Death on the Nile Movie

Death on the Nile
Rating:
Run Time: 140 min
MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1978
Directors: John Guillermin
Genre/Type: Mystery
Detective Film
Ensemble Film
Whodunit
Producers: Lord John Brabourne
Richard Goodwin
Plot Synopsis by Karl Williams
Peter Ustinov began his long association with the Hercule Poirot character of murder mystery novelist Agatha Christie with this lavish but financially disappointing follow-up to the popular Murder on the Orient Express (1974). During a luxurious pleasure cruise down the Nile aboard a lavish vessel populated with wealthy passengers, widely despised heiress and home wrecker Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles) is murdered. Also aboard is famed Belgian detective Poirot (Ustinov) and his taciturn traveling companion, Colonel Race (David Niven). Poirot undertakes an investigation into Ridgeway's killing. Among the colorful suspects are Salome (Angela Lansbury) and Rosalie Otterbourne (Olivia Hussey), Doctor Bessner (Jack Warden), Mrs. Van Schuyler (Bette Davis), Miss Bowers (Maggie Smith), and Jacqueline De Bellefort (Mia Farrow). As more bodies pile up, however, it appears that nearly everyone aboard has a motive. The script for Death on the Nile (1978) was adapted by Anthony Shaffer, the writer of Sleuth (1972) and the identical twin brother of Amadeus (1984) author Peter Shaffer.

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A murder is committed on a Nile steamer, but Hercule Poirot is on board... full summary | add synopsis
Death on the Nile by Agatha Cristie was first published in England on November 1st, 1937.
The percentage of fatal cases of West Nile virus is less than 1%.

Cast

Actors Character Born
Peter Ustinov Hercule Poirot Apr 16, 1921 in London, England, UK
Jane Birkin Louise Bourget Dec 14, 1946 in London, England
Lois Chiles Linnet Ridgeway Apr 15, 1947 in Alice, TX
David Niven Colonel Race Mar 1, 1910 in London, England, UK
Bette Davis Mrs. Van Schuyler Apr 5, 1908 in Lowell, MA
Angela Lansbury Mrs. Salome Otterbourne Oct 16, 1925 in London, England, UK
Mia Farrow Jacqueline De Bellefort Feb 9, 1945 in Los Angeles, CA
George Kennedy Andrew Pennington Feb 18, 1925 in New York City, NY
Jon Finch Ferguson Mar 2, 1941 in Caterham, Surrey, England
Olivia Hussey Rosalie Otterbourne Apr 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Simon MacCorkindale Simon Doyle Feb 12, 1952 in Ely, Cambridge, England
Maggie Smith Miss Bowers Dec 28, 1934 in Ilford, Essex, England
Jack Warden Dr. Ludwig Bessner Sep 18, 1920 in Newark, NJ
Harry Andrews Barnstaple
Sam Wanamaker Rockford Jun 14, 1919 in Chicago, IL
I.S. Johar Manager of The Karnak

Back to the topReview

Review by Dan Friedman
A prototypical Agatha Christie adaptation, Death on the Nile is a classic mystery with an all-star cast of recognizable names and faces. Continuing in the vein of Murder on the Orient Express, a murder has occurred during a river cruise, making everyone onboard a suspect, and, as the eminent detective Hercule Poirot observes, everyone had either an opportunity or a motive to do the dastardly deed. Death on the Nile features Peter Ustinov in the role of Poirot and he gives an uncharacteristically subtle, low-key performance, leaving the histrionics to the rest of the cast which features David Niven, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, and George Kennedy, among others. This is Ustinov's first appearance as Poirot and he seems to be feeling out the role and leaving the plot to carry the film. Like most works by Agatha Christie are on some level, the plot is somewhat formulaic. However, the mystery is well-constructed as one would also expect from a Christie story, but there is a lot of information to digest in order for the viewer to be able to participate in the solving of the crime and the resolution of the story. By necessity most of the action takes place on the ship, but the other Egyptian locations lend an exoticism to the film and set the period well.
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