Dead Man's Folly

Yet another one of Peter Ustinov's made-for-TV Hercule Poirot mysteries. These movies are a far cry from his theatrically released "Death on the Nile" and "Evil Under the Sun" in almost every way (cast, production values, scripting, etc.), but taken on their own they have their moments. "Dead Man's Folly" doesn't have too many of those moments, though. As the music score (which would be more appropriate for a slapstick comedy) quickly signals, this movie is played too broadly. Ustinov takes the comedic aspects of Poirot just a step too far in this one - he does a lot of mugging and even some double-takes. Hastings is not as idiotic here as he was in "Murder in Three Acts", but Hugh Fraser is much better in the David Suchet series. Jean Stapleton is OK as Mrs. Oliver, but again, Zoë Wanamaker was better in Suchet's "Cards on the Table". The cast on the whole is not bad, and there are a couple of real stunners in it (Nicolette Sheridan, Caroline Langrishe). But the direction is bland, and the result is a murder mystery more trivial than thrilling. (**)

I love Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Forget all those other phonies who've tried to fill his shoes! Including that ridiculous Murder on the Orient Express, or that laughable David Sachet!

His sly, lovable demeanor rivals any of the great actors playing detectives- Peter Falk as Columbo, etc. He has a wonderful way of gaining the confidence and trust of each of his suspects, while probing them for information. You never really know who he suspects, and that's the fun of the mystery. He guides you through the maze like true detective.

I have seen each of his delicious portrayals as the great, Belgian detective several times, and they just get better with age.

There has been (so far) only one definitive screen Poirot and that is David Suchet. As much as I admired the art of the late Sir Peter Ustinov, he was always completely miscast in this role. He was nothing like the character that Agatha Christie envisaged, i.e. an over-fastidious dapper little man who had a mincing walk, a bald egg-shaped head and a dark waxed moustache. Peter's rotund shape, with crumpled clothes and a crumpled moustache to match, would make her, and indeed Poirot himself, turn in their graves. However, Ustinov, as he usually does in this role, and probably deliberately, hams it up (likewise the entire cast) with enthusiastic gusto, but again I suspect, not entirely as Miss Christie would have imagined it.

Jonathon Cecil plays Capt Hastings as if he was a complete moron. Although not blessed with the same "little grey cells" as his companion, Hastings was not written as a fool, and in fact had supposedly been in Military Intelligence, which (although suggested in the film), is not a place for idiots.

Overall this movie (as with all Ustinov's portrayals of the character) is to Poirot, as burlesque is to the legitimate theatre, but so what? It's enjoyable to watch, and that's what entertainment is all about.

This made-for-TV movie is a good adaptation of Agatha Christie's story of the same name. Peter Ustinov again plays Hercule Poirot with aplomb as he unravels the mystery surrounding the Fair at Nass House and the architectural Folly. Dead bodies begin to pile up and no one is sure who they can trust among the many diverse guests at the Fair.

The biggest asset of this film is that it was shot on location in Great Britain at one of the Treasure Houses of England (Wilton House, I believe), which adds greatly to the period feel of the film. If shot anywhere else, it would have been a routine TV movie.

None of the performances truly stand out, but everyone plays their part with vigor and conviction. Most of the cast are English and they are much better than the American actors, who seem to be playing stock characters and don't quite fit in. However, it is a pleasant way to spend a few hours and revel in the grandeur of an authentic English estate.

Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth, is brought up to modern times in Dead Man's Folly. Normally Christie stories are better set in the period that they were written, but in this case no harm is done. Her detectives are quite eternal.

Peter Ustinov returns as Poirot with Jonathan Cecil as the ever dependable Captain Hastings and he's been invited to another one of those English estates by American mystery writer Jean Stapleton. She's giving one of those mystery hunt games at the estate and the invited guests are going to be the contestants.

It gets really out of hand when three real murders are discovered in the course of this film. A young girl from the village, an old estate caretaker and the wife of the Lord of the Manor Tim Pigott-Smith. And they are connected though how you will be surprised.

I will give you two clues the former owner of the estate Constance Cummings knows a lot more than she is revealing and the arrival of Jeff Yagher from America upsets a lot of well laid plans.

You'll enjoy figuring this one out if you can.