Le couteau sur la nuque

Who already watched the fantastic detective Hercule Poirot on those majestic productions to big screen stay a little bit disappointed when see it, made for TV Poirot lost a lot, but still have the great Peter Ustinov's charming presence, in this small picture, we have an intriguing story of murder of course, the formula is the same, spreading all clues all around to confuse and mislead the audience, taking them a wrong early conclusion, in this picture the cast apart Ustinov are pretty good, Fay Dunaway still beauty and skinny too, as expect she fells a great divine actress, David Suchet who will be in the future the next Poirot shines as Inspector Japp who always was in wrong direction of the investigation, and Jonathan Cecil as Hasting, a partner of the our hero, he is a typical English gentlemen, affable, sometimes smirking, enough good for Agatha Christie's story!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

I do much prefer Death on the Nile and Evil Under The Sun, but this is still enjoyable, adapted from the brilliant book Lord Edgeware Dies. Considering it was made for TV, it is glossily made, with some nice camera-work and lovely period detail, and is entertaining. Of course it isn't completely faithful to the book, the final solution scene while a very nice touch is a departure from the book. The script is fine, and so is the acting. Peter Ustinov, while bearing little resemblance in terms of looks to his novelistic counterpart, is thoroughly entertaining as Poirot, and is clearly enjoying himself. Faye Dunnaway is highly commendable in the duel roles of Jane Wilkinson and Carlotta Adams, and David Suchet(the present Poirot, who is actually truer to the Poirot in the books) is impressive as Japp. Bill Nighy is fairly good as Ronald, though he has done better work since. All in all, very good made for TV whodunit, not as good as Death on the Nile, but an improvement on Appointment With Death, which I still think is the weakest of the Ustinov outings. 7/10 Bethany Cox

As usual, when an Agatha Christie book is transferred to the screen, it loses something. And here, the story moved too fast to be caught up in it. In the novel, Poirot was confounded and almost couldn't solve the case; here he solves it as fast as snapping his fingers... You can't fault the actors, who give it a gung ho try. Faye Dunaway is great and Ustinov makes a very hilarious Hercule, but again, the character development Christie wrote so well is missing. The producers seem to think only plot will suffice. However, the film does look nice so it's not a total bust. (Murder on the Orient Express still hasn't been topped for all time best Christie adaption. And no one has come close to besting Albert Finney as H.P.) Side note: David Suchet as Inspector Japp is a nice bit of pre-Hercule trivia.

For a TV movie this is surprisingly well done. Many twists and turns in the plot. Good characterizations by all the players.

I disagree with the negative comments here. The movie held my attention throughout and was a delight to watch. Faye Dunaway's portrayal of the dual roles was over the top but that was the nature of the two women she played. The actress Jane Wilkinson is clearly based on some of the mannerisms of Marilyn Monroe and Faye does this convincingly.

I didn't initially think Peter Ustinov would make a good Poirot, but he captures the detective's droll and determined persona and is quite convincing.

I wish they would make more movies like this. Though Peter and Faye are clearly the lead actors in it, there's an ensemble cast that works together to lead us on a merry chase of suspects. The locations are magnificent. All in all this is definitely worth watching even if it lacks the big budget of the ones Ustinov made for theatrical release.

I'll take my Ustinov as Poirot however I can get him.

I happen to like Thirteen at Dinner. It's one of the smaller films as it was made for TV. You certainly can't compare it to the lavish "Murder on the Orient Express." And I frankly like it better than "Murder in Three Acts." I always love Ustinov as Poirot. One of the other comments said these characters are never how you picture them after reading the books. Interesting and true. The very popular Miss Marple of Margaret Rutherford had nothing to do with Miss Marple as she was written, and Ustinov has nothing to do with Poirot as written. I think David Suchet was perfect as Poirot as Christie wrote him, and I loved seeing him as Inspector Japp in this, but for a fun time, call 1-800-Ustinov! Because this is based on a Christie mystery, however poor the production values or the cast, the basic story is always interesting, as this was. Faye Dunaway is absolutely gorgeous in this movie in both her roles. And it did have a British flavor (which "Murder in Three Acts" absolutely did not.) I really don't understand giving this 1 star. Surely we've all seen worse.