Kenneth Branagh will have to work very hard if he wants to be remembered as the next iconic Hercule Poirot. The task, which he himself made more difficult by the sub-par 2017 Murder on the Orient Express, represents a big challenge, mostly due to the popular TV series Poirot in which David Suchet gave what many believe to be the ultimate incarnation of Agatha Christie’s fictional detective. And, even without Suchet, Branagh would have some very big shoes to fill due to Sir Peter Ustinov, who played Poirot in a series of six films. The first of these was the lavish 1978 production of Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin.
Based on the eponymous novel, the film begins in 1937 England where Linnet Ridgway (played by Lois Chiles), a beautiful and rich American heiress, is asked to do a favour for her impoverished English friend Jacqueline de Bellefort (played by Mia Farrow) and to give employment to Jacqueline’s fiancé Simon Doyle (played by Simon MacCorkindale). Soon afterwards Linnet and Simon begin an affair and marry, leaving Jacqueline furious at their betrayal. She begins stalking and harassing the couple on their honeymoon, which includes a visit to Egypt and a pleasure cruise on the SS Karnak, a paddle-steamer sailing on the River Nile. One of the passengers is the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (played by Ustinov), accompanied by his friend Colonel Race (played by David Niven). When Linnet is killed, Poirot must use his skills to find the killer, but his investigation faces serious problems – Jacqueline, the most obvious suspect, has a solid alibi; the arrogant Linnet has managed to make enemies and potential suspects of almost everyone else on the boat; and some of the passengers who actually have useful information are also killed.
The production of this film was spurred by the critical and commercial success of Sidney Lumet’s 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, and some film historians tend to see Death on the Nile as its sequel, despite a different director and lead actor. Directed by John Guillermin, best known for the spectacular and commercially successful 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno, this film tries to look very different, with authentic and impressive Egyptian locations being put to much better use than the Orient Express. The script by British veteran playwright Anthony Shaffer tries very hard to set up the complicated plot and numerous characters, and does so at the expense of pace, making the actual murder begin nearly halfway through the film. But even he can’t do much with the limitations of Agatha Christie’s formula, although viewers unfamiliar with the novel might even be surprised by the twist at the end and the melodramatic conclusion. Ustinov does a very good job, but he is at times overshadowed by other members of the cast, most notably the hysterical Mia Farrow and Angela Lansbury as a flamboyant romance novelist. Although somewhat overlong, Death on the Nile delivers the goods to fans of Agatha Christie and period films in general, with additional flavour given by one of the last scores written by the famous Italian composer Nino Rota, as well as Oscar-awarded costumes by Anthony Powell.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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