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, […]

Fidelity to text: 1 cat Yes, cats. A cat serves as the first murder weapon followed by a hatpin in this extremely loose interpretation of After the Funeral, a Hercule Poirot novel. What’s that you shrieked? Margaret Rutherford is portraying Miss Marple in a Poirot novel!? Yes, and that’s just the beginning of the changes. […]

Fidelity to text: 3 1/2 guns Benedict Farley and his business got the most changes, but they enhance the story. The murder is more plausible as well; no stuffed cats are involved. The police inspector transforms into Japp, and Hastings and Miss Lemon are added. And of course, the scriptwriter provided the now obligatory chase […]

Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 garottes The film closely follows the murder plot in The 4:50 From Paddington but changes everything else. Several major characters are dispensed with, while a new one is added: Mr. Stringer, librarian/accomplice (played by Margaret Rutherford’s real-life husband). Quality of movie on its own: 4 garottes If you can overlook […]

Fidelity to text: 3 blunt objects. The basic story is intact, but the changes weaken the conflict, motivations, and even the mystery. They also weaken the characters because there’s no reason to care about Valerie Saintclair’s dilemmas. I certainly didn’t care. Quality of film on its own: 3 blunt objects. It’s serviceable, like the many, […]

Fidelity to the stage play: 4 blunt objects The film added flashbacks, meetings, and most of all, fleshed out Sir Wilfred’s character and added Nurse Plimsoll, doing her darnedest to manage a cantankerous patient. Quality of movie on its own: 5 blunt objects What a stunner; it’s beautifully shot, acted, paced, tightly scripted with snappy […]