I'm not the biggest fan of Agatha Christie film adaptations
and I'm not sure why. It might be because the few I've seen have been a little
too long, far too star-studded and slightly too much in earnest to do more than
mildly intrigue me. Or it might be that I don't find Miss Marple a very
interesting protagonist and most of the Agatha Christie movies I've read about
seem to focus on her so I tend to take a pass. Her other series sleuth Hercule
Poirot I have not seen much of on screen. I think I witnessed him once but he
was played by Peter Ustinov and I remember little more than a silly accent and
much squinting in bright Egyptian sunlight. I'm sure there was a murder or two
but......
I became mildly interested in seeing THE ALPHABET MURDERS
(1965) because I was informed that it was directed in an inventive style by
Frank Tashlin. Tashlin is best known for directing a slew of Jerry Lewis
comedies and the Doris Day vehicle THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966) so I wasn't too
keen on diving into his lesser well reviewed efforts until I realized he also
made one of my favorite lesser known Christmas films SUSAN SLEPT HERE (1954).
That film is a little gem of comedy genius even if it has a whiff of the
'creepy uncle lusting after the forbidden niece' layered over the top of the
entire tale.
So, with all that in mind, I have to report that THE
ALPHABET MURDERS is a blast from start to finish. That's not to say it a
perfect film- far from it. But it does have a cool mystery at its center, a
strong cast playing up to the story and a breezy sense of light menace that
keeps the thing moving along. I think that everyone involved must have had fun
making the film on location in England although I wonder what the British
actors thought of the very American Tony Randall taking center stage as the
Belgian main character. Not that Randall is bad in the role- indeed, he is very
good - but I half expected Robert Morley to eventually pause, look to the
camera and drolly comment that perhaps he should be playing Poirot instead. I
suppose that the only reason such a thought enters my head is that Tashlin
starts this film in the radical fashion of having Tony Randall break the fourth
wall and address the audience to say that he will be playing Poirot in the
movie we are about to watch. I wasn't expecting that! And I'm sure film-goers
in 1965 weren't either. Still, it is amusing and certainly effectively sets the
tone for what is to come. And did I mention Anita Ekberg as the femme fatale?
Oh, my!
Overall this is a fun film and well worth seeing for its
stylish direction, silly humor and sly sense fun. It's hard to take very
seriously but I doubt anyone involved was attempting to make a pulse pounding
thriller so expectations should be dialed down to comedy levels for maximum
enjoyment.
3 comments:
Ekberg was in a Spanish horror film called Fangs of the Living Dead. Could that one be appearing as a Beyond Naschy episode someday?
Possibly.
When are you guys covering the next Blind Dead film? It has Jack Taylor in it!
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