Review of Death on the Nile (1978) by Alexander M — 09 Oct 2007

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot hilariously accuses everyone aboard the Karnak of the murder of heiress Linnet Ridgeway with such stoic delivery that it prompts Bette Davis's character to call him a "perfectly foul French upstart", to which he so greatly replies, "Belgian upstart, please madam".

Death on the Nile is a gem of a film and unashamedly revels in all the clichés of the genre. Ustinov pops up from behind a bar after eavesdropping in on a suspect having a heated conversation with the soon-to-be-victim and the film also makes no apologies for the coincidence that all the passengers knew the victim and had a motive to kill her.

Angela Lansbury is fabulous as a drunkard sex novelist, as is Bette Davis and Maggie Smith as her embittered servant. It's not high culture art, but it does its genre well and has some very memorable performances from a high caliber cast who are obviously enjoying themselves.

If I am to talk about its other merits, the film won an Academy Award for its brilliant costume design, and I think its use of location is stunning. The sequence in the magnificent Hypostyle Hall at the enormous Karnak temple in Luxor is really breathtaking and superbly crafted.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes a good whodunit.