Sparkling Cyanide (1983)

Rosemary Barton, the beautiful wife of a top attorney, dies during their anniversary party at an exclusive restaurant. Later a suicide note is found along with traces of cyanide in her drink, but murder cannot be ruled out.

Director:

Robert Michael Lewis (as Robert Lewis)

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Robert Malcolm Young (teleplay)

Stars:

Anthony Andrews, Deborah Raffin, Pamela Bellwood

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Andrews	...	Tony Browne
Deborah Raffin	...	Iris Murdoch
Pamela Bellwood	...	Ruth Lessing
Nancy Marchand	...	Lucilla Drake
Josef Sommer	...	George Barton
David Huffman	...	Stephan Farraday
Christine Belford	...	Rosemary Barton
June Chadwick	...	Sandra Farraday
Barrie Ingham	...	Eric Kidderminster
Harry Morgan	...	Captain Kemp
Anne Rogers	...	Viola Kidderminster
Michael Woods	...	Victor Drake
Shera Danese	...	Christine Shannon
Ismael 'East' Carlo	...	Medical Examiner (as Ismael Carlo)
Linda Hoy	...	Boat Manager

Storyline

A socialite while having dinner with her husband, her sister, her aunt, a friend of her sister and her husband, her husband's assistant and an English reporter, dies. It is later learned that she died from ingesting cyanide, Initially it is believed she may have given it to herself because she's having emotional problems. But her husband gets a note saying she was murdered so he tries to prove it and part of his plan to bring out the people who were there when his wife died. He gives a toast then everybody gets up to dance or do something. When they return, he takes a drink of champagne and drops dead. So they wonder how the cyanide got into his glass. Her sister who has taken a liking to the reporter learns he is actually an investigator. And he works with the police to find the killer.

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Plot Keywords:

cyanide | attempted murder | political career | lloyds of london | investigation | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Сверкающий цианид

Filming Locations:

Arden Villa - 1145 Arden Road, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television, CBS Entertainment Production, The Stan Margolies Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the water-skiing scene, in close-up shots Iris' hands are holding the bar with both palms facing downwards on the bar. In the long-shots, the left hand is palm facing downwards, but the right hand is palm facing upwards.

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Connections

Version of Poirot: The Yellow Iris (1993)

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Soundtracks

I Get a Kick Out of You
(uncredited)
Performed by Abby Haman
Written by Cole Porter

User Reviews

Quite good

I am a fan of Agatha Christie, and I quite enjoyed Sparkling Cyanide. The 80s updating aside, the story and dialogue is fairly faithful. The locations/sets are really quite nice and the photography is good enough. Some of the hairstyles, make-up and fashions are on the tacky side, but I can live with that, if anything it added to Sparkling Cyanide's fun.

The story is intact and very interesting to watch, the final solution I feel could have been developed a little more though and could have done with being less rushed. When it comes to the pace, it probably doesn't help that the film is perhaps too short, but some of it felt a little rushed, while some of the direction is flat and the music is annoying overdoing it with the jauntiness. Although there is a bit of cheese in abundance, the dialogue is entertaining and sticks well to the story.

The acting is nothing exceptional, but it is serviceable enough. Deborah Raffin comes off best, I'd say the way her character is written and explored- she is very spunky here- is a marginal improvement over the source material, and Raffin is very good indeed. Anthony Andrews is dashing and likable and seems to be having fun.

Overall, quite good, nothing special but watchable. 6/10 Bethany Cox