Teresa reviews “Thirteen at Dinner” (1985) and loved seeing David Suchet before he put on the mustache. Fidelity to text: 4 knives It’s really close to the novel. The major change is to the date, the minor ones add a film within a film and remove why murder was preferred to divorce. Quality of movie […]
Teresa reviews “The Affair of the Pink Pearl” (1983) and believes that there’s no place to go for it than up. Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 thieves Text? Which text? The opening episode combines three stories into one episode, while ignoring the overall arc tying the short story collection together. Quality of movie on its […]
Teresa reviews “Ordeal by Innocence” (1985) and likes the Miss Marple version better. Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 blunt objects Hester gets youthened, Mary and Philip Durrant hate each other, Tina gets whitewashed, Maureen turns into a single slut and the changes just keep on coming. Quality of film on its own: 2 1/2 blunt […]
Teresa reviews “The Manhood of Edward Robinson” (1982) and discovers Agatha Christie wrote screwball comedies before Hollywood. Fidelity to text: 3 thieves Greatly expanded over the slight plot, giving Edward a new best friend, Maud a character arc, and Noreen a more complex way to avoid boredom. Quality of movie on its own: 4 thieves […]
Teresa reviews “Murder with Mirrors” (1985) and finds it the best of the three versions, but not the best of all. Fidelity to text: 3 guns I expect characters in adaptations to disappear and be combined, simpler plots, and name changes. I don’t expect fiery deaths of nonentity characters who suddenly become criminal-minded zealots. Quality […]
Teresa reviews “Jane in Search of a Job” (1982) and finds its an amusing adventure that needed a bit more froth. Fidelity to text: 3 thieves The film is greatly expanded over the story. In particular, the rescuing hero gets a name and a backstory. Other characters grow, and still more appear to flesh out […]
Teresa reviews “A Caribbean Mystery” (1983) and found it a faithful, slow cruise to the islands. Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 poison bottles Some minor characters disappear and everyone turned into Americans, but it’s all here, setting the stage for subsequent adaptations. Quality of movie on its own: 3 1/2 poison bottles It’s a little […]
Teresa reviews “Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan” (1993) Fidelity to text: 3 1/2 thieves The screenwriter added plenty, but most of the additions were based on hints in the text or accurate — but weird! — period details Quality of film on its own: 4 thieves I’d have given it another half-thief but the […]
Teresa reviews “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (2000) and found the changes too hard to swallow. Fidelity to text: 2 daggers The overall arc remains but oh, my God! Losing minor characters is understandable but adding a murder and completely rewriting the ending is not. Quality of movie on its own: 2 daggers The ending […]
Teresa reviews “Dead Man’s Mirror” (1993) and finds it a pale reflection of Agatha’s story. Fidelity to text: 2 guns The core of the story is there, but after that, the scriptwriter ran hog-wild. Quality of movie on its own: 2 guns Too many of the changes took a good story and made it slow, […]