Fidelity to text: 1/2 poisoned dart The underlying plot of The A.B.C. Murders exists, but nothing else remains. Even Hastings got a major rewrite, turning him into a bungling Robert Morley. Quality of movie on its own: 1 poisoned dart Dreadful but not as bad as Innocent Lies (1995), which was deliberately offensive, obscure, and […]
Fidelity to text: 4 thieves. Every change enhanced existing story elements, including the parrot. After all, the text references a sparrow in passing. A visiting parrot is funnier. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 thieves. Funny, fast-paced, action-filled, and a decent mystery considering the tiny pool of suspects. A difficulty that all mystery […]
Fidelity to text: 2 murder weapons (the novel); 3 1/2 murder weapons (the play). The scriptwriter tossed much of the source material over Devil’s Leap in a mad attempt to drag the play into the 1960s. Quality of movie on its own: 3 1/2 murder weapons. Some of the changes work but not all. A […]
Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 poison bottles Replace an anonymous landlady with Miss Lemon, an anonymous policemen with Inspector Japp, augment a few scenes alluded to in the text and you’ve got yourself an enhanced — while still faithful — film. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 poison bottles Everything worked, including the […]
Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 blunt objects. It’s a virtually line-for-line reenactment of the play, other than Pippa being nearly suffocated by the murderer. Quality of movie on its own: 4 blunt objects. Funny, frothy, ridiculous, and as light as air. If you can accept the very stagy sets and the odd, often incongruous music, […]
Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 knives Lots of rewriting was needed to turn a nothingburger of a story into something worth watching. Expanded scenes, added characters, and florid settings provide an action story instead of a remembrance of things past. Quality of film on its own: 3 1/2 knives Most of the time, the rewriting […]
Fidelity to text: 1/2 poison bottles There are scraps of plot from They Do It With Mirrors lurking under the waves surrounding the H.M.S. Battledore. But other than Miss Marple, nothing remains of Agatha Christie. Quality of movie on its own: 2 poison bottles Murky, muddy, dragging when it should be sailing along. The movie […]
Fidelity to text: 4 thieves (no murders occur) It’s close, right down to dialog lifted wholesale from the short story. The additions flesh out the story beautifully, add a suspicious housekeeper, and provide much more interesting settings to stage chase scenes than Poirot’s flat. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 thieves One of […]
Fidelity to text: 1 garrote. The film is based on a Hercule Poirot novel, Mrs. McGinty’s Dead. Miss Marple takes over, Poirot’s gone, Ariadne Oliver is gone, everyone else is gone, and virtually all of the plot other than the two-sentence synopsis is gone. Quality of movie on its own: 4 garrotes. Nonetheless, it works […]
Fidelity to text: 3 guns The obvious change is removing Freddie Rice’s worthless husband and adding Miss Lemon. Inspector Japp and Hastings get their roles beefed up too. The concealed change is removing the evidence that Poirot used to solve the crime. Quality of movie on its own: 3 guns It’s gorgeous, fast-paced, beautifully acted, […]