It's been decades since I read the Agatha Christie books but somehow I remembered "Appointment with Death" well enough to realize that this version was an aberration of the book. Apparently in this late entry in the series, they took on some new writers. Guess adaptation isn't their thing.
In 1937 Syria, Poirot is in the area of an archaeological dig led by Lord Boynton (Tim Curry), who doesn't appear in the book. His wealthy wife, the shrewish, horrible Lady Boynton (Cheryl Campbell) is financing this search for the skull of John the Baptist. Don't ask me how they figured out that a) they could find it; and b) where it might be.
Lady B, we know, is on borrowed time for the start. One only has to see how awful she is to her adopted children and their nanny. So when she winds up dead, there are suspects a-plenty.
This thing is a mess. In the story, Lady Boynton is a former prison warden and while she may be a sadistic witch, the problem her children have with her is that she is basically suffocating them. The book ends on a happy note, with each child going on to a better life. Sarah King is not a nanny, as I recall. There is no nun and no white slavery. Lady Westholme figures in the plot but not as a journalist.
I don't understand rewriting these stories. All of the new Miss Marples insert her in stories where she wasn't and change the plots. I hate to this twisting of stories with Poirot. Agatha Christie, according to The Guinness Book of World Records says Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold 4 billion copies, and, according to her estate, claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books.
So what makes Guy Andrews think he can do any better?
In 1937 Syria, Poirot is in the area of an archaeological dig led by Lord Boynton (Tim Curry), who doesn't appear in the book. His wealthy wife, the shrewish, horrible Lady Boynton (Cheryl Campbell) is financing this search for the skull of John the Baptist. Don't ask me how they figured out that a) they could find it; and b) where it might be.
Lady B, we know, is on borrowed time for the start. One only has to see how awful she is to her adopted children and their nanny. So when she winds up dead, there are suspects a-plenty.
This thing is a mess. In the story, Lady Boynton is a former prison warden and while she may be a sadistic witch, the problem her children have with her is that she is basically suffocating them. The book ends on a happy note, with each child going on to a better life. Sarah King is not a nanny, as I recall. There is no nun and no white slavery. Lady Westholme figures in the plot but not as a journalist.
I don't understand rewriting these stories. All of the new Miss Marples insert her in stories where she wasn't and change the plots. I hate to this twisting of stories with Poirot. Agatha Christie, according to The Guinness Book of World Records says Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold 4 billion copies, and, according to her estate, claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books.
So what makes Guy Andrews think he can do any better?