Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Tony Randall | ... | Hercule Poirot | |
Anita Ekberg | ... | Amanda Beatrice Cross | |
Robert Morley | ... | Hastings | |
Maurice Denham | ... | Japp | |
Guy Rolfe | ... | Duncan Doncaster | |
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Sheila Allen | ... | Lady Diane |
James Villiers | ... | Franklin | |
Julian Glover | ... | Don Fortune | |
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Grazina Frame | ... | Betty Barnard |
Clive Morton | ... | 'X' | |
Cyril Luckham | ... | Sir Carmichael Clarke | |
Richard Wattis | ... | Wolf | |
David Lodge | ... | Sergeant | |
Patrick Newell | ... | Cracknell | |
Austin Trevor | ... | Judson |
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Tony Randall) investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials. The first victim is A.A., the second B.B., and so on. Poirot is assisted in his investigations by Captain Hastings (Robert Morley) and Inspector Japp (Maurice Denham). Written by Mike Hatchett <hatchetts13@webtv.net>
The Wikipedia article speaks of the movie makers as going for comedy. I would say this was not the most well-advised decision. I first saw this in high school, when it came to TV a year or so after its release. We were studying Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in English class. So I was psyched to see the flick.
It was a moderate disappointment. It looked like they tried to make Poirot slightly buffoonish. It looked like they tried to modernize the flick. It looked like dare I say it? It looked like camp. Moicy. One of the besetting sins of the 1960's cinematically (I think) was we all were postmodern and pretentious, and time-honored movies and stories were passé. This came off looking like a Rock Hudson / Doris Day flick in a way.
I like Tony Randall. I like Robert Morley. Anita Eckberg ain't too bad. But it isn't classic Poirot. The adaptation of the book to the Brit TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet that's classic Christie; and classic Poirot.