Agatha Christie Bundle DVD Collection

Contains the following titles:

1. Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection (Murder Is Easy/Caribbean Mystery/Murder with Mirrors/Thirteen for Dinner/Dead Man's Folly/Murder in Three Acts/Sparkling Cyanide/The Man in the Brown Suit) (8 DVD Pack)

Who slipped poison into the cocktail of kindly old Rev. Babbington?... Why is a mysterious brown-suited stranger trailing a young woman through exotic lands?...What is the secret behind the malevolent deeds at palatial Stonygates? Discover the answers and much more in this star-packed collection of murder most foul, mystery most fun. All eight movies are on DVD for the first time.

The grande dame of teacake murder mysteries, Agatha Christie, has kept generations of readers--and viewers--in her thrall, and this magnificent boxed set is a must for any Christie fan, rabid or casual. The collection includes eight films made for British TV in the '80s, most starring the first lady of the American theater, Helen Hayes, as Miss Marple, and the inimitable Peter Ustinov as Poirot. It would be hard to imagine more acting talent packed into compact TV mysteries.

The three Hayes tales (also available as a separate set) are Murder Is Easy costarring Bill Bixby, a still-radiant Olivia de Havilland, and a young Jonathan Pryce; A Caribbean Mystery, with Barnard Hughes and Swoosie Kurtz; and the grande-dame-duet Murder with Mirrors, with Hayes playing opposite her onetime real-life nemesis, Bette Davis. Mirrors alone is worth the price of the set, as Hayes is in fine form, completely un-vain and sweetly droll. As she heads toward a country manor to visit her "dear friend" Carrie Louise, played by Bette Davis. Davis, in one of her last film performances, plays a woman who may--or may not--be being slowly poisoned to death, but regardless is frail and slightly incoherent. Davis looks quite frail herself, and her line delivery seems a bit uncertain--perhaps extremely effective Method acting, or perhaps she was indeed as frail as she looks; either way, film fans won't want to miss this.

In the three Ustinov films (also available as a separate set), Thirteen for Dinner features Ustinov's Poirot trying to solve the murder of one Lord Edgeware, investigating, among others, the lovely mystery woman played by a witchy Faye Dunaway. (And in a fun bit of foreshadowing, David Suchet, who would go on to play a formidable, more metrosexual Poirot himself, appears here in the role of Poirot's sidekick Japp.) Dead Man's Folly finds Poirot and an old friend, a mystery writer played by Jean Stapleton, at a "murder hunt" party at which the dead body really does turn up dead. Murder in Three Acts finds Poirot far afield in sunny Acapulco, at a glorious villa belonging to a suave actor played by Tony Curtis. A random death-by-martini at a posh party opens the door to the possibility of murder--handy that Poirot is there to help the local constables. The supporting cast features top '80s TV actors like Emma Samms as the actor's arm candy, and Diana Muldaur (the wicked Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law). The production values are also topnotch--with gorgeous location shots in Mexico adding romance but also unnerving isolation to the proceedings.

The two non-Marple and -Poirot films (and thus not included on those individual DVD sets) are Sparkling Cyanide, starring Anthony Andrews and Harry Morgan as officers investigating serial poisonings, and The Man in the Brown Suit, a zippy yarn of international intrigue, with Stephanie Zimbalist as a tourist in Cairo caught in a nightmare of stolen diamonds and death. Supporting roles by Rue McClanahan, Tony Randall, and Edward Woodward add texture to the mysterious proceedings. Never has murder most foul been so deliciously entertaining.

Note: Missing outer cardboard sleeve but all discs and individual covers are pristine. This item is over €100 in itself online:
https://www.amazon.com/Christie-Collection-Caribbean-Thirteen-Sparkling/dp/B000GB5M1U

https://m.ebay.ie/itm/174362146290




2. Murder On The Orient Express
In this timeless classic, our Belgian detective (in his usual timely manner) finds himself on the Orient Express just as a murder takes place. A snow drift forces the train to stop, giving Poirot time to interview each of the passengers and investigate what turns out to be a most intricate case. As the detective unravels the clues left by the unknown assassin; the statements of the suspects; the murder's connection with the notorious Armstrong case from years earlier, we get the distinct impression that things are not as simple as they seem... and now we have ourselves a show.

I find Albert Finney's Poirot is not as purely cultivated as that of David Suchet, who has had years to perfect his role as the Belgian detective... but frankly, this is a matter of taste. Finney is not at all bad, even if I don't personally fancy his particular interpretation. The accent is a bit poor, but his body language, even his loudness does not bother me; it is a different way of doing it, but not at all out of place.

The rest of the cast, however, deserve a paragraph of their own. It is a list of juggernauts - Lauren Bacall is sharp, cold and talkative; Jacqueline Bisset shy and beautiful; Michael York the perfect gentleman; Sean Connery his usual authoritative and cultivated self; Vanessa Redgrave a golden bird lighting up the room whenever she enters; Ingrid Bergman a visual talent très magnifique. The list goes on, and that Bergman was the only one to take home an Oscar after this is a mystery to me - it could just as easily have been a nomination for Connery, Bacall and especially the director: Sidney Lumet. Frankly, the director did an excellent job keeping all this talent in check; you would want to unleash them all, giving each of them more time on the screen just as a matter of course... but that might have been a case of getting too much of a good thing - taking the limelight away from the mystery and its main protagonist: Hercule Poirot.

This item offers good value for money. It is a single DVD in a normal box, no extra wrappings, booklets or discs. You don't want that in a thing such as this. This film is a classic, and you don't really want hour upon hour of interviews with people you have hardly heard of, telling you about the intricacies of classic film-making and how the cast members insisted upon getting fresh pineapples in their trailers every morning... face it: all you want is the film itself on DVD - no sugar added.


3. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple Collection - Murder She Said / Murder Ahoy / Murder At The Gallop / Murder Most Foul (4 Discs)

Miss Marple has been embedded within the British society ever since Agatha Christie wrote her. We love our crime capers what with Sherlock, Morse and the like, with Miss Marple firmly placed amongst them. Margaret Rutherford was ana exceptional actor and in my view gave her best performance as the amateur sleuth. These four films will entertain for hours; she never let's up not for a minute, as she slowly works her magic to find the culprit. Without doubt a very engaging ensemble of actors all very experienced in their own roles, which brings to bear on the most challenging cases. Like Basil Rathbone as Sherlock, these actors are quintessentially British and shows the world how professional actors can bring that special something into our lives. If you haven't seen this early version of Miss Marple yet don't wait!

4. The Agatha Christie Hour: The Complete Series [DVD]

The Agatha Christie Hour is a collection of ten dramas based on short stories by the most popular novelist in history. Featuring a heady mix of romance, the supernatural and thrilling adventure, the episodes all showcase Christie's unrivalled flair for the dramatic. With guest stars including John Nettles, Roy Kinnear, Amanda Redman, Rupert Everett and Cherie Lunghi, the episodes in this set are:

Magnolia Blossom
The Case of the Discontented Soldier
The Girl in the Train
The Fourth Man
Jane in Search of a Job
The Manhood of Edward Robinson
The Case of the Middle-aged Wife
In a Glass Darkly
The Mystery of the Blue Jar
The Red Signal


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