AGATHA CHRISTIE (15 September 1890 - 12 January 1976)
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay (Devon). Having lost her father at a young age, her mother encouraged her to develop an interest in writing.She was encouraged to write short stories by her neighbor Eden Philpotts, upon whose advise and help, she successfully published a book of short stories, which proved to be the start of her hugely successful writing career.
- Agatha Christie wrote her first detective novel,”The Mysterious affair at Styles”and introduced HERCULE POIROT the Belgian detective, who appeared in more than 40 books.
- Agatha Christie has been called , by the Guinness Book of World Records, among others , The Best-Selling writer of all times and the Best-Selling writer of any kind, along with William Shakespeare..
- Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976, at age 85, from natural causes, at Wallingford in Oxfordshire…
I must confess that I am a die hard fan of Agatha Christie ..I have read most of her novels many times over…keep reading them again and again knowing fully well who the culprit is, enjoy her style of writing, the descriptions about the English village life, the gossip everything…
Evil Under The sun was written in 1941 with Devon and Cornwall as the setting for her story. The novel was made into a film in the year 1982.
The story
A group of tourists are enjoying a Sea side holiday at The Jolly Roger Hotel, Smuggler’s Island in Leathercombe Bay. The Hotel was a popular weekend getaway and was usually packed to the attics during holiday season. Hercule Poirot ( Peter Ustinov) was among the guests enjoying a much needed break from his routine of murders, investigations and the excessive use of the Grey cells..
There are other guests Mr and Mrs Gardener, Miss Brewster , Major Barry, Reverend Stephen Lane,The Redferns and the beautiful actress Arlena Stuart. As Poirot looks at life in general analysing his guests, he begins to feel undercurrants of Evil. He felt that although everything looked and felt peaceful - the sea was blue and the setting was romantic, yet, there was Evil everywhere under the Sun especially here at Smuggler’s island.
There was drama unfolding at the hotel after the arrival of the beautiful actress Arlena who seemed besotted by Patrick Redfern while his wife Christine watched on helplessly. But Arlena also had a husband Kenneth Marshall and step daughter Linda who were watching the developments with varying degrees of shock and anger. As things progress the beautiful and the reckless Arlena who had the knack of making enemies easily , is found dead- stretched out on the beach, face down, stangled ! Murdered !It is learnt that many among the guests staying at Jolly Rogers hated Arlene for various reasons.
Was this an apparent crime of passion or was there something more evil and premeditated altogether? Hercule Poirot is once again thrown right in the middle of a crime and called upon to investigate and solve the mystery using his grey cells..
My views on the movie
I must have seen this movie several times because they keep showing this one on the telly every now and then.
I must confess that Peter ustinov in the role of Poirot is a lot more likeable than David Suchet although Suchet comes closer to Christies description of Poirot.
The film is well made and shot in an extremely charming and picturesque island . The locations are truly breathtaking and beautiful, the white sand, blue sea and the greenery wow! I loved the photography more than anything else. I happened to read somewhere that the film was shot in Majorca and not in Cornwall.
Among the actors Nicholas Clay who plays the role of Patrick Redfern is good and has the central role. Clay seems to be a permanent fixture in most of the movies made based on Agatha Christie’s books. The other important role is that of Arlene played by Diana Rigg and she is very convincing in her role.
This is probably one of the few film adaptations that has remained faithful to the original story written by Agatha Christie.The first time I watched it I was quite prepared for changes and rude shocks, but thankfully there were none. The sets are good especially that of the resort and the interiors and by all standards it is a well made film that is interesting and the suspense well kept right till the last scene.The script is very witty in places. The direction is by Guy Hamilton who had earlier directed a Bond film ‘Goldfinger’. The picture and sound quality on the DVD are excellent , both the colors and sound crisp and clear. This is a film that Christie fans would love to watch.
Film Details
Actors: Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Colin Blakely, Nicholas Clay, James Mason
Directors: Guy Hamilton
Summary: A must see for film Christie fans
