Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar

Channel 5 make another original Agatha Christie mystery movie featuring Agatha Christie turned crime investigator. This way they do not have to deal with any copyright issues relating to Marple or Poirot.

Agatha Christie (Lyndsey Marshal) has divorced her husband and gone to an Iraqi archaeological site to seek inspiration to write romance stories.

Instead she finds love with a younger man. Max Mallowan (Jonah Hauer-King) an archaeological assistant is found by Christie after he is shot. The real life Mallowan actually ended up marrying Christie.

Christie also stumbles into murder then a monkey who has been poisoned and later found hanged.

Of course this could easily be a Poirot mystery. The desert, Babylonian artefacts being looted, a tablet containing a curse, an arrogant American tycoon and oodles of death, but that character is under copyright.

So Christie and Mallowan try to unearth the killer and also find time for some hanky panky. At times it comes across as Carry on Follow that Camel with a randy couple on the excavation site and some double entendres.

This looks more expensive than last year's Agatha and the Truth of Murder. It has been filmed in Malta. It was also more playful and lighter in tone in than the previous movie. I am not convinced that it actually made it a better film. I think Marshal fitted the part better than the previous actress.

This, the second story to imagine authoress Agatha Christie to be caught up in a murder mystery of her own, sees her travelling to Iraq to stay with friends at an archaeological dig. Before she gets there young archaeologist, Max, finds a body. This is put down to a snake bite but it soon becomes apparent that something is afoot. When Agatha arrives she finds Max injured by a bullet wound in the head and not long afterwards when she gets to the house where those involved in the dig are staying a pet monkey is found hanged! She thinks this is more than mere animal cruelty so, with the help of Max, performs an autopsy. The results make her certain that the dead man was killed something other than a snake. In the investigation that follows she grows close to Max while exposing a plot to steal artefacts and ultimately identifying the killer.

If you can get beyond the conceit of placing a real crime writer in a fictional murder mystery this rather fun. This fictionalised Agatha is a good protagonist and the mystery provides plenty of suspects. As well as the central mystery there is a degree of romance which doesn't distract from the main story. The thing that surprised me most about this production was the degree of humour; there were laughs from start to finish. These were unforced rather than obvious gags and added to my enjoyment. The cast is solid, most notably Lyndsey Marshal who is charming as Agatha and Jonah Hauer King, who plays Max. Obviously it couldn't be filmed in Iraq but the Maltese locations used have a suitably Middle Eastern look. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of classic murder mysteries.

... can't cover the tackiness and silliness swirling in by the minute.

Another contrived and pretentious mess.

Penned by the same writer who wrote last year's surprise package Agatha and The Truth of Murders, but a different actress in the lead role. Lynsey Marshall steps in to replace Ruth Bradley, and does a fine job.

It's a very slick production, it looks great, it's well filmed, and very well written. It was a good old fashioned mystery. I love the way they penned a situation for Christie. Stunning location work.

It more then made up for the lack of Agatha Christie drama on the BBC this Christmas. If only this had been transmitted on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day.

Is this a trend? Will there be another one next year? On this evidence I hope so.

Her fictional works are do much more interesting than this. I find her to be most annoying especially with her deliberate lack of sharing her thoughts, for 'dramatic effect'. Give me Ms Marple anytime.