October 2022 – Page 4

SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 94:00 Min.

Adapting Agatha Christie’s same-named 1956 Hercule Poirot novel, CBS-TV first broadcast this Warner Bros. Television film on January 8, 1986. Set in the present-day, acclaimed British mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver (Stapleton) is commissioned to devise a mock ‘Murder Hunt’ for a Devon village’s community fair.

With the fair set up at the posh Nasse House estate, Oliver invites the esteemed Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Ustinov), to attend as her guest consultant. Yet, the event’s macabre fun turns shockingly real when the supposed teenage victim is indeed murdered in the secluded boathouse.

Further complicating the crime, the estate’s owner (Pigott-Smith) discovers that his reclusive wife (Sheridan) has ominously vanished. Soon afterward, an inebriated third victim drowns due to the elusive culprit. It’s up to Poirot, along with Mrs. Oliver and his trusted associate, Hastings (Cecil), to unravel the sordid truth behind the nefarious events plaguing Nasse House.

Hercule Poirot: Peter Ustinov

Ariadne Oliver: Jean Stapleton

Capt. Arthur Hastings: Jonathan Cecil

Sir George Stubbs: Tim Pigott-Smith

Hattie Stubbs: Nicollette Sheridan

Amy Folliat: Constance Cummings

Detective Inspector Bland: Kenneth Cranham

Police Constable: Jack Ellis

Alec Legge & Sally Legge: Christopher Guard & Caroline Langrishe

Michael Weyman: Ralph Arliss

Amanda Brewis: Susan Wooldridge

Marilyn Gale: Sandra Dickinson

Mr. & Mrs. Tucker: Leslie Schofield & Marjorie Yates

Marlene Tucker: Pippa Hinchley

Marilyn Tucker: Vicky Murdock

Eddie South: Jeff Yaegher

Merdell: Jimmy Gardner

Boatman: Alan Parnaby

Hostel Girl: Siv Borg

Unnamed Women: Dorothea Phillips, Joanna Dickens, & Fanny Carnaby

Unnamed Men: James Gaddas & Cyril Conway

Fair Attendees: Uncredited

Note: This film would be Ustinov’s fourth of six Poirot films (three of which were released theatrically).

REVIEW:

Reasonably faithful to Agatha Christie’s source material, this decent adaptation recognizes that its storyline is indeed TV-caliber, as compared to Peter Ustinov’s ultra-scenic Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun. Populated by a good cast, the highlight is Ustinov & Jean Stapleton’s entertaining chemistry, with some third-wheel help from Jonathan Cecil, giving all three of them amusingly comical quirks.

As to the mystery itself, Christie’s novel isn’t among her best Poirot whodunnits, but the plot still makes for watchable mainstream television.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars

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Written by Julie Winterbottom & Illustrated by Stefano Tambellini

SUMMARY:

Released by Workman Publishing in 2016, this 212-page paperback is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek encyclopedia of haunts, legends, and real-world spooks meant for an audience of 8-to-13 year-olds.

Presented as short chapters rather than a traditional encyclopedia, writer Julie Winterbottom casually discusses topics including spiders, crocodiles, ghosts, haunted houses, evil scientists, monsters, mummies, Ouija boards, séances, snakes, UFOs, werewolves, witches, and zombies.

Illustrator Stefano Tambellini contributes frequent kid-friendly illustrations (usually with a macabre sense of humor) to provide visual reference for Winterbottom’s text. The book also incorporates black-and-white photography to further enhance its narrative.

REVIEW:

Given her intended young audience, author Julie Winterbottom does a solid job describing icky subject matter with reasonable depth and a friendly emphasis on modern-day science surpassing traditional legends. Though Fright-lopedia may be a single seasonal read for most children, there is a practical advantage for parents. Specifically, if one is looking for inspiration to spark a middle schooler’s Halloween party, then Fright-lopedia may present some appropriate ideas.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

Besides Winterbottom’s acknowledgements, a helpful table-of contents is provided. In the “Find Your Biggest Fear!” tournament, readers eliminate an assortment of options to pinpoint their most ghastly phobia. The last page details the sources for the book’s stock photography.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars