Monday, May 9, 2011

Review of the DVD Death on the Nile

By Rob Atherton


Death On The Nile is one of Agatha Christies most popular novels and it was the very first of the publisher's motion pictures I watched. The 1978 version saw Peter Ustinov take the leading role as the fictional, Belgium investigator Hercule Poirot and his travelling friend Colonel Race who was played by David Niven.

As the title suggests, the movie is set on the River Nile in Egypt. The instant a young heiress is murdered, Poirot is asked to clear up the crime. The film is set on board the Nile River boat the SS Cataract with visits at a few of Egypt's most widely known age-old attractions.

Right after Linnet Doyle (nee Ridgeway) is killed it quickly becomes apparent that there is more than one individual with a likely reason for murder. Linnet Doyle was on honeymoon in Egypt with her new husband Simon. The pair were being stalked by Jacqueline, Simon's former sweetheart. She follows the pair from the Pyramids in Cairo down to the Nile and boards the SS Cataract.

Linnet Doyle was the first victim and as Poirot began to look into, the different suspects motives started to be discovered. Her prized pendant was coveted by Mrs van Schuyler, Salome Otterbourne faced a law suit from Doyle over something she had published, Doyle had refused her maid the dowry she had promised and there were other people too.

As the vessel cruised along the River Nile stopping off at locations including the Temple of Karnak, Aswan and the Temple of Abu Simbel, other passengers were also being killed. Gradually Poirot determines the signs and the murderers are unmasked. Simon Doyle had wedded Linnet to secure access to her financial wealth. With her out of the way, Simon would be available to wed his true love, Jacqueline.

The deaths don't stop here as in desperation, Jacqueline firstly shoots Simon then herself instead of face the law. Originally written and published in the 1930s, the story is a Christie classic. Even if a few of the trips are unlikely (such as cruising from Karnak to Abu Simbel in an afternoon), this doesn't detract from the movie in anyway. Luckily, present day holiday makers don't go through quite so much drama on their Nile Cruise holidays.




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