A young Arab boy also dies during the film, killed because he witnessed the murder and can identify the culprit. The film has of course an impressive cast which also includes John Gielgud as the local police inspector in Jerusalem. Of course Poirot through careful questioning and a gathering of the suspects eventually finds out who the real murderer is. On an excursion out in the desert Laurie turns up dead and the mystery is afoot. Also along on the trip is David Soul, Laurie's family attorney and Jenny Seagrove as a young doctor. She's traveling with a companion played by Hailey Mills. Another woman along on the trip who's come along way is a character based on Lady Nancy Astor, an American born woman who married a title and now has a seat in Parliament played by Lauren Bacall.

Laurie's come a long way since she was a matron in a women's prison. The power of the purse keeps the whole family under her thumb.

All live with her and the terms of her late husband's will give her complete control of the family fortune. She has one grown daughter and three stepchildren one of whom is married. This particular mystery finds Hercule Poirot on holiday and in the company both on ship and later in British mandated Palestine in the mid Thirties of an American family headed by a tyrannical stepmother played by Piper Laurie. I wouldn't be surprised if in fact the BBC Poirot series starring David Suchet which we in America saw for many years may have killed the more expensive budgeted big screen Poirot that Ustinov did so well. I'm sure Peter Ustinov probably could have done others. 6/10 Bethany CoxĪppointment with Death was the last theatrical release of that series of Hercule Poirot mysteries. Overall, not bad, but I did think Death on the Nile and Evil Under The Sun were better. In the book, she is a bit of a tyrant, in the adaptation, she was portrayed as nasty and cantankerous, but lacked the depth of the character in the book.

The same applies for the recent David Suchet version(which was more unfaithful but better musically and visually, and the acting was more solid in that one too), the character of Mrs Boynton was never done quite right, despite the wholly hateable portrayal given by Piper Laurie. But my main gripe with the movie was the character of Mrs Boynton. However, the script isn't that polished, a lot is changed from the book and some of the changes are underdeveloped, the character of Hassan was unnecessary. The film does have some splendid locations, even if Petra was changed to Jerusalem if I remember rightly, and the music was good too. And Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, Jenny Seagrove and John Gielgud give fine support. Speaking of Ustinov, he is excellent here, I had no problem with him. This adaptation isn't terrible, but it is the weakest of Peter Ustinov's outings as Poirot.

Agatha Christie's Appointment With Death is not her best book, but is well crafted and a pleasant read.

Mrs boynton appointment with death