Evil Under the Sun (1982)

(On Cable TV, January 2022) Agatha Christie’s Inspecteur Poirot is back for a third Richard Goodwin-produced adventure in Evil Under the Sun, a follow-up to Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. This time, we leave transportation vehicles behind to focus on a weekend of relaxation and murder at a small Adriatic Sea resort. When a young actress is killed midway through the film, it’s up to the droll Poirot to interrogate suspects, gather clues and assemble everyone for the shocking solution. There’s been a dearth of good murder mysteries lately (as evidenced by Knives Out’s enthusiastic reception), and I suspect that it’s one of the reasons why Evil Under the Sun still plays so well now compared to when it came out. There’s a rather wonderful double-historical nostalgic effect in now watching a 1980s film set sometime in the 1950s (ish)—and it’s fun to spend some time with characters vacationing. That fun turns to intellectual challenge as the murder investigation starts and testimonies don’t add up. A rather interesting cast surrounds a near-flawless Peter Ustinov as Poirot (thankfully, his French is almost perfect), with Maggie Smith (as a resort owner) and James Mason (playing a character unusually fond of his lack of alibi) being the most recognizable supporting actors to twenty-first century viewers. Red herring abounds, and while the result isn’t as strong as the first two films in the series, it’s still quite entertaining to watch. I have a few quibbles about the rushed ending (not the least being that a bottle would be the physical proof claimed by the characters), but not enough to dislike the result. I’m waiting for murder mysteries to make a comeback, and I just have to point to Evil Under the Sun to make a point about how even mildly successful ones can still be a lot of fun to watch.