever the topic of Agatha Christie novels pop up, many critics and fans seem to rate her 1934 novel, "Murder on the Orient Express" as among her best work. This stellar opinion seemed to have extended to the 1974 movie adaptation. After all, the film did receive six Academy Award nominations and won one. Is "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" the best adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Is it my favorite? Hmmm . . . I will get to that later.

But I cannot deny that the movie, produced by John Bradbourne and directed by Sidney...

"TOWARDS ZERO" (2007) Review

When it came to the television adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple novels, I used to stick with those that featured the late Joan Hickson as the elderly sleuth. However, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to watch a movie that starred Geraldine McEwan as Miss Jane Marple. And this movie is the 2007 adaptation of Christie’s 1944 novel called "Towards Zero".

The adaptation of Christie’s novel has drawn a good deal of criticism from purists. First of all, the novel is not a Jane Marple mystery. Instead, the main investigator in "Towards Zero"...

"THE MIRROR CRACK'D" (1980) Review

As far as I know, Guy Hamilton is the only director who has helmed two movie adaptations of Agatha Christie novels. The 1982 movie, "EVIL UNDER THE SUN" was the second adaptation. The first was his 1980 adaptation of Christie's 1962 novel, "The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side".

A big Hollywood production has arrived at St. Mary's Mead, the home of Miss Jane Marple, to film a costume movie about Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I of England, starring two Hollywood stars - Marina Gregg and Lola Brewster. The two actresses are rivals who despise each...

"THE HOLLOW" (2004) Review

I have never been a fan of Agatha Christie’s 1946 novel, "The Hollow". Many would find my opinion surprising, considering its reputation as one of the author’s best works and a fine example of the "country house murder" story. But I cannot help how I feel. I simply never warmed up to it.

The 1946 novel eventually became a successful London play in 1951. And in 2004, producers of the "Agatha Christie’s POIROT" series adapted the novel into a ninety-minute television movie in 2004, with David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. I have seen "THE HOLLOW" at least twice. Yet,...

"A POCKETFUL OF RYE" (1985) Review

There have been two adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1953 novel, "A Pocket Full of Rye". Well . . . as far as I know. I have already seen the recent adaptation that aired on ITV's "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MARPLE" series in 2009. Recently, I watched an earlier adaptation that aired on the BBC "MISS MARPLE" series in 1985.

Directed by Guy Slater, this earlier adaptation starred Joan Hickson as the story's main sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. The story begins in the London office of financier Rex Fortescue, who suddenly dies after drinking his morning tea. At first suspicion...

Hi guys, since I love Poirot and Miss Marple, I will be writing a review on the series version because I had only seen bits of the 1980 version with Elizabeth Taylor (RIP) in it.

The Characters

The character of Marina Gregg was a tragic one, because she had German Measles while pregnant prior to the events of the story. Her American husband tried his best to console her not to think back of the past, until Heather Badcock open up old wounds to her and the latter is dead of poisoning later on!
Although she doesn't have much screen-time due to an injured leg occurred in this episode, Miss Marple...

"THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY" (2004) Review

I might as well say it. Agatha Christie's 1942 novel, "The Body in the Library" has never been a particularly favorite of mine. Nor have I ever been that fond of the 1984 television adaptation that starred Joan Hickson. So, when ITV aired another adaptation of the novel, I was not that eager to watch it. But I did.

"THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY" proved to be a slightly complicated tale that begins with the discovery of a dead body in the library of Gossington Hall, the home of Colonel Arthur and Dolly Bantry. The body turns out to be a peroxide blonde in her...

"ADAPTING AGATHA CHRISTIE"

Ever since the release of the BBC recent adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel, "And Then There Were None" television viewers and critics have been praising the production for being a faithful adaptation. In fact these critics and fans have been in such rapture over the production that some of them have failed to noticed that the three-part miniseries was not completely faithful. As long as the production followed Christie’s original ending, they were satisfied.

Mind you, I thought this new production, "AND THEN THERE WERE NONE" was top notch. However, I have...

Below is my review of the recent 2010 adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels - "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS":



"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" (2010) Review

After being on the air for nearly two decades, ”Agatha Christie’s POIROT” decided to air its own version of the mystery writer’s 1934 novel, ”Murder on the Orient Express”. Although there have been two other well known adaptations of the novel – the famous 1974 movie that starred Albert Finney and the 2001 teleplay that starred Alfred Molina. But this latest version starred David Suchet (considered by many...

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (2008) Review

Looking back on the number of Agatha Christie movie adaptations I have seen, I find it surprising that only a handful of Christie titles have been adapted for the movies or television more than once. One of those titles happened to be the author’s 1938 novel called "Appointment With Death".

The most well known adaptation before the 2008 one had been produced and directed by Michael Winner some twenty years earlier. Released in 1988, the movie starred Peter Ustinov in his last appearance as the Belgian-born sleuth, Hercule Poirot; and is not considered...

"THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS" (2010) Review

Anyone who has read Agatha Christie's 1925 novel, "The Secret of Chimneys", will be disappointed by the 2010 television adaptation that stars Julia McKenzie as Miss Jane Marple. The television movie bears little resemblance to the novel. But that does not mean one should completely dismiss the movie.

Although a long time fan of Christie's novels, I have never read "The Secret of Chimneys". Familiar with many of the author's novels, I knew that the former was not one that featured Jane Marple. I did not care. I have come across other Miss Marple television...

"THREE ACT TRAGEDY" (2010) Review

When I was in my early teens, I had shifted my attention from Nancy Drew mysteries to those novels written by Agatha Christie. And I have not stopped since. I confess that this shift in reading material was the result of seeing the 1978 movie, "DEATH ON THE NILE", for the first time. Properly hooked on Christie's works, I focused my attention on her 1934 novel, "Murder in Three Acts", also known as "Three Act Tragedy".

I have seen two adaptations of Christie's 1934 novel. The first was television adaptation in the mid 1980s, titled "MURDER IN THREE ACTS", which...

Brasil, São Paulo, dia 17/10/2022

Assunto: Agradecimento para Agatha Christie
De: Raul Soares Vicari

Escrevi essa carta para homenagear seu trabalho por seus livros de mistério, mas só que, de algum jeito você consegue mudar a forma como qualquer pessoa faria uma história, pois todos eles contêm um toque marcante. Pois mesmo todos sabendo que seria a mesma ideia, ‘’ Um caso de detetive, que coisa comum e chata’’, mas você consegue mudar o padrão de uma forma que até parece ser fácil, mas para a maioria dos leitores sabemos que é um trabalho bem difícil em ter que pesquisar,...

"THE MOVING FINGER" (1942) Book Review

Published in 1942, "THE MOVING FINGER" is an Agatha Christie murder mystery about a small English town rocked by a series of poison pen letters that lead to suicide and murder. This particular novel featured the elderly Jane Marple as the story’s chief detective, despite the fact that the character only has a minor role.

Set during the early years of World War II, Jerry and Joanna Burton are disaffected siblings from London society who take a country house in idyllic town of Lymstock, so that Jerry can rest from injuries received in a wartime plane crash....