DEATH ON THE NILE (1978)
Updated: Dec 10, 2022
An Entertaining Whodunnit Mystery.
Grade: A-
Author Agatha Christie was arguably one of the inventors of the “whodunnit” mystery. With her stories, she used a winning formula of setting up characters, having one of them murdered, and then showing the protagonist search for the killer, which could be anyone. Hercule Poirot may be her most famous creation, and Death on the Nile is a fine introduction to the character for new fans. It is not entirely satisfying, since by the end of the movie, there are still a few plot threads left untied. But it boasts an otherwise well-crafted story that crackles with suspense and is populated by an entertaining cast.
Like all great mysteries, Death on the Nile plays with the expectations of the reader or audience by introducing its characters and addressing what we know-or think we know-about them. Lois Chiles plays an heiress named Linnet Ridgeway Doyle, who will become the story’s murder victim. At the movie’s outset, she falls for Simon MacCorkindale (Simon Doyle) the fiancée of her friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort (Mia Farrow), who is distraught when Simon breaks off their engagement and marries Linnet. Immediately we have the first of many future suspects as a spurned Jackie stalks the newlyweds throughout their honeymoon in Egypt.
As their trip progresses, they come across other people who have an unhealthy interest in Linnet, including her uncle (George Kennedy) who wants more control over her money. There is also a socialite (Bette Davis) and her servant (Maggie Smith), the former of whom is interested in Linnet’s pearls, and the latter of whom resents her because of bad blood between their families. There is an energetic novelist (Angela Lansbury) and her daughter (Olivia Hussey) who are facing a lawsuit by Linnet because of the semblance between her and a character in a novel. The animosity these and other characters have towards Linnet invite us both to suspect them and not to suspect them; it could have been any of them, or it could have been none of them. Their motives seem too obvious, but sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct one.
When all the characters are in play, the screenplay by Anthony Schaffer creates moments of suspense as the murder draws closer. While the guests visit the Karnak temple, an unseen assailant drops a large stone towards Linnet and Simon, narrowly missing them. Jacqueline shows up again at another temple, having previously been thought to have been shaken by the couple. Then there is a shocking moment where a drunken Jacqueline shoots Simon in the leg on the tour boat, putting herself in a state of shock. Finally, Linnet turns up dead, and detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), having suspected imminent foul play, quickly goes to work trying to find the culprit along with his friend, Colonel Race (David Niven).
The director, John Guillermin, had previously proven with The Towering Inferno (1974) that he was capable of handling large ensemble casts. That movie featured the likes of such megastars as Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, and William Holden. With Death on the Nile, Guillermin is again in charge of an impressive group of actors, and he does not waste any of them. Some of them have more to do than others, but they all have time to shine. Two of the best performances are from Farrow and Lansbury. Farrow’s Jacqueline de Bellefort is a menacing presence in the movie’s first half as she follows Linnet and Simon everywhere they go, ignoring warnings from Poirot to let go of her pain. Farrow completely disappears into the role of Jacqueline, becoming frightening as well as sympathetic. Lansbury plays Salome Otterburne as an energetic and off-the-wall writer who relishes the idea of sex in her books. She is a hilarious character that audiences might want to spend more time with.
The interesting thing about Hercule Poirot is how he is basically a stand-in for the audience. He is a great detective, but he is not infallible like, say, Sherlock Holmes. He knows what we know from the outset, that every suspect has a reason to kill Linnet. He goes off on the assumption that the quarrel between Jacqueline and Simon in the saloon was witnessed by someone outside who took the gun that Jacqueline dropped. As he describes how each of them could have done the deed, the movie utilizes alternate flashbacks to demonstrate this theories. But as the body count increases, Poirot realizes he needs to think differently if he is to nab the killer. When he finally figures it out and reveals the truth in the saloon, he acknowledges his previous mistakes while unveiling details that emerged during his investigation that would go over most viewers’ heads, thus proving his worth as a detective.
If there is one serious problem with Death on the Nile, it is that not everything is conclusively answered by the end. It is never revealed who dropped that stone from the top of the pillar, and the affair with Marie Van Schuyler (Davis) and Linnet’s stolen pearls is not entirely resolved. Despite these story problems, the film remains an intriguing mystery with great performances and surprising twists. It is worth a look.
Director: John Guillermin
Screenplay: Anthony Schaffer (Based on the novel by Agatha Christie)
Producers: John Brabourne, Richard B. Goodwin
Cast: Peter Ustinov (Hercule Poirot), Jane Birkin (Louise Bourget), Lois Chiles (Linnet Ridgeway Doyle), Bette Davis (Marie Van Schuyler), Mia Farrow (Jacqueline de Bellefort), Jon Finch (James Ferguson), Olivia Hussey (Rosalie Otterbourne), George Kennedy (Andrew Pennington), Angela Lansbury (Salome Otterbourne), Simon MacCorkindale (Simon Doyle), David Niven (Colonel Race), Maggie Smith (Miss Bowers), Jack Warden (Dr. Bessner)
Rated: PG
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