Death on the Nile full cast revealed

Where does Branagh get the backing to turn perfection into a steaming pile of shit? He learned nothing from Murder on the Orient Express?

Rose Leslie? Kit Harington's beard, uh, wife? She really gets around (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey).

Who's playing the Nicholas Clay part, and will he get to wear revealing bathing trunks?

Wrong movie, r3 -- you're thinking of Evil Under the Sun.

French and Saunders: PRO

Brand and Hammer: CON

Are the two black chicks playing maids or Egyptians? Isn't the cast of characters all socialites and rich people in the 30s?

So, who's going to play Angela Lansbury's part. French or Saunders?

Damn, Annette Benning definitely needs to play Elizabeth Warren in the Lifetime movie based on her candidacy.

Omg Armie!

Will it be Letitia or Gal to play Mia’s role?

r4 Oops! Sorry. I guess those impure thoughts of Nicholas Clay distracted me.

I’m pretty sure that Sophie Okenado is playing Angela’s role, Salome Ottobourne, and Letitia is playing her daughter, Rosalie. Letitia was announced some time ago.

I imagine Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer play the roles Mia Farrow and Simon MacCorkindale played.

Actually if you look at the diagram, it’s likely that Letitia will be playing the Mia’s role, with Gal as the rich spoilt heiress.

Fuck! Now I'm getting excited about it.

Oops sorry I was wrong:

It looks to me like Letitia is playing a lesbian.

Not quite, r12. Some of the actors have been announced with their characters. Arnie Hammer is indeed Simon, but Gal Gadot is playing Linnet (Lois Chiles’ role originally), who’s the first murder victim.

Letitia Wright was announced as Rosalie Otterbourne, so Sophie Okenado must be her mother, Salome.

Educated guesses:

Rose Leslie is Jacqueline ( Mia Farrow’s part)

Annette Bening was announced as Euphmia. Educated guess: She’s playing the Bette Davis Role of Mrs. Van Schuyler, who is American. Jennifer Saunders as her nurse, Bowers (the Maggie Smith role). In the book, Mrs VS also has a cousin with her. Plus there is, in the book, Tim Allerton & his mother (both not in the ‘78 movie). Perhaps Dawn French is Mrs. Allerton? Or, alternately, French is Bette Davis, and Annette Bening’s Euphemia is Mrs Allerton?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Russell Brand as the doctor maybe? I don't really see him as any of the characters except maybe the eccentric heir...but he's too old for that role and what's the point without Cornelia? Surely they won't have him play the straight man and be Colonel Race. Oh dear, that's it, isn't it?

The presence of Letitia Wright and Sophie Okenado seems a bit forced. Why not just go for color blind casting? I bet Wright would be very good as Linnet, and might make an interesting Jackie.

Agree that French and Saunders will likely be paired up as nurse and companion. Unless one of them is filling in for the American trustee but that would also be a bit forced.

I am going to complain endlessly about this movie...and go see it opening weekend.

R16 I sense Lesbian as well. I'm glad we are getting some representation in murder mystery remakes. It's about time.

I thought no, then when they said French and Saunders...and Gal...I'm in.

I will just watch this for French & Saunder, Annett Bening and Tom Bateman, but will zone out other actors, especially Russell Brand.

Well it will be nice to see Armie shot at the end.

R23 it's my fantasy come to life!

What a happy ending!

The cast seems a bit TV in parts...

Not exactly A-list

Hammer is playing Salome Otterbourne.

This is definitely a downmarket cast when compared with the original.

I could see Travolta in the Bette Davis role.

I can't believe they didn't drag out Judi Dench or Maggie Smith (for a sense of movie history!)....Could this possibly be any more tired? Kenneth Branagh is shameless.

The cast list is... Underwhelming

Armie Hammer as Simon Doyle could make this movie sizzle!

It would brilliant to make the Mia (Jackie), Lois Chiles (Linnet Doyle) and Simon MacCorkindale (Simon Doyle) roles all gay men. All the relationship drama, greed, and viciousness would make more sense.

It might work even better if they were all lesbians.

I wish they would replace Gal with Brie Larson. Nobody wants to see Gal's terrible acting.

[quote]Armie Hammer as Simon Doyle could make this movie sizzle!

Or fizzle.

Jodie Comer was attached to this for a long time. She'd have been great as Jacqueliiiiiine although a very similar role to Killing Eve.

Is Rose Leslie replacing her as the demure abandoned waif?

Judging by the cast pyramid, Letitica Wright is playing the Farrow role.

The Orient Express was so tedious I'm not expecting much this time. The film started nicely, especially because Bateman is pure sex on screen, but it didn't take long before it turned into a mess. I did like the scenery but even that became boring after a while. Branagh was terrible. I kept being reminded of his Harry Potter character since he seems to share certain characteristics with him.

[quote]The film started nicely, especially because Bateman is pure sex on screen

Jason or Justine? I don't recall seeing either of them in that film.

Tom Bateman

Bateman is gorgeous. I enjoyed his performance in Cold Pursuit.

Why is that turd Brannah remaking the classics? If he wanted to play Poirot there plenty of less famous novels to cover.

It is impossible for me to take Branagh seriously with that animal pelt on his face.

Branagh is the only actor who actually wears the moustache as it is described by Christie.

Throughout Christie’s stories, his moustache was described as ‘gigantic’, ‘immense’ and ‘amazing’, pointing to the importance of this physical asset. By 1934 Poirot himself was described as ‘a little man with enormous moustaches’ in Murder on the Orient Express. In Murder, he has some difficulty keeping his moustache out of his soup because of its size. By this point and beyond it was clearly his greatest physical attribute, being described as ‘an immense moustache’ in The Labours of Hercules in 1947.

The cast is not good enough to warrant a theatrical release.

Don't be surprised if this ends up on Disney+.

Is this a comedy?

The original is practically perfect, no need to remake.

The press release attributes this quote to Branagh: "There are significant new twists"

I had a forlorn hope they wouldn't mess with Christie's plotting. Oh, well.

I know, these fuckers seldom add anything brilliant to the mix. The only Christie's that need some help are her later ones when The Queen Of Crime was losing her narrative grip.

Who keeps trying to make Russell Brand happen??

Russel Brand can barely speak.

zzzzzzzzzzzz

I hope they mix up the plot a little bit. This story has been done faithfully wonderfully. I see no sense in watching if it’s just going to be an exact copy. That’s what ruined Orient for me. Who doesn’t know the ending to that for fuck’s sake. The ending is paramount in a mystery. It’s not the Titanic story which is interesting because you know the ending, that it’s doomed.

Hopefully Brand is just a cameo. Shame. He has gotta be the most worthless “entertainer” ever because he’s so stupid he thinks he’s smart. That’s a dangerous combination: a dearth of intelligence with pretensions of genius.

R53 you haven't read his Booky Wook then?

[quote]Russel Brand can barely speak.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

R44 There is enormous, and there is raccoon fur.

Why had Armie been cast twice as an upper class English gent?

Russel Brand will have the small but memorable role of Egyptian boy who moons the boat passengers from the bank of the Nile;

For a real frisson, they should have brought along Mia Farrow....thrown all the roles into a hat and made each actor play the part they picked....I can see Mia as Poirot right now.

On imdb, it says Gal Gadot is playing Linnet Ridgeway, played by Lois Chiles in the original.

We know the following:

Hercule Poirot...Kenneth Branagh (Peter Ustinov in the original)

Linnet Ridgeway Doyle...Gal Gadot (Lois Chiles)

Simon Doyle...Armie Hammer (Simon MacCorkindale)

Solomé Otterbourne...Sophie Okenedo (Angela Lansbury)

Rosalie Otterbourne...Letitia Wright (Olivia Hussey)

Jacqueline de Belfort...Rose Leslie (Mia Farrow)

Tom Bateman is reprising the role he played in Murder on the Orient Express, an indication of the changes made to Christie's novel...I assume his character is going to serve the same purpose as Col. Race (David Niven) in the original.

I'm guessing French & Saunders are playing Mrs. Von Schuyler (Bette Davis) and Bowers (Maggie Smith). I wonder if avowed socialist Russel Brand will be playing avowed socialist Ferguson (Jon Finch)?

[quote]Is this a comedy?

About five minutes into my audition with Sir Kenneth I realized I was in a horror movie.

It would have been fun to cast Angela Lansbury in the Bette Davis role since she was a member of the original cast.

Angie could have finally won that Oscar!

Who plays Oh Goody Goody?

I love r44 ♥️

[quote]m guessing French & Saunders are playing Mrs. Von Schuyler (Bette Davis) and Bowers (Maggie Smith).

Possibly, but what of Annette Bening? Since Mrs. Von Schuyler is an American character (per the book), might she not be playing her?

They must be adding Mrs. Allerton from the book. I can't see either Dawn French or Annette Bening as Louise Bourget (although it would be a hoot to see Dawn French do the "what if I saw someone? What if I saw someone go into Madame's room?" scene.

Jennifer Saunders is a more talented performer than Dawn French.

Neither Hammer nor McCorkindale is a great actor, but it's an easy part and they look nice in the period clothes. I agree the mustache is a disaster.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Is this based on that Katy Perry video?

Yes.

Agree, r12.

Oops! I should have read further.

Doesn't matter; I have no interest in Branagh as HP.

We do not need another version of this. 1978 version is perfect and its cast exceptional. The cast in the one is shit as is Kenneth Branagh as a director.

[Quote] its cast exceptional

Namaste.

The casting is kind of uninspired but I will see this because I have a weak spot for Agatha Christie mysteries.

Hope it’s not as bad as the remake of Murder on the Orient Express.

I thought Farrow was amazing: Jackie is a great role, with some surprising aspects, and she played it to perfection. Her accent is pretty good, and she was well costumed in Anthony Powell's beautiful thirties clothes (which deservedly won him an Oscar). It will be hard to top that.

Branagh's version of MOTOE made over $100 million worldwide on a quarter of that budget. Another Christie adaptation was inevitable.

I'll hate watch it.

Agatha Christie wrote, what, 100 novels? And they keep RE-making the same ones. which is so stupid. Neither "Orient Express" nor "Nile" was all that good to begin with--bloated, sluggish, too long, too many stars, or "stars"....and now they're spoken about reverentially as "classics" that need to be remade?

This makes me feel so old, because I am.

I agree R82, Agatha Christie has a vast collection to choose from. I'm tired of movie remakes.

I hear they're remaking "The Front Page" with that English boy Mae West put on...

I will love this.

Nobody wants to see this.

I'm not going to waste my time seeing this. Hammer is a horrible actor and so is Gal.

I would have made a point to see it if Jodie Comer had been Jacqueline. Rose Leslie is a poor second choice.

R80 Orient Express, somewhat inexplicably, made €353 million!

I want to hear from Voice Of The Night, he was very keen on his Agatha Christie.

There is no need for this. The original is lots of fun and packed with star power. I agree Farrow gives a great performance. Lois Chile’s was so beautiful. Just a knock out. Casting should always be based on talent + star quality and this new version is sorely lacking.

Branagh really is insufferable. I see his obsession with Tom B is still in full swing. The silly fool has been tying himself in knots over that boy for years.

R80 sure but the MOTOE cast was far superior to this mainly C list actors and superhero actors with minimal talent. Pass.

Not to mention MOTOE was a novelty because it was Branagh's first attempt and looked aesthetically appealing. Once people caught on about how poor it was, word of mouth quickly reduced the box office. People won't be so naive the second time around. Specifically with such a trash cast. Jodie would have elevated it but thankfully she gave this mess a pass.

R82, David Suchet and Company starred in quite a few Poirot stories! And then there are the many Marple adaptations, not to mention Tommy and Tuppence! I think Christie's oeuvre might be best suited for television.

But my favorite has yet to be filmed in any medium, although according to "Variety" "Entertainment One has recently acquired TV rights for" it: "They Came to Baghdad." No Christie detective per se, but a cracking good opening chapter and heroine!

[quote] Branagh really is insufferable. I see his obsession with Tom B is still in full swing. The silly fool has been tying himself in knots over that boy for years.

It's somehow endearing and even hot imagining Branagh pining for Bateman, and managing to get a few blowjobs out of it by promising him roles in his movies. I totally get him, though, since Bateman is like candy.

Replacing Jodie Comer with Rose Leslie is a major bummer.

R92 I love THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD! I have recommended the audiobook with Emilia Fox all over this board.

It needs a madcap screwball comedy actress.

This third rate cast (Hammer, Gadot, Benning) can't hold a candle to the likes of Maggie Smith, Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Jon Finch, Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, David Niven, Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Simon MacCorkindale & Jack Warden.

I like Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French (little time for Russel Brand) but the casting of these three makes me wonder if this should be called Carry On Death on the Nile.

According to Wikipedia, there are 5 Agatha Christie novels that have yet to be produced for either TV or film:

Death Comes as the End (1944)

They Came to Baghdad (1951)

Destination Unknown (1954)

Passenger to Frankfurt (1970)

Postern of Fate (1973)

I wish they’d remake “4:50 from Paddington.” My favorite Christie.

Lois Chiles was gorgeous.

R31 you are underwhelming...

r99 Four times isn't enough for you?

The ITV version with David Suchet had some more appealing names than this remake.

A pre-Prada Emily Blunt in the Lois Chiles/Gal Gadot role, Dame Judy Parfitt as Bette Davis and Dame Frances de la Tour as Dame Angela Lansbury.

These Agatha Christie adaptations are not what they were.

I still LOL at the mental image of Frances de la Tour going down when her character is getting shot.

Frances got a great line about yoinh down like a rusty carbuncle

I’m fine with all the casting except for Brand and Gadot, since neither of them can act. Everything else ranges from fine to excellent.

Death on the D-List

Ugly Branagh tries to be "Urban Badass" but just ends up being bad.

Death on the Orient Express movie's greatest redeeming quality was Michelle Pfeiffer and the Euro style cinematography (plus Tom Bateman is easy on the eye). The worst was Branagh's Poirot as action hero chasing bad guys (or stepping into shit twice to balance his walk).

[quote]I still LOL at the mental image of Frances de la Tour going down

Us too.

"Evil under the Sun" would be a good one to remake. I would not be interested in "Death on the Nile." "Murder on the Orient Express" was not a good story, IMO, due to *all* of them being the murderers. It's more satisfying when one or two people are the murderers.

R112, who should play the role of DL fave Nicholas Clay? It would require an actor with a bubble butt.

Euro style cinematography? I remembered MOTOE having a dreary and sterile teal and orange Hollywood look. Made me long for the dreamy, fog-filtered haze of the original.

R113, Clay is definitely flexing his glute muscles in this photo. Jon Hamm comes to mind, but the role calls for someone younger.

I'm still amazed that they put Clay in those revealing swim trunks for a mainstream movie, R115/R112.

It's something you'd expect in a gay movie, not an Agatha Christie film.

But lucky us!

I think Tom Hooper could pull off wearing a speedo.

Sorry, I meant Tom Hopper.

Yeah, Tom Hopper is a big guy.

He played one of Arthur's hunky knights on "Merlin".

(Lots of buttock-fanciers in this thread)

^ They must be Pommies.

Sean Lamont for Nicholas Clay role!

They should have got that old bag Mirren for the Bette Davis role

^. Mirren is an American now and too pricey for Ugly Branagh's 'bad-ass' budget.

Mirren may have U.S. citizenship through her American husband, but she's still considered British.

Mirren hasn't been in a decent film in years

This Branagh film will not be a decent film.

I didn't watch the first movie, only read the book ages ago. Amber Heard would be perfect for the role of Linna Ridgeway (the beautiful, spoilt heiress). I don't know if she can act, but she has the right look and aura. In the book Linna is described as a classic blonde beauty. Jacqueline de Bellefort (her love rival) should be played by Mila Kunis. IIRC, Jacqueline is decribed as petite and dark-haired with a somewhat 'exotic' look. Attractive, but not a flawless, classic beauty like Linna. She's lively, hot-blooded and obsessed with her ex Simon who's now married to Linna. Kunis already played a wild, crazy chick in Black Swan and has that 'dangerous' energy about her. She might be prone to going over the top though.

Simon is described as charming, masculine, ruthless, but a bit of a simpleton. I feel like he should be played by someone hot, but not too modelesque/classically beautiful. 15 years ago I would have said, Ben Affleck, although I'm not sure if he can do a British accent. Probably not. In any case, Armie Hammer is too soft-looking imo.

[Quote] ruthless, but a bit of a simpleton.

Richard Madden?

[quote] She might be prone to going over the top though.

I just remembered that *** SPOILER ALERT *** Jacqueline following Linna and Simon and acting like an unhinged drama queen was part of her and Simon's plan. So maybe it wouldn't even be a problem if the acting was a bit hammy in the first part. But for Jacqueline's scenes at the end you need a strong actress. Not sure if Kunis could pull it off. She seems to do mainly romantic comedies.

R 138, the character is Linnet Ridgeway, not Linna. Go back and check your book.

I'm pretty sure that her birth name is Linnet, but she's called 'Linna' throughout the book by people close to her.

In both film versions (the original in 1978 and the Poirot TV movie) she is referred to only as Linnet, including by Simon and Jacqueline, who know her the best. Likewise with the two detailed summaries of the book and the many different references to it.

By the way, the movie has already been cast, so your actor choices, which are dreadful, are not needed.

Some of us were coming up with names for the future remake of "Evil under the Sun".

Why do you need a new name for "Evil under the Sun"? It's a good name; all the other remakes used the original name.

[quote] can't hold a candle to the likes of [.....] , Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Simon MacCorkindale & Jack Warden.

[italic] Honey. [/italic]

Lois Chiles and Simon MacCorkindale were blocks of wood, granted, but Jack Warden and George Kennedy were fine character actors.

I think he means names for the cast of an Evil Under the Sun remake, r136, not a new name for the movie.

Yes, R139.

We were just suggesting actors that could play the new roles -- eg. who would play the role that was played by DL fave Nicholas Clay.

Death of a Whore?

Higher! Wider! Sausage!

Couldn't they have found a role for Faye?

The butt really was quite ample.

Who the fuck is Linna? The character's name is Linnet Doyle, née Ridgeway.

Evil Under The Sun remake

Kenneth Branagh as Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective Amy Adams as Diana Rigg as glamorous actress Arlena Stuart Marshall Colin Firth as Denis Quilley as Kenneth Marshall, Arlena's husband Priyanka Chopra-Jonas as Emily Hone as Linda Marshall, Kenneth's teenage daughter from an earlier marriage Laverne Cox as Maggie Smith as Daphne Castle, the owner of the island resort Jeremy Irvine as Nicholas Clay as Patrick Redfern, a handsome young man with a mousy wife Mia Wasikowska as Jane Birkin as Christine Redfern, a mousy woman with a handsome young husband Lawrence Fishburne as Colin Blakely as Sir Horace Blatt, a millionaire industrialist Rupert Everett as Roddy McDowall as Rex Brewster, a pompous writer and theatre critic Jeremy Irons as James Mason as Odell Gardener, New York City theatrical producer Glenn Close as Sylvia Miles as Myra Gardener, New York City theatrical producer Tom Bateman as Bouc, the close personal friend of Hercule Poirot with LGBTQIDAHO+ undertones

Once again with formatting

Evil Under The Sun remake

Kenneth Branagh as Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective

Amy Adams as Diana Rigg as glamorous actress Arlena Stuart Marshall

Colin Firth as Denis Quilley as Kenneth Marshall, Arlena's husband

Priyanka Chopra-Jonas as Emily Hone as Linda Marshall, Kenneth's teenage daughter from an earlier marriage

Laverne Cox as Maggie Smith as Daphne Castle, the owner of the island resort

Jeremy Irvine as Nicholas Clay as Patrick Redfern, a handsome young man with a mousy wife

Mia Wasikowska as Jane Birkin as Christine Redfern, a mousy woman with a handsome young husband

Lawrence Fishburne as Colin Blakely as Sir Horace Blatt, a millionaire industrialist

Rupert Everett as Roddy McDowall as Rex Brewster, a pompous writer and theatre critic

Jeremy Irons as James Mason as Odell Gardener, New York City theatrical producer

Glenn Close as Sylvia Miles as Myra Gardener, New York City theatrical producer

Tom Bateman as Bouc, the close personal friend of Hercule Poirot with LGBTQIDAHO+ undertones

They should re-team Emily Blunt and AnnE as Arlena & Daphne.

Adam Adams is NOT glamorous - she is an ugly frump (but she can act).

Amy Adams would make more sense in the Jane Birkin role, even if she's a little old.

Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Russell Brand??! This is gonna be shit-tastic like the last one. Who is giving him the money to keep directing this crap??

Jennifer Saunders cannot act. I saw her in four dramatic roles and she was atrocious.

[Quote] I saw her in four dramatic roles

On stage?

[quote] Priyanka Chopra-Jonas as Emily Hone as Linda Marshall, Kenneth's teenage daughter from an earlier marriage

SPOILER ALERT. That one doesn't make any sense. Isn't this the dim witted character who establishes the fake timeline? It should be played by a kid actor or actress. In the David Suchet series a very young Russel Tovey played the character as rebellious brat of a teen.

R153 - don't pick holes in my casting - I'm being inclusive!

[quote]Adam Adams is NOT glamorous - she is an ugly frump (but she can act).

R148 - I hear you - we'll go for AnnE in the Arlena role instead of Amy.

The movie can even start with a flashback to a song and dance number from Arlena's last big Broadway hit with the Gardeners and Brewster in the audience.

R154 You are being insufficiently inclusive. You need to include Badass-African-Badass-Americans in this British story about Britons in a British colony.

R154 - you don't picture Laverne Cox as a bitchy sassy bad ass African American LGBTQI woman running a successful business as an example of inclusivity?

How about we make Daphne a former dancer left paraplegic after a tragic can-can incident and cast Mo'nique as Bertha, her gender fluid trash talking physiotherapist?

R132, Find a quoted instance.

The casting of r146 would be like "Death on the Love Boat," moored in Cabot's Cove.

Let the original be.

The 1978 Death on the Nile was a real star studded affair, and even the Murder on the Orient Express remake had a pretty good cast. But this line up is really bad. It's the kind of cast you'd see on a TV version screened on a bank holiday monday!!

Who wants a bet that Brannagh has steered the studio away from casting big names because his ego cannot stand it. Watch the end credits for Murder on The Orient Express and see how Brannagh (who would have been in the editing suite), relegated Olivia Colman's credit to a shared bit part place with several other lesser actors, as opposed to single name billing on the screen (as the others got). She was playing one of the key players in a role Ingrid Bergman had taken in the original!! She won Best Actress Oscar within a year of that snide credit placing by Brannagh and how he must have hated it! He's playing it safer this time and casting the likes of Russell Brand!!

another remake that no one asked for, just like the previous one Murder on the Orient Express, it will bomb!

The Suchet Nile is a lot of fun. The guy who played the socialist was oddly hot. I wanted him to make out with Simon.

JJ Feild, the Suchet versions Simon, was very sexy

R160 Olivia Colman was playing the role that Rachel Roberts played in the original Murder on the Orient Express. Penelope Cruz played the Ingrid Bergman role.

I hate the thin-lipped Kenneth Branagh with a passion.

He used to be merely, impertinently presumptuous when he —and his loud-mouthed harridan of a wife— was trying to emulate Lord Olivier.

And, now, he's just contemptible trash with his scrounging, second-rate "Bad-ass" remakes in order to get American ticket-buyers.

R160 my sentiments exactly. I'm also sure the Jodie Comer casting fell through because Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot didn't want her to make mincemeat of their mediocre/poor acting chops. Very tv movie cast, indeed.

Murder On the Orient Express was a chore to get through.

You know, it would have been cute if they cast Emily Blunt as Jackie. Of course the character in the book is younger but no one cares about those details.

Here's an idea, Sir Ken: spend your budget on good actors, not location shoots and dumb cgi.

Annette looks like such a frump. I think the person who suggested Brannah doesn't want to be upstaged is onto something

I wonder where they’re going to film in Egypt? It’s not exactly tourist-friendly these days. Not that it was in 1977, but it was safer then than it is now.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? is another of my favorites. They made it into a TV movie but it could be a very sharp, darkly funny remake in the hands of the right director.

Where can I find the original Death on the Nile to watch? It looks like it’s not available of amazon to rent/buy.

You have to keep clicking the green arrow on the movie - it will try to redirect you to bad links multiple times. But after 3 or 4 clicks and redirects, you'll get the actual film.

[quote]I wonder where they’re going to film in Egypt? It’s not exactly tourist-friendly these days. Not that it was in 1977, but it was safer then than it is now.

Bette Davis hated having to go to Egypt.

Bette Davis and Olivia Hussey feuded on the set.

Lois Chiles was gorgeous. Why didn't she have a bigger career?

Because she couldn’t act, r175.

Omg, how boring.

This one line probably didn't help.

Roberts Evans writes in his autobiography about someone (another producer, I think) sending Lois Chiles over to his house. Evans had recently come out of a relationship. Well, Chiles moved in that very day... I guess she went to the wrong house next time around and ended up in a one shot guest role on "Hart to Hart" not long after "Moonraker."

R174 According to Mia Farrow, Bette Davis said to her when they were filming in Egypt "In my day they would have filmed all this in Hollywood. And better!"

^ Bette Davis was a stupid woman.

No she wasn't.

I can predict one thing already: the score will not be nearly as great as Nino Rota's.

[quote]The butt really was quite ample.

Very much so, R143.

And Clay seemed to enjoy showing it off.

Bette Davis was a stupid woman who could only put in a coherent performance if she was kept under control by William Wyler.

The location filming in Egypt (there was quite a lot of it) was done first, then they all went back to the luxury of Pinewood Studios outside London, where all the scenes on the ship were filmed.

[quote]Bette Davis and Olivia Hussey feuded on the set

Really? But they hardly had anything to do together in the film.

To think the 1978 Death on the Nile is 41 years old now! I feels like on yesterday that I saw the film back then. Most of the cast are dead. Six are still with us: Angelia Lansbury, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, Lois Chiles, Olivia Hussey & Jan Birkin. And four of the characters they played got killed in the film!

The 1978 version can never be bettered.

Was the David Suchet version good?

R191

Yes, you are right. I saw it on theatre back then and it just feels like yesterday.

French and Saunders.....bop-a-doo-ee-oo.....

r190, if I recall correctly: Bette and Olivia's make-up rooms were right next to each other; Olivia liked to listen to Indian sitar music, Bette would pound on the wall for her to turn it down, Olivia would turn it up, it went on day after day....

I can only imagine how difficult the shoot in Egypt must've been for Bette Davis. By that time she was an elderly, cantankerous alcoholic who lived a cushy life in Beverly Hills. Going to a boiling hot third world country must've been quite an ordeal for her at that stage of life.

I knew Lois years ago when she was dating a friend of mine -- she was great pals with Michelle Pfeiffer and we'd hang out.

What was weird that on scereen Michelle was beautiful but in person, Lois was so much more amazing. In fact, she might have been the most beautiful woman I have ever met, something about her skin, her tone, it's as though she radiated beauty. Luminescent, she was. The camera couldn't pick that up. But in person, she made Michelle, who had acne and bad hair, look like a frump.

Lois Chiles was very good in her small part in The Way We Were. She should've had more screen time but you know Barbra wasn't having any of that.

They should have cast Angie in Evil Under The Sun, who could she have played?

L + M

Why not HICKORY DICKORY DEATH?

Murder at Hazelmoor, Dead Man's Folly, A Murder Is Announced, The Body in the Library....ANYTHING. There are dozens and dozens and dozens to choose from!!!!

WHY THIS STUPID THING????

Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor Who), appears in the Joan Hickson "A Pocketful of Rye" (1985):

[quote]Murder at Hazelmoor, Dead Man's Folly, A Murder Is Announced, The Body in the Library....ANYTHING. There are dozens and dozens and dozens to choose from!!!! WHY THIS STUPID THING????

Well, it has to be Poirot because Branagh is dead set on playing him. So "A Murder is Announced," "The Body in the Library," and "The Sittaford Mystery" (Murder at Hazelmoor) are out. But "Dead Man's Folly" would be perfect.

[quote]They should have cast Angie in Evil Under The Sun, who could she have played?

Almost any of the female roles. She could have done Daphne, Arlena, or Myra.

Lois Chiles was from a filthy rich Texas oil family, she never needed any money from acting.

Angie was announced for multiple Marple movies. When Mirror Crack'd underperformed, no more movie Marple for Ange. The producers were not going to bring her back to the fold.

They did a version of "Body in the Library" in 2004 with Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple.

The lesbian subplot was made much more prominent than it had been before.

Angie wasn't particularly happy as Marple. She felt like everybody else got the good material (especially Kim and Liz) and she didn't really do anything.

Joanna Lumley was also in that "Body in the Library."

Well ... at least Lois Chiles hasn't gotten fat.

R208, very true. I noticed that myself when I watched it a few years ago. Lansbury gets very little to do as Miss Marple -- she's basically just a supporting character.

Part of that may be the structure of the Marple novels themselves -- Christie usually gave Marple less action than Poirot.

Nicholas Clay, (Evil Under the Sun, 1982)

Lois got a nosejob, I see.

[Quote] Angie wasn't particularly happy as Marple. She felt like everybody else got the good material (especially Kim and Liz) and she didn't really do anything.

And yet she did "Murder, She Wrote" for years and years.

Miss Marple was always more of an observant character who just minds her own business while listening in on the conversations (before the murder) and later during the confessions and murder suspect interviews. She just happens to be around at the pivotal moments that build to the final reveal who the murderer is.

With Poirot you had a more dominating figure who actually leads the investigations. He could be a gentleman, or he could be the bad cop so-to-speak. Miss Marple couldn't be that aggressive or domineering during her sleuthing, she always had to sweet-old-lady talk herself into not getting thrown out of the premises after the murder happened.

You can hardly say Angie "didn't do anything" in Murder She Wrote. She usually had lots to do, including action scenes (such as they were). And for a kick, she played her cockney cousin, and also did other "impersonations" here and there.

Agreed, R215. That's what I was getting at above.

Poirot is a professional detective and he works directly with the police. So he's always part of the main action.

Marple is an amateur detective in her free time. She's a little old lady living in a small village.

So there's more "meat" for the actors who play Poirot than for the actresses who play Marple.

In the Mirror Crack'd Miss Marple has to stay at home most of the time because of a broken leg and someone else has to be her eyes and ears.

That someone else is her friend Dolly, played deliciously by Joanna Lumley (on TV) with both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie.

Good point, R218.

And that's probably why it was a weak script for Lansbury. They should have chosen a different Marple where she's not out of action because of a bad leg.

As someone said above, Lansbury got to be much more active as Jessica Fletcher of Cabot Cove.

And speaking of Angela Lansbury, she turns 94 next week!

Wasn't Lansbury always nominated for her TV show but she never won? The role was certainly a snore coming off of Mrs Lovett in "Sweeney Todd", and Rose in "Gypsy."

R222, yes, they always talked about that on the Emmy pieces.

She was nominated about 10-12 times for Murder, She Wrote at the Emmys but never won. She was like the Susan Lucci of Primetime.

She did won the Golden Globe several times, though.

She won Golden Globes for the first 2 seasons and middle 2 (4 in total) from 10 nominations out of the 12 year run.

She was nominated for The Emmy: Best Actress Drama each of the 12 seasons. She also has 7 additional Emmy nominations and never won.

I agree she didn't have much to do in the Marple movie. I wonder why the movie didn't do well though?

She won Golden Globes for the first 2 seasons and middle 2 (4 in total) from 10 nominations out of the 12 year run.

She was nominated for The Emmy: Best Actress Drama each of the 12 seasons. She also has 7 additional Emmy nominations and never won.

I agree she didn't have much to do in the Marple movie. I wonder why the movie didn't do well though?

Mirror Crack'd probably had too many former movie stars for its own box office good. The previous movies balanced the cast better in terms of veterans and younger actors.

Liz Taylor replaced Natalie Wood in the movie. Who did Kim Noval replace? She would have been too old opposite Wood. Maybe Dyan Cannon?

Five Little Pigs is one of Christie's best and could be made into a terrific movie...by people more thoughtful than Branagh and Michael Green. But it doesn't afford opportunities to add in action scenes or extra bits of Poirot swanning around.

Luckily we have the TV version with Suchet, which is very good.

"Lois Chiles was gorgeous. Why didn't she have a bigger career?"

Because she's a lousy actress. I got her every part she ever had but she even fucked up as Holly Goodhead for Chrissake.

[quote]She should've had more screen time but you know Barbra wasn't having any of that.

You're preachin' to the choir, sister!

[quote] The lesbian subplot was made much more prominent than it had been before

That's because there is no lesbian subplot in "The Body in the Library". The makers of the Geraldine McEwan version took liberties with the script, added in the subplot, and (spoiler alert) even changed the identity of the murderer.

[quote] Lois Chiles was very good in her small part in The Way We Were. She should've had more screen time but you know Barbra wasn't having any of that.

You know Babula must have been seething with envy over how beautiful Lois looked in that movie. No female co-star of Babula's was ever going to get enough screen time because that controlling, narcissistic, neurotic cunt believes people want to see her ugly face in every frame.

And yet Madeline Kahn stole "What's Up Doc"...

That's what makes "What's Up Doc?" so much fun. Babs is in full-blown "And presenting..... Fanny Brice as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl" mode, constantly mugging and trying too hard to be endearingly kooky. And yet Madeline Kahn walks away with the movie from right under Streisand's nose, which is quite a feat in itself given the size of Streisand's honker.

[quote]That's because there is no lesbian subplot in "The Body in the Library".

Interestingly, I thought the true lesbian subplot in "A Murder is Announced" was more explicit in the Joan Hickson version than in the superior Geraldine McEwan version (with the outstanding Zoe Wanamaker as Lettie/Lottie - so glad they brought her back as Ariadne Oliver).

R231, yeah, it's a safe bet that they wouldn't have had a lesbian storyline in Joan Hickson's day.

Come to think of it, are there any queer characters in any Poirot stories? The only thing I remember was the hint that two minor characters in Halloween Party might have been lesbians. Comparatively, Miss Marple was a big old fruit fly.

R237 Anne and Rhoda in Cards on the Table always struck me as a nice lesbian couple (ignoring the rather melodramatic love triangle written on top).

That's a very interesting take. With their mutual interest in Despard I never saw them as anything but hetero. But there is a hint of a butch/femme dynamic between them. I remember Rhoda was described as "gallant."

Olivia Hussey was "roommates" with Honor Blackman in the remake of "The Cat and the Canary" from about the same time as "...Nile." DL fave Carol Lynley was also in the cast.

Amazing to think that Honor Blackman is 94 now.

G L A A A DIATOR!

What are the main points cut out of the film version?

Was it cast by the former Love Boat casting director?

[Quote]Come to think of it, are there any queer characters in any Poirot stories?

Wasn't the posh Hastings getting fucked weekly by rough trade, working class Japp?

[quote]Was it cast by the former Love Boat casting director?

Imagine the possibilities!

Hercule Poirot...Charles Nelson Reilly

Linnet Ridgeway Doyle...Loni Anderson

Simon Doyle...Marc Singer

Jacqueline de Belfort...Charo

Salome Otterbourne...Ruth Buzzi

Rosalie Otterbourne...Eve Plumb

etc

R245, only in DL fantasies.

In Evil Under the Sun, Emily Brewster is an "athletic spinster"; in the 1982 movie, she became Rex Brewster, a nelly queen played by Roddy McDowall.

The great Carolyn Pickles played Emily Brewster in the ITV version

R236. R237

For me there is a HUGE lesbian subplot in NEMESIS.

Did Bowers ever slip a finger in when attending to Mrs Van Schuyler's personal hygiene?

Mr Satterwaite was a big ol poof

It was annoying how the ITV adaptation tried to make Poirot's fascination with Countess Rosakoff some great hetero romance whereas in the books I always felt like it was a gay man's reaction to a larger than life diva.

Can you imagine Hercule with his big fat arse in the air, pumping his 4 inches into Vera's hairy box?

So adorable.

[quote]It was annoying how the ITV adaptation tried to make Poirot's fascination with Countess Rosakoff some great hetero romance whereas in the books I always felt like it was a gay man's reaction to a larger than life diva.

David Suchet has said that he thinks Poirot is heterosexual, but just very much of a dandy is too particular and fussy to be with any particular woman.

Hercule Poirot never cared for women

When we are introduced to HP, he is already "of a certain age." He's not really a character of romance.

Yeah, Poirot, Miss Marple & Sherlock Holmes were all basically written as asexual.

It's their fellow sleuths who have the romantic lives -- eg. Dr. Watson gets married to several women, Captain Hastings gets married, etc.

"Cast revealed"????? Gosh, the suspense was TERRIBLE.

It's a pretty awful cast.

I won't be seeing it.

Pretty awful cast in what promises to be another CGI-ridden monstrosity like Orient. I wonder how many fake drone shots out of the Sphinx' ass and over the pyramids we'll get this time.

I didn't finish Orient Express, it was unwatchable.

Branagh was terrible as Poirot, and the accent he was sporting was next level atrocious.

Not watching his next abomination either.

Has there ever been a Belgian actor (or even French) as Poirot?

Miss Marple was already an old biddy when the first Marple book was written, so I guess there wasn't even a hint of sexuality or romance about her. Had she been a younger woman I don't see why she wouldn't have a few skeletons in her own closet. Maybe an illegitimate baby or an abortion, maybe a "lesbian until we meet a man" affair with Dolly Bantry, maybe the secret about her gender at birth (née James Marple)....

[quote]In Evil Under the Sun, Emily Brewster is an "athletic spinster"

The 1982 movie is vastly more entertaining than the book. Pretty much all the changes that were made were improvements.

Hagatha lapsed into fat frau mode too often and started including romantic subplots in her books to pair off her characters. The worst one was "They Came To Baghdad", which came across extremely forced and fake. I remember thinking, "Leave them both the fuck alone, Hagatha. Not every young single girl needs to be paired off with the nearest single man. Maybe she enjoys being single and he does too. Go away and eat some salad for a change, you obese sow."

[quote]For me there is a HUGE lesbian subplot in NEMESIS.

It really interests me that gay and lesbian characters are more prominent in the Marple books than the Poirot books. Mind you, except for Nemesis the characters are coded so it's open to interpretation. I've been skimming book summaries to remind myself (thanks insomnia!) and besides the already mentioned Nemesis and A Murder Is Announced, there is:

Mr. Pye in The Moving Finger, a fussy lover of antiques who is coded so heavily that the subtext is text.

Edgar Lawson in They Do It With Mirrors, arguably a coded gay man with his neurotic fixation on male authority figures.

Walter Fane in Sleeping Murder is a repressed mama's boy and could be read as a coded queer, though I think it's a stretch.

Raymond Star in The Body in The Library is rather ambiguous, an exotic and artistic young man with no love interest and a condescending attitude towards Ruby, his attractive dance partner.

ISTR that in The Mirror Crack'd a member of Marina's entourage is a coded gay man, but he is a minor character and not even mentioned on Wikipedia.

Bess Sedgwick in At Bertram's Hotel reminds me of a line from The Drowsy Chaperone (paraphrased): "She was an aviatrix, which is an old-fashioned word for lesbian." Though I believe there was also reference to her having many love affairs. However I haven't read that book in a very long time so I'm pretty foggy on this one.

I can't remember which book it was, but I do recall that Marple's nephew Raymond West once off-handedly said a friend of his was "a queer." From the context it was clear he meant homosexual, not odd. Actually in his early appearances Raymond West seemed like a coded queer himself - a sardonic, artistic bachelor - though he eventually married.

Despite the greater number of Poirot novels, Poirot's tally of queer suspects and suspected queers is lower, and the coding is not laid on as thick. There are plenty of unmarried people but few signs that these characters aren't hetero; I'm drawing a blank on anyone as unambiguous as Mr. Pye or Miss Hinchcliffe. However I haven't read all of the Poirot stories so I might have overlooked characters, or forgotten ones from books I read ages ago.

Mr. Shaitana from Cards on The Table is the most obvious. He is exotic, arch, effete, wears cologne, etc. Also, as pointed out earlier, Anne and Rhoda have a cute little Boston marriage, though they are also vying for the attention of the manly Despard.

Miss Williams from Five Little Pigs speaks disparagingly of men and was very devoted to Caroline Crale.

There is gossipy speculation that characters in Halloween Party and After The Funeral might have been lesbians, and I was left with the impression that one of the women from Halloween Party was in fact lesbian.

And...that's all I can come up with. Is that really all? I know that Cat Among The Pigeons is set at a girl's boarding school, which sounds ripe for some dykey doings, but I haven't read it.

Perhaps Christie didn't want to associate Poirot with homosexuality because the little Belgian is pretty queer himself and she didn't want readers to think he was gay.

And to finally bring this back on topic...what about adding some overt queerness to Death on the Nile? It would be bold, but tricky, to make some change to the truth of the crimes. Better to be more subtle. What about the annoying socialist, who has self-consciously made himself into an outsider? Is he distracting us from his friendship with that crewman? Or how about poor, stifled Rosalie? Is her situation more poignant if she's a lesbian? And let's not forget mama's boy Tim Allerton.

R267, Given the characters are fictional in "TCTB," what they "enjoy" is determined by the author.

And the characterization of Victoria is of a naive young woman given to will o' the wisp romantic notions even before meeting Edward.

He, of course, is a cad as well as a traitor. But you indicate that you do not know that.

And no, you thought no such "salad" thing about Agatha Christie, because the sentence is too absurd. Besides, she died 43 years ago, so if you thought this while she was alive, how old were you then to even care what she looked like?

R268, Please tell me you didn't come up with all that simply from memory, especially the characters' names.

R268

Interesting thoughts about lesbians in AC novels.

Wikipedia, R270.

[quote]Has there ever been a Belgian actor (or even French) as Poirot?

How would you feel about Japanese?

[quote]Has there ever been a Belgian actor (or even French) as Poirot?

Well, David SUCHET has some French background. He's British, but he does have a mix of other Euro ancestries, so he probably comes closest.

R274

No nothing French nor Belgian about David Suchet.

David Suchet is Anglican.

3/4 jewish and 1/4 english by birth.

R172

[quote]Where can I find the original Death on the Nile to watch? It looks like it’s not available of amazon to rent/buy.

barnesandnoble.com has it.

R192

[quote] Was the David Suchet version good?

I liked it a lot. The socialist was played by Alastair MacKenzie who you might remember from "Monarch of the Glen".

Good cast and a pair of great conversations at the beginning at the hotel between (1) Poirot and Linnet AND (2) Poirot and Jackie.

R275 & R276, Suchet is a French name (his father's). As is Jarché (his mother's). So there is French ancestry somewhere, but yes, his parents also had Jewish ancestry.

Have you bitches seen John Malcovich as Perot? He's a great actor, but miscast in that role.

[quote]Have you bitches seen John Malcovich as Perot?

I don’t know what to “oh, dear” first.

"Has there ever been a Belgian actor (or even French) as Poirot?"

Oh no! Here comes the trans should be played by trans brigade!

Malcovitch has an annoying voice.

[quote] maybe the secret about her gender at birth (née James Marple)....

I love the idea of Jane Marple being born as James Marple! Pussy, dick ... Jane’s had it all and done it all!

She's referred to as 'Miss' Marple which probably means she wasn't married. In those days, widows were often still referred to as Mrs.

[Quote]I love the idea of Jane Marple being born as James Marple! Pussy, dick ... Jane’s had it all and done it all!

Gender reassignment surgery wasn't very advanced during the times the Marple books are set in, so I'd imagine that "Miss" Marple is still all James under her clothes.

[quote] Gender reassignment surgery wasn't very advanced during the times the Marple books are set in,

And yet some of us managed to thrive.

Wow, R286, how old are you?

r286 = April Ashley.

Death on the Nile is available on Amazon for under $7.

Damn. I meant to sign Christine Jorgensen. She had her surgery in 1952. All the TV versions of Marple except the Helen Hayes ones have been set in the 1950s, so that’s what I think of as Miss Marple’s era.

Miss Marple never married. The McEwan version showed her having an affair with a married Army man who got killed in the great war.

R278

Oh dear!

They are NOT French.

They chose to use a French sounding name.

They are francophiles.

Good for them but...

That doesn’t make some one French.

R196 I remember seeing Angela Lansbury speaking at the Kennedy Center Honors for Bette Davis. It was obviously not too recent but I can remember her saying they all had to wait in a cabin on a boat in blazing heat, in heavy costumes, and Bette had to lie on a bunk for some reason (keeping her costume unwrinkled?). Lansbury made the point that although Davis was the older woman she did the least complaining, in fact didn't complain at all.

(Btw I saw BD in An Evening With Bette Davis when I was a kid, with my dad. This was her one-woman show where, like, maybe 40 minutes of clips were shown and then she was interviewed and answered audience questions. She was anything but "a stupid woman." And in my opinion for what that's worth, she was a fantastic actress.)

R114 I don't like the Hollywood amber-and-teal color scheme, is this trend ever going to end? (And what's the purpose?) Also why do so many films have the bluish tint that makes everyone onscreen look ill? I'm amazed how many people don't even notice. I can't go to movies that look like this.

Well, she didn't dispose of BD so she was stupid in some ways.

Bette should have aborted BD. That’s what I wish I had done with MY daughter.

Lois Chile was never nominated for the Academy Awards.

To be fair, that line and scenario is pure melodrama. She was dull, certainly.

Patrick Stewart for Tranny Miss Marple!

"Lois Chile was never nominated for the Academy Awards."

Why would she be she's probably one of the worst ever and I mean ever. Nothing more than a starlet. How she managed to get a position teaching acting is completely beyond me.

[Quote]Lois Chile was never nominated for the Academy Awards

Because that bitch you-know-who had poor Lois (and me) blackballed for overshadowing her in a couple of movies.

In “Cybill Disobedience”, Ms. Shepherd wrote that she was offered the Lois Chiles role in “Death on the Nile“ and turned it down.

Cybill Shepherd playing the role would have changed the plot entirely. Poirot wouldn't have even tried to crack the case. He'd have shrugged, "Good riddance. The bitch deserved it. Let's eat."

R299

It was sarcasm.

Oh, dear.

Exactly, r302. With Cybill Shepherd in the role, it would have been a repeat of Murder on the Orient Express - they would have ALL been lining up to pump a slug into her.

"It was sarcasm."

R203 Then you need to work on your sarcasm style. But thank god.

R305

Thank you so much for this very needed piece of advice.

It does open so many possibilities for my humble person.

I love you with all my heart and will remember you fondly forever.

R92, R98 actually They Came to Baghdad has been filmed once, for a television thing back in the 50s. It was an American production. Kemper and Catherine from the All About Agatha podcast were discussing it a month or so ago when they reviewed the novel.

Death Comes as the End is going to be the next BBC adaptation, apparently.

I, too, would like to see movie makers tackle different Christie stories. Even some that have been filmed a couple of times already but where the people behind them clearly didn't understand the point of the novel, like Appointment with Death, or Ordeal by Innocence. Lord Edgware Dies is another that would be great, provided they can get the character of Carlotta Adams right. A Pocket Full of Rye is also excellent.

They better hope this doesn't flop.

I would be surprised if it doesn’t, given that Branagh’s Orient Express adaptation didn’t set the world on fire.

R301, I thought Gary talked her out of it.

I'll really only be watching this for French and Saunders. I just can't imagine it'll do justice to the novel, or be better than the 1978 version.

"Come on, Bowers, time to go. This place is beginning to resemble a mortuary." " Thank God you'll be in one yourself before too long, you bloody old fossil!"

Well since someone bumped this thread I'll share that I've been listening to the podcast mentioned upthread, All About Agatha. It's not brilliant but it's not bad either, and it's the only podcast I know of dedicated to Christie's books. Worth checking out. (There is also a podcast dedicated to the TV adaptations but I haven't been able to listen for more than two minutes because it's a bunch of people talking over each other and laughing at nothing in particular.)

I enjoy that podcast a lot. I thought I knew a lot about Christie, but I still learn things from their research. To stay with Death on the Nile, I had no idea that originally she had thought of making it a Miss Marple story, rather than a Poirot one. Or that originally the characters who became the Boynton family in Appointment with Death were considered for this novel too (and based off a family she had observed on her own trip down the Nile).

During their discussion on Why Didn't They Ask Evans? they go on a jokey rant about exactly why the ITV Marple series is so bad too, which I found spot on.

Is the ITV Marples series the one with Geraldine McEwen and Julia McKenzie? I love it. It's so much more interesting than the Joan Hickson one.

Apparently someone in the Christie hierarchy decided at some point in the early 2000s that it would be okay to make major changes to the stories. Both the ITV Marples and the later Poirots do that, sometimes radically. In a few cases, it's fine. In many cases, it's not.

Racist! Only two "pretty" black actresses for characters written as white in the book, and no black actors. No East Asians. Disgusting. Not ONE Australian Aborigine and don't get me started on the cis-ness of it all. Where are the little people, the amputees, the non-ear-dependent?

Branagh is up to his usual genocidal tricks. As if Denzel obviously giving a terrible performance in AYLI to show his contempt gave him a pass for not casting more representatively among currently acceptable talents. And he probably hired lots of Egyptians for bit parts and background because "Egyptians" fit his notion of a near-white appearance. It's completely racist to have Egyptians in a movie about Egypt which is set in AFRICA, in case Branagh thought he could get away with it.

And R314 is absolutely right. Obviously a first-rate mind. A fine critic. It would be terrible if Agatha Christie films and television productions followed the plots of her stories. Hickson was SOOOOOOO boringly precise, accurate, serious, wry, witty and focused on thematic and contextual depth. I LOVED when Julia McKenzie was flying that biplane chasing the jewel thieves and telling the young woman how she, too, had had lesbian affairs in her youth. It was such a shock when she turned the machine gun on the villains. So funny when she said, "Well, that was more of a bloody kick-back than I expected."

Although of course the part should have been played by Oprah. She's SO FUNNY when she does her English accent.

R315, I nearly choked while laughing at the last part of your post. It reminded me of the Dead Ringers Marple parody:

That context and trivia is my favorite part of the podcast, R313. I'm not always impressed by their analyses but we're all entitled to our opinions.

I do smile whenever they paint Miss Marple as more sinister than she really is...or isn't she?

Haha, I agree. Catherine's "Dark Marple" theory always makes me smile. She kinda has a point in one of the podcasts where she says that if any of us had a neighbour who was basically collecting a dossier on the whole village, we'd be a little bit creeped out.

I enjoy their "Stuck In its Time" category too, as I find that interesting, and they are generally very fair when judging things within the context of the time.

Hmmm, his remake of Murder on the Orient Express was a mess.

That Marple parody started out great (who are the actresses?), but the minute it went with the ninja assassins and the gunfight, it lost it. Too bad. If they had just continued with the sassy take-downs of the changed plots/lesbianism, it would have been fun.

R320 the actress playing Geraldine McEwan is Jan Ravens. I'm not sure who the other woman is. Ravens was part of the ensemble cast for Dead Ringers, a comedy show based around impressions of people, usually politicians. It started on radio so was really all about the voice initially. There were some brilliant skits with Jon Culshaw imitating Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor) and ringing people up, including Tom Baker himself at one point.

My favourite part was the spoofing of lesbianism and plot changes too, though I understand their joke was more: "this is the direction Christie will eventually go, ninjas and gun battles, if the people in charge have their way" than a pure parody.