Teresa reviews “The Girl in the Train” (1982) and finds it not a patch on the original story. Fidelity to text: 4 damsels in distress Significantly expanded over the slight short story, but they flubbed a big part of George’s happy ending. Quality of movie on its own: 3 1/2 damsels in distress Too much […]
Teresa reviews Death in the Clouds (1992), a Poirot episode. Fidelity to text: 3 1/2 blow-gun darts Almost everything important remains except time wasted on tennis that would have been better served filming the baying reporters at the inquest. Agatha was both funny and perceptive about the press. Quality of movie on its own: 3 […]
Summary: Teresa reviews “The ABC Murders” (1992) and finds it a better, if slightly flawed version than the Tony Randall 1965 “comedy.” Fidelity to text: 4 blunt objects It’s very close to the novel; minor characters and subplots are replaced by a stuffed South American alligator (aka Cedric the caiman). Quality of movie on its […]
Teresa Reviews “In a Glass Darkly” (1982), an episode from The Agatha Christie Hour. Fidelity to text: 4 stranglers The story got fleshed out, most significantly with what Agatha was very familiar with but didn’t address per se: shellshock or as we call it, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Quality of movie on its own: 5 […]
Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 revolvers The murder and plot twist remain but everything else was enhanced, added, omitted, or otherwise changed. Quality of movie on its own: 3 revolvers We had to rewatch the opening sequence three times to figure out who was who. After that, it got better as long as you don’t […]
Teresa reviews “The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife” (1982), the first episode from “The Agatha Christie Hour.” Fidelity to text: 4 gigolos Everything the text alludes to is onscreen with added characters to better dramatize the storyline. Quality of movie on its own: 5 gigolos This had everything, including a big band with a crooner, […]
Fidelity to text: 4 butter knives The major changes made the episode more television-worthy. Sadly, they omitted the doctor’s opinion and rigor mortis. Quality of movie on its own: 4 butter knives This is a fun one, with fancy dress, fine porcelain collectibles, baying reporters, and Poirot seeing his name on the front page but […]
Fidelity to text: 5 blunt objects Agatha gets sole writing credit, so you know this is a line-for-line reading of the original play. Quality of movie on its own: 3 blunt objects This never came to life for me. Clarissa is supposed to be the effervescent, unbelievable, manic pixie dream girl. This Clarissa wasn’t it. […]
Fidelity to text: 3 thieves To which version? The 1923 very short story or the 1960 greatly expanded one? And there’s the date change to 1935. Whichever story you choose, the movie remains true to the spirit. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 thieves A charming, clever, good old-fashioned English Christmas with romance, […]
Fidelity to text: 3 hatchet jobs It’s reasonably accurate, particularly since every word comes from Agatha’s memoirs or news reports. But the film glossed over a lot. Quality of movie on its own: 3 hatchet jobs It should have been better since there’s great story material present: romance, death, cheating, fugue states, amnesia, divorce, and […]