Death on the Nile

The first of Peter Ustinov's six Poirot films. Anthony Shaffer, who wrote Sleuth, adapted it. It was shot on location in Egypt. The Egyptian government encouraged the production for a simple reason: Christie was widely read there and the story touched nothing political. The cast is a procession: Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Jane Birkin, George Kennedy. Lansbury's permanently drunk author of erotic novels is the supporting turn people remember. A wealthy woman is murdered aboard a steamer on the Nile and nearly everyone on board had a reason. Poirot happens to be one of the passengers. It won the Oscar for Best Costume Design, Anthony Powell's second of three that decade, and took the BAFTA in the same category, with Ustinov, Maggie Smith and Lansbury all nominated. Who it is for: viewers who like a classical murder puzzle, a closed pool of suspects and lavish costume. Who it is not for: anyone wanting pace. It runs close to two and a half hours, with the last half hour given over almost entirely to Poirot's explanation.