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Reviews
W. Somerset Maugham: The Letter (1969)
Bland, poorly acted and directed version of Maugham masterpiece
I was able to obtain a VHS copy of this production from a private collector and it is quite awful. Not just the quality of the print, but the production itself.
The sets are tawdry, the pace is funereal, and the direction is absent. Atkins is so drab, so depressed in her performance, that it is unimaginable any man would want to involve himself with her. The other players are completely forgettable. The 50 minutes of the film were barely standable.
The 1929 Eagles version, the 1940 Davis version, and the 1982 Remick version are all wonderful in their own way, especially the latter as it peels layer after layer off the lies and subterfuge of Leslie Crosbie.
A Very Sordid Wedding (2017)
Enjoyable sequel to Sordid Lives, focuing on gay marriage
A VERY SORDID WEDDING
SORDID LIVES (2000) became a cult classic almost as soon as it was released. Subsequent to that film hit, a one season tv series was launched. Some of the original film cast repeated their roles, others were replaced.
A VERY SORDID WEDDING (2017) is a follow-up to the original, focusing on healing relationships and bringing about some happy endings. This is all in the context of gay marriage and anti-equality faith denominations denying human rights.
The writing is a bit preachy and heavy-handed, considering if you are seeing the film, you are probably not a right-wing anti-gay conservative, who needs educating.
The iconic roles of Latrelle (Bonnie Bedalia), Sissie (Dale Dickey), and LaVonda (Ann Walker) are more than ably filled by these superb actresses. Bedalia is even better than she was in the original, which is almost hard to realize as she stole that film with her barely controlled hysteria.
Leslie Jordan is back as Brother Boy, attempting to win a drag competition with his one-man, three women (Wynette, Lynn, Parton) show, and just as nobly outrageous as before. Producer/Actor Emerson Collins in a small role as a serial killer gives a stunning performance in a few brief scenes. (I've seen him in other Del Shores productions and he is quite a chameleon and a seemingly brilliant actor.)
My only gripe is that 17 years after the original, Kirk Geiger (aged 48 at the time of filming), has aged facially to the point where pairing him with T. Ashanti Mozelle (33 at the time) seems a December/May romance. It would have felt more appropriate for an older actor to be cast opposite Mr. Geiger, who having originated the role or Ty, should have been retained at all costs in the sequel.
Is it as much fun as the original? No, not really. The gay issue in the original was one of many plot and character story lines. Here it is all anyone is talking about and the film suffers from heavy-handedness, leading to boredom, on a number of occasions.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has not seen and liked the original. Fun for those of us who have, but hardly a mind blowing experience.
That Forsyte Woman (1949)
Garson and Flynn superb in Victorian melodrama
THAT FORSYTE WOMAN (MGM) 1949
Having just watched for the second time, and taken copious notes, the 1967 BBC mini-series of 26 episodes, THE FORSYTE SAGA, I am coming back to comment on this first and earlier condensation of the first part of the SAGA.
It takes 7 episodes of 50 minutes each of the BBC series to stretch over the fabric of the film's narrative. Many characters and subplots are dropped. Much is cleaned up. In the film, Young Joley has not left his wife for his mistress, gone abroad, married her at his wife's accidental death, and fathered two children, before his return to England. He has simply gone off with her after his wife's death, spent two years abroad, and returned a widower.
The film basically centers on the unhappy marriage of Irene and Soames, her affair with her niece's fiancée, his death, her rescue from her life with Soames by Young Jolyon, and his marriage to her.
The production is sumptuous and beautifully designed for Technicolor. The many and exquisite Walter Plunkett gowns were deservedly nominated for an Oscar, and the art direction should also have received a nod, in my opinion.
You have here one of Garson's greatest performances, very emotionally deep and at the same time bravely restrained, as Irene. You also have Flynn actually acting and playing against type as the cold martinet, Soames, and doing a brilliant job. Walter Pidgeon co-starred successfully with Garson over six times, and is most sympathetic in this role.
The only fly in the ointment is the casting of Robert Young as Philip Bosinney. He is far too "American," too gosh almighty naïve and unartistic to convince as a budding architect. Had they snagged Montgomery Clift (just rising as a young star) or any other young actor with an "edge," it would have been more convincing to my mind.
Gone from the script is Soames law case against Bosinney for over-expenditure on building Robin Hill, and gone is Irene's rape by her own husband, news of which sends Bosinney over the edge and to his doom. MGM would never abide such behavior in one of their scripts.
Oddly enough the art direction for Bosinney's studio was copied from the film for the BBC series. Also, a new bit in which Irene tells Soames of a first love, a young soldier, whom Bosinney reminds her of.
For those who are not Galsworthy purists, this is a most enjoyable, well-acted and directed film about an unhappy marriage and a tragic love affair, resulting from it. Garson and Flynn are exceptional in the leads and the production design is fabulously colorful. Recommended.
Viennese Nights (1930)
Forgotten chnarming operetta by Romberg and Hammerstein
Review - VIENNESE NIGHTS (1930) Warners
The rarest of the rare! Vivienne Segal's Warners output in two-strip Technicolor musicals during the year 1930 consisted of four films. Of these, two (Song of the West ((sound discs survive)) and Bride of the Regiment) are lost. Golden Dawn only exists in a black and white version and Viennese Nights survives as a sole copy at UCLA. She appeared only in one more feature film, The Cat and the Fiddle (1934) in a supporting role opposite Ramon Novarro and Jeannette MacDonald.
A shining Broadway star (she created the role of Vera and introduced "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" to the world in Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey (1940)), her film work suffered from the 1930s audiences' distaste for the glut of Technicolor operettas and musicals that year.
In Viennese Nights, she shines as both a singer and an actress. In the second act, the parted young lovers of the first act, age in stages, are parted, finally by death, only to be reunited by music. The first act lasts one hour and the second act just over a half hour. There is a "ten minute intermission" card at the break.
The story is bittersweet and sad, but very memorable. Impoverished Otto romances Elsa, but her father chooses Baron Franz for her husband. In later years, Otto and Elsa, both unhappily married, encounter one another briefly, and part. The last scene was recreated in the MacDonald-Eddy film, Maytime. I shall say no more.
The score, though brief, with only six songs (but these by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II) is thoroughly enjoyable with two standards emerging: You Will Remember Vienna and I Bring A Love Song, the latter echoing throughout from a simple tune to a full blown tone poem. Along the way are two more gems: Here Are We and When You Have No Man to Love.
The acting is not great, but the comedy is sprightly (Bert Roach and Louise Fazenda in supporting roles). The singing by Alexander Gray and Vivienne Segal is glorious. Walter Pidgeon as the nasty Baron is acceptable and sings. An opera balcony scene features Bela Lugosi (the year before Dracula) and Dorothy Hammerstein, (Oscar's wife).
Get through the operetta first hour and then be devasted by the utter poignancy of the second act.
The modern tone poem in reel 10 is crap writing and I don't blame the character of Elsa in her wheelchair wanting to leave before the climactic moment.
I viewed a pirated and very fuzzy Technicolor print that contained the blank leaders of all the reels, both beginning and ending. This lasted until 1:42:20, which is a good ten minutes longer than the given running time of 92 minutes.
Disraeli (1929)
Oscar winning Arliss performance a triumph
DISRAELI (1929) Warner Bros. (87 minutes)
Although Disraeli was filmed after The Green Goddess, the latter's release was held back to allow the more prestigious portrayal to introduce the talking Arliss to the silver screen.
We'll probably never know the contents of the contract Arliss' UK lawyers drew up to bring him to the USA under the Warners banner, but it seems it was the talk of the film studios' legal world and a stellar (no pun intended) instrument, as described in Arliss' autobiography, My Ten Years In The Studios.
He had made six silent films and proceeded to remake five of them as sound films. Disraeli had been released as a silent in 1921 and this 1929 sound version made him a star of the talkies. That it is a great portrayal of a great historical figure goes without saying. Arliss is impeccably made up to look the part and acts with both impish humor and commanding presence. His climactic moment of rage where he declares if his loan to float the purchase of the Suez Canal is blocked, he'll "SMASH" the bank of England - comes out of a slow simmering speech, which erupts with a sudden explosion. An actor truly trained in vocal technique showing off what he can do in the sound medium.
It is a deserved Best Actor Oscar winning performance and should be viewed by everyone interested in great screen acting. The film was also nominated as Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
Wife Florence Arliss provides ample support as Disraeli's wife, Lady Beaconsfield. Anthony Bushell and Joan Bennett as the young lovers are simply beautiful decoration. There isn't a believable ounce of acting talent in either.
The TCM print I viewed is pale and washed out, but at least viewable. The film was released on VHS, but has never been made commercially available on dvd.
The Green Goddess (1930)
Arliss as a conniving, revenge-seeking Rajah
THE GREEN GODDESS (1930) Warner Bros (73 minutes)
Arliss as a conniving, revenge-seeking Rajah
Arliss' first sound film, released after his second, the more prestigious DISRAELI, which won him the Best Actor Oscar, with THE GREEN GODDESS gaining an additional nomination.
The subtlety of a suave and sophisticated rajah, mistaken for a barbarian, is meat for Arliss to get his teeth into. He is here like a spider with three British subjects, who act as flies. He woos them into his web with unctuous persuasion, then tortures them prior to (almost) enjoying their executions, as well as giving the British a royal KITA (kick in the ass) in retaliation for the horrors of the Indian Raj.
Ivan Simpson as butler or valet in seven of the Arliss sound films plus four of his silents is to receive a tribute here. Arliss in his second autobiography, MY TEN YEARS IN THE STUDIOS, praised Simpson as both a good man and a good actor to be depended upon, and Arliss had loyalty to his players, whom he hand-picked for his Warner Bros contract.
The film is simply outrageously, yet cleverly, scripted melodrama. Enjoyable, but relevant today only for Arliss' Oscar nominated performance. The sound, transferred onto film from the original Vitaphone discs has a great deal of surface noise, despite TCM's transfer.
H. B. Warner is acceptable, but the other two players, Alice Joyce and Ralph Forbes, are abysmally bad. The 1923 silent version of the film lasts a half hour longer than the sound version. This is due to the play prologue about the three Brits and their convoluted relationships being jettisoned and the audience being easily brought up to speed as the plot unfolds. Sadly missing are the scenes of the Rajah enjoying his civilized status in his private and ultra- sophisticated world.
Voltaire (1933)
George Arliss' greatest film performance
VOLTAIRE (1933) Warner Bros. (72 minutes)
George Arliss' Greatest Performance
I own dvds of all 19 Arliss sound films and have viewed them many times over. For me, his greatest performance on screen was Voltaire, the last of ten films he made for Warner Bros.
His characterization is spot on, from his aged stoop to his vocalizations, gestures and facial expressions. He is costumed perfectly with wigs for court and a dressing gown and turban for home.
Set in 1762, at the court of Louis XV, the film's script centers on the need for societal reform. Voltaire (1694-1778) was a prolific writer, both fiction and philosophy. A true Renaissance man. He sounded the alarm that would culminate a few years after his death in the French Revolution.
Initially he is seen by Louis as an amusing fellow to have at court, a harmless rabble rouser. The fictional villain, Count De Sarnac, is in fact the true danger to Louis' court, feeding secret information to the Prussian court. It is Voltaire's double purpose to expose Sarnac and lift suspicions from his own person. A second interest is to restore lands and property to a young maiden, whose father was unjustly executed.
In addition to Arliss' masterful performance, Doris Kenyon lends able support as Madame Pompadour, the King's mistress. Reginald Owen does a decent job playing the bumbling Louis, while Alan Mowbray is an appropriately sly Sarnac.
The film moves briskly and all comes right in the end. A must-see for anyone interested in truly great film acting.
The Working Man (1933)
Another sparkling Arliss comedy with a young Bette Davis
THE WORKING MAN (1933) Warner Bros. (78 minutes)
The Working Man was Arliss' second to last film for Warners and his second with Bette Davis. This is another sparkling, fun comedy, fast-paced and fascinating. As with his prior film, The Millionaire, the premise of a busy corporation owner (here John Reeves of Reeves Shoes, in the latter James Alden of Alden Autos) taking a "vacation" from work and getting a new perspective on life, as well as dabbling incognito in the lives of others, works as a solid blueprint for the Arliss personality.
Although he primarily appeared in dramas, both historical and contemporary, Arliss' gift for comedy is his greatest asset in my opinion. Only six of his nineteen sound films register as comedies and they are every one a priceless gem. His timing, his vocal and facial expressions, all convey worlds of information to the audience a less gifted actor would have to force with exaggeration.
While on vacation, Reeves learns that the two children of his recently dead rival are gadabout, gay young things, reckless and senseless. Because of sentimentality (he was in love with the woman his rival married), he wheedles his way into the family, gains the children's trust, then as their new guardian, makes them tow the line, getting involved in the company and changing their irresponsible personal habits.
It is lots of fun, just as was The Millionaire, and Arliss is again having the time of his life pul in a dual role. For the first eleven minutes he has to sustain a fast-paced active irritation at his business situation and pulls it off without flagging. In support, Bette Davis is vibrant, energetic, full of life in a light romantic role. As her brother, the ruggedly handsome Theodore Newton (unknown to me) is a hoot and possesses perfect comic timing. He should have gone far.
A couple of bits of fun. At the end of The Millionaire, Arliss' character extols "the working man" which of course is the title of the current film. In this also the rival shoe companies are referred to as the Napoleon and the Wellington of foot wear. Arliss would later play Wellington in The Iron Duke.
All in all, a wonderful comedy that subtly teaches a lesson about responsibility and caring for others. Highly recommended.
The Millionaire (1931)
Delightful comedy with Arliss at the top of his comedic art
THE MILLIONAIRE (1931) Warner Bros. (80 minutes)
Delightful comedy with Arliss at the top of his comedic art
This is an absolutely delightful film with an equally delightful and zippy performance by George Arliss. As with Mr. Hobo (aka The Guv'nor), he seems to be having the time of his life as retired (against his will) auto magnate James Alden, who is running a humble service station incognito from his family's knowledge.
The first 23 minutes of the film drag a bit, as the old fellow must retire for his health (although his touching farewell to his workers and his last look around his office before tossing his keys on the desk are heart-breakingly real) and be bored at a health resort.
Then the unknown James Cagney arrives as a cagey insurance salesman (Arliss picked him out from the Warners hopefuls to play the scene) and in just three minutes on screen, the Cagney personality gives the film a much needed shot in the arm. From then on, it's a fun, fast-paced, all out comedy with delightful twists and turns.
David Manners, as his service station partner and love interest for his daughter, is drop dead handsome and does a serviceable job. Evalyn Knapp, unknown to me, is pert, sprightly and fun as chip off the old block, daughter, Babs. A real find, who seems to have had a career only in B films. Noah Beery and Tully Marshall serve as the crooked pair, who dupe Arliss and Manners into the initial station sale. Florence Arliss, in one of her four pairings in sound films with husband, George, is appropriately caring and matronly.
This is one of Arliss' best films and one of his very best performances. Recommended without reservation.
The Man Who Played God (1932)
Excellent Film with a Great Arliss Performance
THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD (1932) Warner Bros. (80 minutes)
I have just watched this moving film for the third time, and it is now quite different for me than it had been in the past. Then, like Montgomery Royle, I had had no calamities in my life. In the past few years I have had many, and like Royle, have railed against God and felt sorry for myself and a victim of life. I have been able to get over this self-centered and selfish point of view and am learning humility and keeping myself open to learn a new path for my remaining years, where I can bring my life's learning to help others.
Arliss gives a moving and flawless performance. His pain, his frustrations, and his anger at being deprived of his hearing are very real and heart-felt. He is surrounded by very strong performances, most notably by a very young Bette Davis, with whom he appeared in two films, promoting her to the Warner brothers, and essentially giving her the advice and exposure she needed to become a major star. Indeed, in his second autobiography, MY TEN YEARS IN THE STUDIOS, he only praises two American actresses, Jeanne Eagels (with whom he shared a stage play), and Bette Davis.
Notable in the supporting cast are: Louise Hale as his sister, Florence; Violet Heming as long-loving friend, Mildred; and most notably, Ivan Simpson as his butler, Battle, a performance that deserved a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, a category that did not exist is 1932. The scene where he saves Royle from suicide is stunning and stellar. Indeed, Arliss himself deserved a Best Actor Oscar nom for this performance, in my opinion.
An extremely young and extremely handsome Ray Milland makes an unbilled appearance towards the end. Hedda Hopper has a brief scene at a barbecue outing.
The film is solidly and sensitively directed and quite moving. It is one of Arliss' best performances and one of his best overall films.
Old English (1930)
Arliss in his prime playing an octogenarian rogue
OLD ENGLISH (1930) Warner Bros. 86 minutes
Old English was Arliss' third sound film, right after Disraeli and The Green Goddess. It was adapted from a play by John Galsworthy (The Forsyte Saga) and Arliss had played it on stage to great success. He noted in his autobiography that it was Old English that had been his greatest stage success and brought him more wealth than either Disraeli or The Green Goddess.
Arliss usually plays a loveable elderly gentleman, who in the course of a script discovers some misdeeds and craftily manages to uncover them, expose the villain, and reward the innocent dupes. Here he is the essential villain, taking a commission on an inside deal in order to secure a trust for his grandchildren, descended from an illegitimate liaison in his youth.
But at 80, what does he care? He knows he is in debt (14,000 pounds and only able to pay his creditors 1,300 a year) and has no way to help his grandchildren without stooping to devious means. We forgive him because he is so loveable.
No one could play old codgers like Arliss. Here he ages 20 years, while the next year he would play 20 years younger than his 60 to play Alexander Hamilton.
The play is a trifle, serving only as an exercise in the craft of character acting. Arliss is stiff, stooped, with palsied hands and crafty, all-seeing eyes. His crooked finger to indicate he wants someone to approach is direct and saves the voice from being over-taxed.
The famous eating and drinking scene which ends the film is a delight. We watch him relish the foods (oysters, a soufflé, a fruit compote), while downing champagne, port and brandy. He knows it will be his last night on earth and he is in charge of how he is going to leave it.
It's all Arliss here. Enjoy a great actor at the top of his game, having a ball playing an elderly con man.
Alexander Hamilton (1931)
Intriguing political drama with Arliss as Hamilton
ALEXANDER HAMILTON (1931) (Warner Bros.) (70 minutes)
This was the fifth sound film that Arliss made for Warner Bros. At the height of his prestige, having won the third bestowed Best Actor Oscar two years prior.
It is an adaptation of a stage play he had co-written and starred in. It did not have a long run, about ten weeks, but his characterization was highly praised. Despite the fact he was twenty years too old to play Hamilton at this stage of his life, the make-up did render his facial skin flawless and the dark wig helped to create the illusion.
It is a romantic work, based on a peccadillo of his when his wife was abroad. Hamilton was known for his active libido. The point of the play is that he was duped and coerced into the liaison and that the blackmailed threat of exposure was a political maneuver to block the passing of his Assumption Bill (creating a federal bank, paying the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and establishing credit for international commerce).
It is rather a one note plot, but as a political exercise in compromise, it is rather interesting. Most amusing is the scene where he maneuvers Madison and Jefferson into voting for his bill by reluctantly agreeing to vote for the country's capital to be on the Potomac, halfway between the North and the South - a plan of his own devising, but at that point, unknown to either of the future presidents pleading its cause.
Arliss is of course, flawless in his rendering of the character. Alan Mowbray with a false nose, appears as George Washington at the beginning and end of the film. His farewell to his troops in 1783, which opens the film, is very moving indeed.
After this brief prologue, the scene is set 8 years later, in 1791. Much turmoil exists around the treasury and the establishment of international credit. All the ex-soldiers want is to get paid, and they are of the peasant mind-set that they can't possibly see the big picture. Feeding themselves and their families is their only concern, and quite understandable it is.
Morgan Wallace as James Monroe and Montagu Love as Thomas Jefferson look nothing like their historical counterparts, but play their roles as both politicians and gentlemen adequately. Gwendolyn Logan has a brief scene as Martha Washington, a character I don't recall ever having seen impersonated in a Hollywood film.
This is not a great film by any means, but it is an interesting one, and its significance in being filmed during the Great Depression, with hope for economic stability, is pointed. Anyone interested in our revolutionary days and the beginnings of our nation will be intrigued.
The Guv'nor (1935)
Marvelous satire with Arliss at his very best
MR. HOBO (aka THE GUV'NOR) 1935 82 minutes Gaumont-British
The Guv'nor was Arliss' second film for the Gaumont-British company. He had completed ten for Warner Bros. Before switching to 20th Century-Fox for three final American films. His return to his native shores would result in a total of 6 final films, all for the Gaumont-British.
In The Guv'nor, Arliss plays a tramp, who happens to carry the name of Francois Rothschild. The film was adapted from a French film of just two years prior, entitled Rothschild (1933). It is a satire on the nature of pretense and greed. Once his name is "recognized," he is taken for an eccentric member of the illustrious family, and not only extended credit, but wine and dined, and made the new head of a "secretly" failing bank, hoping the prestige of the name association will save the institution from bankruptcy. In the course of his time as head of the bank, he discovers an evil scheme, being used to obtain a once defunct mine (now secretly worth a fortune), by calling in a loan to force the sale of the mine. Of course, he is able to outwit the bad guys and by the end, become triumphant, so he can return to the open road.
This was a great change of pace for Arliss, who usually played dignified gentlemen and a series of historic personages. He delights in being able to let his hair down and play completely against type. His facial expressions, hand and arm movements, even walking and stance, are at their most naturalistic peak. A subtle and brilliant interpretation.
The best scene is the champagne lunch where the bank president is trying to woo him over. This is filled with bits of business, dialogue while eating and drinking the first decent food he's had in many a day, all complex and completely naturalistic.
It is also a bit of a hoot, in that his dignified performances as both Mayer and Nathan Rothschild in The House of Rothschild (Fox, 1934) had just been filmed the year before. This prestigious film was one of two of his films (Disraeli, Warners, 1929, being the other) nominated for Best Picture Oscars.
The Guv'nor is highly recommended as a delightful film comic satire with one of Arliss' very best performances.
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
Dress Rehearsal for The A B C MURDERS
Review - MURDER IN THREE ACTS (1986)
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The film is based on Christie's novel, THREE ACT TRAGEDY, written in 1934. The plot device is a precursor to her more famous THE A B C MURDERS, written two years later. In a sense the first book is a "dress rehearsal" for the more elaborate later one, just as those very words tip Poirot off to the nature of the murders and the character of the murderer he is seeking.
MURDER IN THREE ACTS is one of three made for television Poirot mysteries starring Peter Ustinov. He also appeared in three theatrically released films playing the famous detective.
Unfortunately, for viewers, the casting gives away the identity of the murderer. When you cast a murder mystery with one Hollywood star at the center, you can be pretty certain that character is going to be the murderer. Even with a group of stars in such a film, the highest paid star will most usually turn out to be the villain. Tony Curtis stars as a "retired" actor. In another of the three made for tv Poirots, Faye Dunaway plays an actress. In both instances their characters turn out to be the guilty ones.
MURDER IN THREE ACTS is set for the most part in Acapulco. The scenery and sets are gorgeous and a great feast for the eyes. Curtis, whose talent is limited, does a decent job. The other performers are merely adequate. At the center of course, is Ustinov's impeccably charming sleuth. Beautiful to look at, but a let down to those who know the plotting of A B C.
Dead Man's Folly (1986)
Fine acting, but a plot full of holes, literally
Review - DEAD MAN'S FOLLY (1986)
This is the darkest of the six films in which Peter Ustinov plays Hercule Poirot. It is one of three made for tv films. He appeared in three others, which were commercially released theatrical films.
Here he is surrounded by a stellar cast, with Tim Pigott-Smith, Constance Cummings and Jean Stapleton. The plot involves a murder game at an English estate, headed by crime writer, Ariadne Oliver, during which the make believe victim is actually murdered, followed of course by yet another murder. The plot is full of holes, literally. One involves burying an earlier murder victim under an area where a folly (summer house) is built. Obviously, Christie had no knowledge of construction or she would have known that the builders would have unearthed the body when laying the foundation for the folly. Also, if you have secrets, involving a murder or two, why would you host a weekend party playing at detective work, especially with a famous crime writer and the most famous detective in the fictional world as guests? As I said, the plot is full of holes.
Ustinov is his usual best as Poirot, one of his finest characterizations. Stapleton is, well, Stapleton, playing the hare-brained Ariadne as a toned down Edith Bunker. Amusing, but a bit over the top as a celebrity totally lacking social graces. Constance Cummings as the sad, guilt-ridden matriarch and Pigott-Smith as the tightly controlled lord of the estate give the best performances apart from Ustinov.
Worth watching for the acting, but not for the plot.
Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
Enjoyable Poirot with Dunaway in two roles
Review - THIRTEEN AT DINNER (1985)
Adapted from Agatha Christie's novel, LORD EDGEWARE DIES, this made for tv production was one of three Peter Ustinov starred in as Hercule Poirot. He also appeared in three theatrically released Poirot films.
The strong point in this one is Faye Dunaway, playing two roles. Even if you had never read the book or seen the film before, you could probably guess the plot as soon as it starts. Whenever you are going to cast a star for a murder film, nine times out of then, the role they want is that of the murderer. This spoils most murder mysteries for me, especially if I have not read the book it is adapted from. Even in an all-star film, it is usually the highest paid actor or actress who is getting the plum role of the murderer.
THIRTEEN AT DINNER is also notable for the fact that David Suchet, who would go on to film every Christie novel and short story, plays Inspector Japp. Much fun to watch him play a character whose obtuseness annoys the Suchet Poirot.
This moves along swiftly at a brief 87 minutes. Ustinov reveals both utmost charm and utmost anger and contempt in his portrayal and it is for me one of his very finest Poirots. One of the most puzzling moments in the plot occurs when Lord Edgeware is approached by Poirot as a favor to the Dunaway character, Wilkinson/Adams, to request a divorce and Poirot is told that he does not contest her wish for a divorce. Why then would she have sent Poirot to effect something that is already hers?
Ah, well, enjoy. Nothing like a Christie plot with Poirot at the helm.