Ranking the best Agatha Christie movie adaptations
From the Nile to the Orient Express to the Venice canals, the Queen of Crime has given Hollywood some of its best murder mysteries
Film Features Agatha Christie
It makes sense that filmmakers have been turning to Agatha Christie for source material since 1928 (The Passing Of Mr. Quinn). Her mystery plots are tightly wound, her characters rich and well crafted, the settings full of interesting and exotic locales. The solutions have the perfect balance of the unexpected and the obvious, based on the evidence she threads through the investigation. It’s always entertaining to watch her beloved detectives piece things together and try to follow along. Yet they can also be full of clunky exposition that doesn’t translate well to the screen, and can feel stodgy and outdated now (there’s a reason why so many of the adaptations are period pieces).
The latest Christie adaptation, Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting In Venice, arrives in theaters on September 15. It’s Branagh’s third time dipping into Christie’s deep well and taking on the mantle of quirky Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. In honor of the new release, we’re looking back at a dozen of the best Christie adaptations, going all the way back to the first time And Then There Were None was brought to the screen in 1945. We’re also throwing in a few recent limited series currently available to stream as well, in case this isn’t enough Christie for you.
48 Comments
What is the hero photo supposed to be?
Obviously this is limited to movie adaptations, but I think the fact I’d rank most of David Suchet’s Poirot above all the films on this list I’ve seen is partially down to the fact that Christie’s works generally work best on the small screen. You can lavish up the production design, but fundamentally whodunnits are character portraits and clue-gathering exercises.
Yes, it seemed odd to limit the list to cinema adaptations when many of the best TV versions were movie-length.
it seemed odd to limit the list to cinema adaptations when many of the best TV versions were movie-length.Especially when it doesn’t even stick to that restriction, but includes a number of TV movies and miniseries.The whole list feels completely arbitrary, with a number of entries that are mediocre–to–bad and others that are missing for no good reason. (If they can include some of the Sarah Phelps TV adaptations, I think her version of The Witness for the Prosecution with Toby Jones belongs on the list, for example.)
And as long as they’re doing TV they can throw in the Mitchell & Webb take for good measure.
“My god Poirot! She’s doing the Evil Voice!”
Especially when one of the entries is a limited series for television.
Exactly: Suchet is the Poirot, just as Jeremy Brett is the Sherlock Holmes. Many may play him but none will play him as well.
The listicle goes as far as suggesting that the title for best Poirot is a contest between Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney, which reads as if they’ve never even heard of David Suchet.
Really, Suchet’s truly is an iconic performance – he literally did every single Poirot story. It’s a complete set of works. There’d be few characters with that level of association with a single actor.I suppose we ought to be grateful they discount Branagh out of hand. That head is unfortunately, but that moustache is completely unforgiveable.
he literally did every single Poirot story. It’s a complete set of works.Nearly all. There are a few odds and ends missing from his list of TV credits: the play Black Coffee (though he did a live reading of it to cover the omission), “The Regatta Mystery” which was first published as a Poirot story but then rewritten to feature Parker Pyne, and IMO the biggest omission: “The Lemesurier Inheritance” from Poirot’s Early Cases, which was not adapted though it is a perfectly normal, canonical story and would have fit the series well.
(Whether The Labours of Hercules counts as an adaptation of all the individual stories of that collection is also debatable, since some of them are more or less omitted from the merged, heavily rewritten story, but since they are linked in the original I think it’s defensible; a few others also feature major changes, after all.)
Yep thought the same
And I was under the impression (and in furious agreement) that the generally agreed upon ranking of the Poirots is as follows: Suchet is no-contest the best, Branagh is meh, Finney is really weird and entertaining but in no way Poirot, and Ustinov absolutely blows.
Does this church have a newsletter? Because I need a subscription.
Alas, no, we just relish the performances as our form of worship.
Suchet’s Poirot is perfection. I live for cozy mysteries, and Poirot is the best of the best. I’ve seen both Finney and Ustinov’s interpretations, and they pale in comparison; I really don’t understand it. Perhaps it’s because I saw them after I’d been watching Poirot for awhile – I started with the greatest, so nothing else compares.
I understand this is a cinematic list, but agree; it’s frankly difficult to take this list seriously when Suchet isn’t even mentioned.
I am a such a fan of Suchet’s Poirot work, I have watched the entire series at least 3 times. David got the nuance down so well, its hard to believe he wasn’t the little Belgian at the end (and apparently Belgium itself loves him for it). The fastidiousness, the enjoyer of good cuisine (and the detestment of the bad heaped on him were comedy gold), the interplay between him and Hastings or his ever dependent secretary, Miss Lemon, or his friendship with Japp. Even the aged version and the final episode of Curtain (which I am not ashamed causes a tear to roll each time), Suchet really got the Poirot the man over the character, IMHO. It was the role of a lifetime, and David did him proud.I will say I love Finney’s take on him though….it was the gregariousness and the braggadocio that did it for me. A man in love with his own intelligence but not because he is egomanical, but because he can demonstrate it over and over again with clear proof. He gave Poirot this vitality you didn’t see as much in other roles….he was almost a cad, but probably a very good companion at dinner. And Finney did it practically among acting royalty and ate the scenery with aplomb.And that’s why I rewatch the movie at least once a year.
No one will ever beat David Suchet. Poirot is one of my three favorite shows, easily, and he was born to play the role.
I’m crazy about them all. Were talking about the great actors and producers of our time and times past. I agree with so much of what you all are writing. My favorite seems to change with the production I am enjoying at the moment. Thanks to all who create and recreate these delightful Agatha worlds. That being said Suchet is the Poirot, just as Jeremy Brett is the Sherlock Holmes.
Suchet was brilliant as Poirot. And – somewhat hilariously – the ITV series was one of the few that kept Poirot in the original timeframe and settings. And the theme tune is iconic – as was the title sequence. (BTW, in case anyone wants a taste of how good Suchet was at playing the little Belgian detective, here’s an episode…)
Branagh’s Death on the Nile suffers from unnecessary back story and dreadful CGI backdrops. Why he filmed on 65mm for this I have no idea
I though the earlier scenes’ CGI backdrops were terrible but once they got on the boat I thought the CGI was fine.
The 70s versions were regulars on tv back when I was a kid. I liked them a lot.
The 1945 version of Then There Were None has one of my favorite shots in all of cinema in it. At the end, we’re finally going to see the face of the person who has been killing off the guests. That person is playing pool when the final survivor comes in. The camera follows a pool shot and then pans up to give us the reveal……except that there’s a lampshade in the way! It’s delightfully silly. (the killer walks out from behind the lampshade about three seconds later, don’t worry)
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? was excellent but I don’t get why it qualifies for this list, but the vast majority of TV adaptations do not.Incidentally I was a bit shocked by Will Poulter’s physique in this – less so when I later heard he was lined up for a part in a Marvel movie. I’m also a big fan of Lucy Boynton who was great in last year’s mini-series adaptation of The Ipcress Files.
Personally I found Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? a big disappointment in the end. The first episode was excellent, practically perfect; the second episode was fine but rather unfocused (giving a lot of time to minor plot threads but not enough to Frankie’s stay in the mansion, which is the important bit); and then the final episode was an almost incoherent jumble. It was as if Hugh Laurie had planned it as a four-episode series, then realized halfway through that he didn’t have enough time and had to rush everything to reach some kind of ending.Poulter and Boynton were both great, though. I wish we could have got more of their chemistry.
Lucy Boynton was really excellent in the boarding school episode of Endeavour, “Nocturne,” which also features a very young Anya Taylor-Joy. I was thrilled when she started showing up in more things.
“Ten Little Indians” (1965) has its charms, and belongs on this list ahead of some pretty bad offerings.
I always have liked “Ten Little Indians,” a take on “And Then There Were None” from the ‘60s.
I watched Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express without having read the book. I was so annoyed at the ending, I was convinced it was Hollywood shlock.Then I learned Christie wrote that ending herself and all Branagh did was change up some character names and backstories. Case of Seinfeld being unfunny?
I personally agree that Murder on the Orient Express is overrated. In my opinion it is not one of Christie’s or Poirot’s best mysteries.I think its reputation comes in large part from its audacity. It was first published in 1934, at the height of the “Golden Age” of detective fiction, when the conventions of the traditional “fair play” mystery were meticulously observed. Coming up with a novel twist within those constraints was difficult (though Anthony Berkeley managed it repeatedly), and so it was hailed for doing something original, even if preposterous.I also think the solution plays a little bit better in the book than on screen. The twist has a Keyser Soze problem: if everything we’ve been told is untrue, what does any of it matter, and why would any of it have provided useful clues? The book goes to some lengths to motivate why the whole thing is so baroque and open to investigation, and makes Poirot’s solution seem at least partly a matter of deduction rather than just an insane leap of imagination.
Yeah I find MotOE a bit boring and/or convoluted. I find it harder to rewatch, as I really can’t stand the solution (unless we go with the dubious not true version of events).
While Suchet is the top tier Poirot, I actually like Ustinov’s first two appearances over Finney’s one and done version.
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There was a great “And then there were none” adaptation from 1974, starring Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, Gert Froebe, Richard Attenborough and Herbert Lom. But I seem to be the only one who likes it, or am I?Also….”Branagh’s artistic and thoughtful direction”?! The guy is as subtle as Roland Emmerich.
My favourite adaptation is the BBC’s 2015 adaptation of And Then There Were None. It was remarkable at the time – it got the look right (too often too many 1920s-30s-set series and shows think it’s all about glitter and glamour), it got the music right and it got the mood right. Modern-day adaptations often look at Christie’s settings and go “ugh! Britain in the 20s/30s!” and relocate it to a hot and sunny clime (though we can give a free pass to Evil Under the Sun, simply because it looks gorgeous plus you get to ogle Nicholas Clay in his swim-shorts) – not this. ATTWN is set in Devon. If you don’t know Devon, it’s the county before you get to the stomping grounds of Daphne du Maurier (and that’s an author worthy of a decent adaptation or three. I’ll never forgive Netflix for their shite Rebecca). It’s beautiful. It’s horrendous. It’s tranquil. It’s storm-lashed. It’s sublime. It’s a nightmare. And Christie knew that and she plays with that. I’ve often said that the approach to Soldier Island in the BBC adaptation is possibly one of the most unnerving parts of the adaptation, LOL.You know what the most hilarious and gruesome thing about the adaptation was? They showed it at Christmas…
I’ve been meaning to watch this version of ATTWN and your championing of the series’ setting has me convinced to do so. Maybe I’ll watch it at Christmastime too.
Evil Under The Sun is probably more fun than Ustinov’s Death on the Nile, mostly due to this classic scene.
I loved the 2015 adaptation of And Then There Were None. It makes one change to the dark ending that makes it even better. It’s a perfectly vicious scene too.
I enjoyed Death of the Nile by Branagh, but he really needs to lay off the “Sad Man Poirot” schtick. It worked in Murder on the Orient Express, but doesn’t work as well here. Also, Gadot is really not great in this – I think she just has an extremely limited range as an actress and it shows, especially compared to Emma Mackey (who is a fucking dynamo of intense, obsessive energy in this).
The best part about the #1 entry is the cracking dialogue:
Sir Wilfrid: Would you like a cigar? Pardon me.
[Takes cigar out of Mayhew’s suit pocket; offers it to Inspector Hearne]
Inspector Hearne: That’s very kind of you Sir Wilfrid.
Sir Wilfrid: (Pauses) I better not, it would constitute a bribe.
[Places cigar into his own suit pocket]
Woohoo, the Daily Slideshow streak continues!
Nice that you included Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express. Because for movies, he’s the best Poirot, hands down. (Ustinov was fine, Branagh is a bit campy for my taste.)If you include TV, then David Suchet is better than anyone who’s ever played Poirot. Or ever will. (Am I right in remembering that Suchet’s team adapted all the Christie Poirot books? I know that was the intention, not sure they got there.)
Yes, the Suchet series adapted all novels and almost all short stories (they didn’t adapt short stories that had been turned into novels or novellas later, as these novels/novellas got their own episodes). The only short story they didn’t adapt at all was The Lemesurier Inheritance.
I’ve been listening to the Poirot stories as audio books, most of them read by David Suchet or by Hugh Fraser (who played Hastings in the series). And the shocking thing is that in this format, Fraser actually does a better Poirot than Suchet does!Suchet is pretty good as a reader overall, but when doing Poirot’s dialog he tends to fall into the same singsong cadences over and over, emphasizing the foreign peculiarities rather than what he is actually saying or feeling. It becomes monotonous. (Which I never found to be the case on TV.)
Fraser, on the other hand, is excellent. He is engaging and natural, with the right rhythm and emotion for every line, and he manages to embody a wide range of characters, men and women, so that they are all identifiable and believable. He, more so than Suchet, provides the Poirot I recognize from the TV series.
Perhaps Suchet finds it difficult to jump in and out of the role so rapidly, and it leaves him unable to modulate his performance as precisely as he was able to on screen. Perhaps stage and screen are more his media than audio books. Or perhaps Fraser is simply so extraordinarily good at it that others pale in comparison.
Honorable mention: Murder By Death.
“Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey, Russell Brand, Annette Bening, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, and, unfortunately, Armie Hammer…”A couple of other names could be moved to after that “unfortunately” even if they not as fucked up as Hammer.
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I was always partial to the 80’s version of ‘Murder is Easy’, with Bill Bixby, Lesley-Anne Down, and Olivia De Havilland. I think it was made for tv.
I was always surprised they never adapted The Mousetrap. I was in that one, and it was a blast.