"Agatha Christie: Poirot" Death on the Nile (2004)

Director:

Andy Wilson

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Kevin Elyot (screenplay) ...

TV Series:

"Agatha Christie: Poirot" (1989)

Original Air Date:

12 April 2004 (Season 9, Episode 3)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

A wealthy British heiress honeymooning on a Nile cruise ship is stalked by a former friend, whose boyfriend she had stolen before making him her new husband.

Plot Keywords:

Egypt | Hercule Poirot | Murder | Detective | French Maid

Cast

David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
James Fox	...	Colonel Race
Emma Griffiths Malin	...	Jacqueline De Bellefort (as Emma Malin)
JJ Feild	...	Simon Doyle
Emily Blunt	...	Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle
Judy Parfitt	...	Miss Van Schuyler
Daisy Donovan	...	Cornelia Robson
Barbara Flynn	...	Mrs. Allerton
Daniel Lapaine	...	Tim Allerton
David Soul	...	Andrew Pennington
Frances de la Tour	...	Salome Otterbourne (as Frances De La Tour)
Zoe Telford	...	Rosalie Otterbourne
Alastair Mackenzie	...	Mr.Ferguson
Steve Pemberton	...	Dr. Bessner
George Yiasoumi	...	Cruise Manager

Runtime:

Finland:98 min | USA:97 min (DVD)

Country:

UK

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Netherlands:6 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Eltham Palace, Court Road, Eltham, London, England, UK

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

Elliott Gould was asked to play Andrew Pennington.

Quotes:

Jacqueline De Bellefort: She has taken everything from me, Monsieur Poirot, and I want to hurt her; to put my gun against her head, and gently pull the trigger.

Movie Connections:

Version of Death on the Nile (1978)

Worth the wait

Death on the Nile, one of Agatha Christie's best Poirot stories, finally gets the David Suchet treatment. And contrary to what others say, it's been worth the wait.

The plot involves Jaqueline de Bellefort's fiancée, Simon Doyle . When he leaves her for the rich, beautiful Linnet Ridgeway, Jackie follows them around wherever they go. Soon, Linnet is murdered on board a boat while honeymooning in Egypt. But Jackie has an alibi. Leave it to Poirot to discover the truth.

The mood for this film is darker than many other episodes of the series, and that is a good thing for this story. The writing is terrific (especially Colonel Race's entrance), and the cast is wonderful (with the exception of Emily Blunt as Linnet Doyle.) It's also refreshing to not have Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon in the story, and let Poirot work with someone else (in this case, Colonel Race.) This episode also explores another aspect of Poirot: less the comical side, and more the serious side. You feel truly sorry for him when he mentions to Jackie "all that I have missed in life", referring to love.

Altogether, Death on the Nile has great writing, acting, and costume and set design. And it surpasses the 1978 Peter Ustinov version.