{"id":7386,"date":"2018-01-14T18:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-01-14T23:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=7386"},"modified":"2026-09-19T17:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T21:29:16","slug":"death-on-the-nile-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=7386","title":{"rendered":"Death On The Nile-1978"},"content":{"rendered":"

Death on the Nile- 1978<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director John Guillermen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Peter Ustinov<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #714<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed January 14, 2018<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Death On The Nile is a 1978 British thriller that follows up the successful 1974 offering, Murder On The Orient Express- both films based on the fabulous Agatha Christie novels of the 1930s.<\/p>\n

This time around, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) investigates a string of deaths aboard a luxurious steamer carrying the lavishly wealthy and their servants.<\/p>\n

The film is a good, old-fashioned whodunit, perhaps not on the level of storytelling as its predecessor; the murder mystery lacks the oomph expected, but it features exquisite Egyptian historical locales worth its weight in gold.<\/p>\n

Featuring a who’s who of famous stars and tremendous actors of the day, Death On The Nile carves a neat story right off the bat in such a way that the murder victim is fairly obvious right away- most of the characters have reason to celebrate her demise.<\/p>\n

Rich and reviled heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles) has stolen her best friend Jacqueline’s (Mia Farrow) beau, Simon, sparking a bitter feud between the women. While honeymooning in Egypt, the newlyweds are continually taunted by angry Jacqueline.<\/p>\n

Once the cruise ship departs with all on board, Jackie is the prime suspect when Linnet is murdered.<\/p>\n

Poirot must find the killer as numerous other suspects, all with grudges against Linnet, begin to emerge.<\/p>\n

Death On The Nile features a stellar cast, including legendary Bette Davis as Marie Van Schuyler, an eccentric American socialite with an eye for Linnet’s necklace.<\/p>\n

Davis’s casting is reason enough to watch the film, though the character is not center stage but rather a supporting role.<\/p>\n

The lead female honor goes to Farrow, who has the meatiest and most complex role in the film.<\/p>\n

Jackie’s unstable actions make her the most likely to commit the deed, but the fun is to figure out the “whys” and the “hows” of the murder.<\/p>\n

Is there more than one killer? Are they working in cahoots or independently? As the body count rises, these questions resonate more and more.<\/p>\n

The costumes and sets are gorgeous, and it is no wonder the film won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. At a ball, the women are dripping with jewels and gorgeous gowns.<\/p>\n

Along with Davis, boozy author Salome Otterbourne, hilariously played by Angela Lansbury, is granted the prize of wearing the most luxurious and interesting of all the costumes.<\/p>\n

Dripping with jewels and always with a cocktail in hand, she is the film’s comic relief.<\/p>\n

Director John Guillermin makes the film a light, fun experience and, despite the murderous drama, doesn’t take matters too seriously.<\/p>\n

These humorous moments balance nicely with the inevitable murders.<\/p>\n

The fun for the audience is deducing whodunit- most of the characters have the motive, and the cast of characters is hefty.<\/p>\n

I had memories of the famous board game Clue- was it Jackie in the ballroom with the revolver? You get the idea. The film makes for a good, solid mystery game.<\/p>\n

Comparisons to 1974’s Murder On The Orient Express are hard to avoid, especially with the lead casting of Hercule Poirot.<\/p>\n

Truth be told, Albert Finney’s portrayal in “Murder” is superior to Peter Ustinov’s Poirot in “Death,” and I am not sure what purpose Colonel Race (David Niven), as Poirot’s friend, serves other than to be a loyal sidekick and present a character that Poirot can explain events to, think what Watson was to Sherlock Holmes.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Finney is the superior Poirot, as he musters more strength and charisma than Ustinov.<\/p>\n

How lovely and historic to witness the wonderful Egyptian locales- the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids are featured amid an attempt on the life of the romantic pair by way of falling rocks- this sets the tone for the perilous cruise about to be embarked upon.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a perfect film for a Saturday stay-at-home evening with friends, complete with a serving of quality wine and cheese, Death On The Nile is a sophisticated, yet fun, British mystery film.<\/p>\n

It is fantastic to watch in a party setting where the audience can be kept guessing until the nice conclusion and the big reveal of who killed whom and why.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations<\/strong>: 1 win<\/strong>-Best Costume Design (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Golden Globe Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Foreign Film<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Death on the Nile- 1978 Director John Guillermen Starring Peter Ustinov Scott’s Review #714 Reviewed January 14, 2018 Grade: B+ Death On The Nile is a 1978 British thriller that follows up the successful 1974 offering, Murder On The Orient Express- both films based on the fabulous Agatha Christie novels of the 1930s. This time … Continue reading Death On The Nile-1978<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,440,11834,204],"tags":[433,693,453,11914,10182,869,9392,10183,4263,6110,10181,9186,1513,709,831,1059,1111,5953,10184],"class_list":["post-7386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1978-films","category-british-films","category-murder-mystery","category-thrillers","tag-agatha-christie-films","tag-angela-lansbury","tag-bette-davis-films","tag-celia-imrie","tag-david-niven","tag-george-kennedy","tag-harry-andrews","tag-i-s-johar","tag-jack-warden","tag-jane-birkin","tag-john-guillermin","tag-jon-finch","tag-lois-chiles","tag-maggie-smith","tag-mia-farrow","tag-olivia-hussey","tag-peter-ustinov","tag-saeed-jaffrey","tag-simon-maccorkindale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7386"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24553,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions\/24553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}