Death on the Nile – 1978
Director
John Guillermin

Writers
Agatha Christie (novel)
Anthony Shaffer (screenplay)

Producers
John Brabourne producer
Richard B. Goodwin producer (as Richard Goodwin)
Norton Knatchbull associate producer

Cast
Peter Ustinov – Hercule Poirot
Jane Birkin – Louise Bourget
Lois Chiles – Linnet Ridgeway Doyle
Bette Davis – Marie Van Schuyler
Mia Farrow – Jacqueline De Bellefort
Jon Finch – James Ferguson
Olivia Hussey – Rosalie Otterbourne
George Kennedy – Andrew Pennington
Angela Lansbury – Salome Otterbourne
Simon MacCorkindale – Simon Doyle
David Niven – Colonel Johnny Race
Maggie Smith – Miss Bowers
Jack Warden – Doctor Ludwig Bessner
Harry Andrews – Barnstable
I.S. Johar – Manager of The Karnak
Sam Wanamaker – Sterndale Rockford
Barbara Hicks – Schoolteacher (uncredited)
Celia Imrie – Maid (uncredited)
Andrew Manson – Egyptian (uncredited)

Review by Theo Robertson

Death on the Nile (1978)
I Suppose The Cast Are Good,

Agatha Christie? Ah yes the architect of the frightfully middle class English whodunnit novel and such a formulaic writer too. Let me guess what happens, a bunch of jolly fine chaps and spunky fun loving girls are on a boat sailing on the Nile where a series of beastly murders are putting everyone off their expensive cuisine. Oh darling how frightfully ghastly.

As you can imagine I’m not really a fan of this type of crime thriller where everything seems to take place in some sort of alternative world where working class scum don’t exist and considering the action takes place on the Nile it’s strange there seems to be an absence of brown skinned natives too. I guess there is another way of looking at it and that’s the murderer will be a toffee nosed WASP thereby absolving Christi of any type of politically incorrect subtext, oh and the crime buster is a portly Belgian so trust Johnny foreigner to save the day.

If you like these type of whodunnits I guess you’ll like DEATH ON THE NILE. The cast are fairly good I suppose and it’s interesting to see Ustinov and Niven in a film together since they knew each other very well during the war and appeared in THE WAY AHEAD a morale booster movie from 1944.

Death on the Nile (1978)

Review by Wayne Malin

Great all-star whodunit,
Filthy rich Lois Chiles is killed on a ship traveling down the Nile River in Egypt. Good thing that detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is aboard. Unfortunately, everyone on board had a reason to kill her. Poirot tries to figure out who did it while the bodies start to pile up….

Visually beautiful and totally fascinating adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery. It was a deserved Oscar Winner for Costume Design–all the clothing was in period and looks truly beautiful. Also they shot on location in Egypt which helps. The cast went through hell though–it was very hot and the clothes they wore were heavy and uncomfortable. Bette Davis especially complained loudly about the clothes and tore into Olivia Hussey for playing loud music in her cabin–at 6:30 in the morning.

The cast, however, is very good in their roles. Ustinov is perfect as Poirot–much better than Albert Finney in “Murder on the Orient Express”. Bette Davis does wonders with next to nothing in her role as a jewel thief. David Niven just tags along with Ustinov helping him solve the mystery. Mia Farrow is (sadly) miscast–she struggles in a very difficult role. Angela Landsbury (obviously enjoying herself) runs away with the movie as an alcoholic novelist. George Kennedy barely registers–he’s very underwritten. Maggie Smith, playing Davis’ maid, is a treat–the sparring insults between her and Davis are VERY funny. Jack Warden is OK faking a fairly convincing German accent as a doctor. Lois Chiles looks absolutely stunning…but is killed off. Olivia Hussey is sadly underused. Simon MacCorkindale is very good as Chiles’ husband. And Jon Finch is very wooden as a revolutionary. Still, everything works.

I saw it back in a theatre in 1978 and loved it. Over 20 years later, I STILL love it. Much better than the overrated “Murder on the Orient Express”. A definite 10 out of 10.