SYNOPSICS
Appointment with Death (1988) is a English movie. Michael Winner has directed this movie. Peter Ustinov,Lauren Bacall,Carrie Fisher,John Gielgud are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1988. Appointment with Death (1988) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Mystery,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Emily Boynton (Piper Laurie), stepmother to the three Boynton children, and mother to Ginevra (Amber Bezer), blackmails the family lawyer, Jefferson Cope (David Soul), into destroying the second will of her late husband, which would have freed the childern from her dominating influence. She takes herself and the children on vacation to Europe and the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, Hercule Poirot (Sir Peter Ustinov) meets up with a woman friend, Dr. Sarah King (Jenny Seagrove), who falls in love with Raymond Boynton (John Terleskey) to Emily's disapproval. Lady Westholme (Lauren Bacall), her secretary, and Cope are following them too. The children learn about the second will, and Emily succeeds in rubbing the rest the wrong way, causing much hatred towards her. At a dig, everybody wonders about the camp, and Emily is found dead, poisoned. Poirot investigates.
Same Actors
Appointment with Death (1988) Reviews
Lots of humor, terrific performances, and exotic locales.
Peter Ustinov's Hercule Poirot returns to it's big screen roots with lavish travelogue scenery and a roster of legendary stars. Long time film star Piper Laurie steals the film as Emily Boynton, a Cruela deVile style evil stepmother, and former prison wardress. Every moment she is on screen is pure delight as she marches around and belts out orders. She has had a great second career in her elder years("Carrie," "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway"). The film begins when her lawyer, Jefferson Cope (David Soul), tells her that her recently deceased rich husband made up a second will that split her inheritance with her grown children, a rather spoiled and naive group of sniveling brats. She knows the lawyer to have a few skeletons in his closet and forces him to burn the will, then announces she is taking her brood on a vacation to the Holy Land. While on holiday she meets up with Lady Westholme (Lauren Bacall.) Bacall is quite good as the American-turned-British member of Parliment. If anyone could stand toe-to-toe with Piper Laurie's over-the-top performance it would be Lauren Bacall, but we see very little interaction between the two grand ladies of cinema. An opportunity missed and for the most part just two women who happen to be on the same tour. To fill out the cast we have Hayley Mills as Lauren Bacall's assistant, John Gielgud underused as the governing legal agent, Colonel Carbury, and a host of capable actors as the usual assembly of suspects in the usual assembly of sub-plots, mostly red-hearings. Ustinov perhaps does a little less sleuthing here than usual and is really not much more than an excuse for the film to be made. In the first hour, the detective overhears just about everything the audience hears merely by the coincidence of having his chair in the right place at the right time. "A gift" he tells one of the suspects. When such a fault in the script is so obvious that the director feels he must give an explanation (a shoddy one at that) to the audience, I suppose the movie moves more into the realm of spoof than mystery. This film does have a lot more humor and entertainment than the other films in the series. Whereas most of the Ustinov-Poirot films tend to be a bit dry and long, "Appointment with Death" is quite breezy and whisps us along a plot that has by now become way too familiar. Without the humor and eccentric performances there would have been little here to warrant a film. Like the 100th episode of "Murder She Wrote" it is no longer important who did it, or who got killed. It's just a lot of fun watching old pros ham it up.
A Death In Palestine
Appointment with Death was the last theatrical release of that series of Hercule Poirot mysteries. I'm sure Peter Ustinov probably could have done others. I wouldn't be surprised if in fact the BBC Poirot series starring David Suchet which we in America saw for many years may have killed the more expensive budgeted big screen Poirot that Ustinov did so well. This particular mystery finds Hercule Poirot on holiday and in the company both on ship and later in British mandated Palestine in the mid Thirties of an American family headed by a tyrannical stepmother played by Piper Laurie. She has one grown daughter and three stepchildren one of whom is married. All live with her and the terms of her late husband's will give her complete control of the family fortune. The power of the purse keeps the whole family under her thumb. Laurie's come a long way since she was a matron in a women's prison. Another woman along on the trip who's come along way is a character based on Lady Nancy Astor, an American born woman who married a title and now has a seat in Parliament played by Lauren Bacall. She's traveling with a companion played by Hailey Mills. Also along on the trip is David Soul, Laurie's family attorney and Jenny Seagrove as a young doctor. On an excursion out in the desert Laurie turns up dead and the mystery is afoot. Of course Poirot through careful questioning and a gathering of the suspects eventually finds out who the real murderer is. The film has of course an impressive cast which also includes John Gielgud as the local police inspector in Jerusalem. A young Arab boy also dies during the film, killed because he witnessed the murder and can identify the culprit. That particular act robs us of any sympathy we might have had for the perpetrator. Appointment with Death also benefits from good photography, shot on location in both Israel and Italy with interiors done in London. All the Peter Ustinov Poirot films are of excellent quality and are a great introduction to the work Agatha Christie.
Underrated Christie Adaption
This is the most under-appreciated Agatha Christie film in my opinion. The movie has a top grade cast (for the most part) including Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, Piper Laurie & Hayley Mills. Mills and Bacall give the best supporting performances as an Archeologist and Member of Parliment respectively. The solution to the murder of evil mother Laurie isn't an easy one, but it all makes sense in the end. The plot moves along at a good pace, and features beautiful locations. If you want a good mystery, go and rent Appointment with Death!
An enjoyable whodunnit with an all star cast
Appointment with Death is a wonderful film for pure escapism. Piper Laurie is really fantastic as Emily Boynton. Of course Peter Ustinov is always a treat as Hercule Poirot. Sir John Gielgud is a treasure to watch and Lauren Bacall is incredibly good as Lady Westholme. This is a glamorous film with additional supporting cast such as Jenny Seagrove, the handsome John Terlesky, the beautiful Hayley Mills and Carrie Fisher. David Soul is passable as the Boynton family lawyer. The scenery is wonderful, the costumes beautiful and the story intriguing. It is hard to know who has done the deed. The much underrated Michael Craig also puts in an appearance. I wish there could be more appointments with such a talented cast.
Ustinov is highly entertaining as Poirot
Peter Ustinov is an absolute joy to behold in the role of Hercule Poirot! He played Poirot in three theatrical films: Death On the Nile, Evil Under the Sun, and Appointment With Death. He also played Poirot in three TV movies: Thirteen At Dinner, Murder in Three Acts, and Dead Man's Folly. It's always a delight to spend time with Ustinov's Poirot. He's so much fun! The three Poirot TV movies starring Ustinov are now available in a three DVD set. I've had a great time watching these with friends and family and all of Ustinov's Poirot movies are worth watching and re-watching. My deep affection for Ustinov's Poirot grows with each viewing. He's brilliant and each of his Poirot movies are fantastic fun!