ABC contre Hercule Poirot

Being one of the more elusive films this side of the pond, The Alphabet Murders delivers no more or less than expected (hence the 5/10). But I think you have to ask yourself why your watching it before you condemn it. Christie purists are up in arms, Randall fans defend him, yadda yadda yadda. Personally, I got it for the all too brief Dame Margaret. That said, there's little else to say about it.

Tony Randal is an acquired taste as Poirot, almost getting up your nose with an abysmal accent and acting as if he's the only one with grey cells, and overdoing that. The constant referring of him as a 'short' Belgian is the biggest mystery, as he's taller than most in the film. Poor Robert Morley tries his best, but the tedium of the film mainly comes from the rather repetitive score. Plotwise it doesn't really test the viewer, but enough is happening to keep you guessing. 30 seconds of Margaret Rutherford and spouse puts a much needed grin on the face, but it's not enough by far.

Certainly one to add to the collection, but don't rush for it at the garage sale. Overall, a huge waste of talent. Pity.

Oh, and a reviewer thinks Finney's Poirot was a masterpiece? Yeah. Right.

I have enjoyed David Suchet and Peter Ustinov playing Poirot among other interpretations of the detective, but Randall's turn is equally enjoyable. Randall is not a great actor but a fine comedian. Director Frank Tashlin should know a good comedian when he casts them--he had worked with Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis to name just two.

The film begins with Randall introducing himself as Poirot with a twinkle in his eye. The director is clear from the first scene--comedy first, mystery next.

Robert Morley is fun, but Randall is even better--the bowling alley, the restaurant gags, the telephone calls--all scenes filled with visual, good humor rather than slapstick. Morley depends on the typical British attitudes, e.g., snapping fingers down the pecking order, jumping queues and not knowing one's shoe size all depicting arrogance of society and wealth. Director Tashlin dishes out a comedy with considerable social comment--Brits who cannot differentiate the French from the Belgian French and are in the police force!

The most intriguing bit was to introduce Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple and Stringer Davis as Mr Stringer of the Miss Marple films bump into Randall's Poirot briefly. Surely this was a gem of an idea from Tashlin.

The film cannot be easily trashed--it offers comedy and entertainment, nearly 40 years after it was made. It is definitely not the definitive Poirot but an interesting interpretation of Poirot. It is probably one of the best Randall films ranking alongside "The Seven Faces of Dr Lao."

Based on Agatha Christie's "The A.B.C. Murders", with Tony Randall as an unlikely choice for Hercule Poirot. If you take your Christie seriously, this probably isn't for you, but it is a fun light mystery. Poirot is in London when a string of murders peaks his interest--the only motive seems to be the initials of the victims..A.A., B.B., etc. I enjoyed the pairing of Robert Morley and Randall. Morley, as the official assigned to escort Poirot about town, spends most of his time playing catch-up with calm exasperation..very British. Although some Poirot portrayals feature a humorous side, this one includes more physical comedy..perhaps an inspiration of director Frank Tashlin, who directed numerous Jerry Lewis films.

For the Miss Marple fans, there is even a humorous cameo by Margaret Rutherford and Stringer Davis, bemoaning the ineptitude of the police in solving the murders. Evidently, Ms Christie didn't like this movie--I don't know if it was the changes from the book (Anita Ekberg's character was a dark, tr oubled man in the book..) or the casting, but of course, she didn't like the Margaret Rutherford series either..go figure. Although Randall isn't who I think of when I think of Poirot, his comedic timing payed off here, and you know from the very start he intends to have fun with the role. Not my favorite Christie, but entertaining..glad I finally got to see it.

In order to get even the slightest bit of enjoyment out of THE ALPHABET MURDERS you have to forget that it's based on Agatha Christie's THE ABC MURDERS and disregard the fact that it bears only a slight resemblance to that tale.

If you can't forget, you can't forgive what they've done to a perfectly intriguing Hercule Poirot tale, first of all by casting TONY RANDALL, of all people, as Poirot. That gives you an idea of the broad comedy style the film has. I have great respect for Randall as a more than competent supporting actor in a number of very watchable films, but he's just an odd choice to play Poirot. He doesn't even get the accent right.

But that's not the only fault. Miss Christie's story is a rather far-fetched one to begin with. Here it is even more so because it's played more for farce than it is for murder and intrigue with the usual number of red herrings and suspects thrown into the mix.

Of no help at all is the fact that the supporting cast does include ROBERT MORLEY, ANITA EKBERG, and brief appearances by STRINGER DAVIS and MARGARET RUTHERFORD who describes the whole affair as, "As simple as ABC." She's wrong.

Summing up: Oddly disturbing no matter how you look at it.

Dame Agatha Christie , upon whose widely acclaimed mystery novel "The A.B,C Murders " this film is based ,was less than impressed by the movie -and indeed was so outraged that she refused permission for any further movies based on her works for some years afterwards . It is easy to see why for this limp and feeble picture retains only the basic plot premise of the book -a killer is at work and the victims appear to be chosen purely on the basis of their names .The first victim has the initials AA ,the second BB and so on . In every other respect the book is betrayed and the basic problem is a mismatch between style and content .The classic" whodunnit " is essentially an exercise in logic and ratiocination but here the style is comedic and the model seems to be the Dick lester directed Beatles movies -lots of visual jokes ,fleet footed editing and a refusal to take anything seriously ,least of all the characters .Thus we see the fastidious Poirot indulging in actions that he would never as seen by Christie ,contemplate --bowling , clambering over building sites and horse riding in Hyde Park .The motivation seems to have been to bring his character up to date and reflect the so called "swinging sixties This is a mistake -the books are period pieces and only make sense when fixed in the era they were written .A similar coarsening has taken place with the charcter of his sidekick Hastings -in the novel a stalwart if unimaginative military man he is her portrayed by the corpulent Robert Morley as a bumbling minor Espionage agent. Director Frank Tashlin made some lively satirical pictures in his time -the classic rock and roll flick " The Girl Cant Help It " and the neglected Doris Day espionage satire " Caprice " but he is simply wrong for this movie and the actors are encouraged to go over the top in playing their roles as buffoons or incompetents

A disaster and a betrayal of the author .