È troppo facile

American adaptations of Agatha Christie (especially for television) tend to be on the low end of the scale. It's principally the writing, secondarily the directing – i.e. the writers and directors mold the Christie work into something they *think* American audiences want instead of giving us what we actually *do* want – which, when it comes to English murder mysteries, is the same thing the English want.

So, I was greatly taken by surprise so see that *this* adaptation of *Murder is Easy* was NOT bad. It is not grade 'A' quality by a long shot; but it is definitely a high 'B' grade. And it is certainly more faithful to the original than the 2008 adaptation (which has a lot of *very* bizarre flights of fancy that do NOT make for a better story; just a bizarre one).

In this version, Luke is not a retired policeman from India but a computer expert from America; but the age difference is the same (or at least Bixby was 20 years older than Down, which is the age difference in the novel). Lavinia Pinkerton has become Lavinia Fullerton for some reason, but she's killed the same way under either surname. Gordon Ragg, Lord Whitfield (no known relation to June) has become Lord Easterfield (in full credit, Lord Gordon Easterfield; but Easterfield would be his lordship, not his surname - so he might still be a Ragg, at least by birth). Honoria Waynflete, Rose Humbleby, and the rest (so far as I can tell) are all the same.

The plot develops steadily and cleanly, as the suspense slowly builds. As in the novel, Luke believes the killer is a certain individual – which, of course, is a classic signal to reader and viewer that it must be someone else; but who? Ah, therein lies the mystery – and when the identity of the killer is finally revealed, it *is* a surprise (unless, of course, you have already read the book) because it is somebody whom nobody would suspect.

And as long as nobody suspects you ... Murder is Easy.

Side Note for Radio Fans: The best adaptation of this novel to date (November 2016) is one that was done a few years ago for BBC Radio 4 by Joy Wilkinson. It stars Patrick Baladi (New Tricks, Poirot), Lydia Leonard (The 39 Steps - 2008 version), Michael Cochrane (Downton Abbey), Marcia Warren (Agatha Raisin, Dangerfield), and a lot of other very good British actors that most Americans will not have heard of.

This is not an outstanding film by all means, but it is a very decent one, that is faithful in story, tone and dialogue to the book. The story is compelling and interesting, hindered only really by the nonsense with the computers which was underdeveloped and added very little to the story.

The pace starts very briskly, and Helen Hayes brings a lot of charm to her brief role, but once more in the story unfolds it gets slower up to the conclusion, which is well-paced and rounds things off nicely as it should do. Bill Bixby starts off rather wooden and dull, but gets better.

That said, the production values are excellent, the photography is pleasing on the eye and the costumes and scenery are beautiful. The music has some nice parts as well, the direction is decent and the dialogue is charming, controlled and witty. The cast do do very well, while some of the characters could have been developed a tad more, the cast do great jobs especially Lesley-Anne Down, Olivia DeHavilland and Timothy West.

All in all, a decent film and adaptation. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Bill Bixby, not actually turning into the Incredible Hulk, tries to solve the deaths of citizens in one of those quaint English villages where murderers seem to thrive. A nice fair adaption of a fun Christie book with pretty Leslie Anne and a hefty Olivia huffing and puffing thru the scenery. She's a wicked gas here.

Murder is Easy (based on the novel Murder is Easy aka Easy to Kill) differs from the Agatha Christie novel in that the amateur sleuth Luke Fitzwilliams is changed to American Luke Williams for American TV-Movie reasons. Aptly so, that an American actor (Bill Bixby) could assume the role. Having said that, it is fitting to say that Murder is Easy is a wonderful adaptation for television. Old-time greats Olivia De Havilland and Helen Hayes have some nice spots as British spinsters Honorea Waynflete and Lavinia Fullerton. Other Brit stalwarts Timothy West, Shane Briant, Lee Lawson, and the stunningly beautiful Lesley-Anne Down round out the great cast. Also in an early role was Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean) as Mr. Ellsworthy. Bill Bixby is adequate, but Olivia De Havilland is very engaging in one of her latter day roles as Miss Waynflete, as is the great Helen Hayes as Miss Fullerton.

Wonderful English countryside scenery, a great cast and an engaging story are more than enough reasons to view this movie over and over again.

Bill Bixby doesn't have his green alter-ego to help him this time, only his sleuthing abilities. You wouldn't like him when he's snooping around. In this TV movie Adapted from Dame Agatha Christie book, Bixby stars as a MIT stats professor who befriends an old lady on a train who confides in him that she's off to Scotland yard to report on a murderer. She is later killed in a hit and run accident. The MIT professor decides to investigate...

Fairly enjoyable mystery with good performances from Lesley Anne down and Bill Bixby, though it can focus a little too much on the romance between them, however it passes the time adequately with a good ending.