| Evil Under the Sun | |
| Director: | Guy Hamilton |
| Producer: | John Brabourne Richard Goodwin |
| Screenplay: | Anthony Shaffer |
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Cole Porter John Lanchbery |
| Cinematography: | Christopher Challis |
| Editing: | Richard Marden |
| Studio: | EMI Films Titan Productions Mersham Productions Ltd. |
| Distributor: | Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors[1] |
| Runtime: | 117 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $10 million[2] |
| Gross: | $6.1 million (U.S. only)[3] |
Evil Under the Sun is a 1982 British mystery film based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie[4] and directed by Guy Hamilton. Peter Ustinov stars as Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective whom he had previously played in Death on the Nile (1978).[5]
A hiker finds a dead woman on the North York Moors in England. The strangled victim is identified as Alice Ruber. Meanwhile, an insurance company asks detective Hercule Poirot to examine an expensive diamond originally belonging to millionaire Sir Horace Blatt. Poirot identifies it as a fake, but is assured by Sir Horace that the original was purchased at Tiffany’s in New York for his mistress, actress Arlena Stuart Marshall; she apparently returned a paste replica after their split. Poirot agrees to meet Marshall at an exclusive Adriatic Sea island to probe the mystery. The hotel was the King of Tyrania's summer palace, gifted to Daphne Castle "for services rendered".
Arlena is on holiday with her husband Kenneth. She is emotionally abusive to her stepdaughter, Linda, and flirts with Patrick Redfern, the young husband of someone named Christine.
Arlena flaunts her affair with Patrick. Kenneth turns to his old friend, Daphne, who is also horrified by how Arlena treats both him and Linda. Also at the resort are theatrical producers Odell and Myra Gardener, for whom Arlena also caused financial trouble by leaving a major production and refusing a role in another. Likewise Arlena is putting the squeeze on writer Rex Brewster, who already spent the advance royalties he received for Arlene's tell-all biography, which she now refuses to allow to be released.
Early on the third morning, Arlena goes by a paddle-boat to Ladder Bay for an assignation with Patrick. Later stuck with Myra, the two arrive there by powerboat only to see a dead body lying on the beach. Patrick approaches and identifies it as Arlena. Poirot takes charge of investigating what appears to be a murder.
Kenneth claims to have been in his room typing at the time the crime would have been committed. Christine was with Linda at Gull Cove and did not leave until 11:55 for a 12:30 tennis match. Sir Horace argued with Arlena at Ladder Bay and returned the fake diamond at 11:30, with Arlena promising an explanation that evening. His alibi is confirmed by both his yacht crew and Daphne. Examining the crime scene, Poirot finds the bauble in a nearby grotto. Patrick left with Myra minutes before 12:00 PM, seeing Sir Horace's yacht approaching, and hearing the noon day cannon firing. Rex met the swimming Linda when entering Gull Cove at 12:00 and reports that a bottle flung from the top of a cliff nearly hit him. Odell was seen reading by Daphne and her staff. He claims low water pressure hindered his 12:15 wash before tennis, but nobody admits to bathing at that time.
Assembling the suspects together, Poirot reveals that Arlena arranged for Patrick to be on the island, and accuses him and Christine of the crime: She knocked out Arlena and hid her in the grotto, then posed as Arlena, donning her swimsuit and red hat and applying makeup to simulate a suntan. Patrick strangled Arlena after Christine left for her tennis match, then placed her body on the beach for others to examine.
While in the grotto, Poirot detected Arlena's signature perfume in the air. He asserts that Christine set Linda's watch twenty minutes fast, suggested that she wear a swim cap to muffle the noon cannon, and corrected the watch afterwards. She then tossed away the lotion bottle, almost hitting Rex, and bathed away her tan, accounting for the hotel's water system pressure drop. The Redferns scoff at Poirot's accusations, and taunt that he has provided neither motive nor proof.
Planning to leave the hotel, Patrick pays by cheque, signing the "R" in "Redfern" in a distinctive way that Poirot recognises as being the same way "Felix Ruber", husband of the wealthy Yorkshire moor victim, signed his name. The hiker who found the body had been Christine, establishing Patrick's alibi, but secretly also his wife. Though unmasked for both murders, Patrick does not resist when Poirot removes a pipe that has never been lit during his stay from his lips, empties its bowl, and reveals the diamond.
As end credits
EMI Films had a big success with Murder on the Orient Express (1974). In 1975, head of production Nat Cohen announced the same producers would adapt the Evil Under the Sun novel as part of a slate of six films worth £6 million, also including Spanish Fly (1975), Aces High (1976), The Likely Lads (1976) and Sweeney! (1977).[6] [7] EMI ended up making all these films except Evil Under the Sun. In May 1977 EMI announced they would make not one but two Christie adaptations, Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun.[8] Initially only the former was made, which introduced Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.
In March 1981 Barry Spikings announced EMI would make Evil Under the Sun at a budget of $10 million.[9] Producer Richard Goodwin said, "What we try to do is provide terrific escapist entertainment that you can take your kids to and make it look beautiful at the same time."
The screenplay was written by Anthony Shaffer (who had worked on Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile) and an uncredited Barry Sandler.[10] The adaptation stayed fairly close to Christie's work but truncated scenes for time constraints, removed minor characters, and added humorous elements that were not present in the novel. Additionally, the novel was set in Devon, but the film was set on an Adriatic island in the fictional kingdom of Tyrania (based on Albania). The characters of Rosamund Darnley and Mrs. Castle were merged creating Daphne Castle, played by Smith. The characters of Major Barry, Inspector Colgate and Reverend Stephen Lane were omitted, and the female character of Emily Brewster was written as a man named Rex Brewster, played by McDowall.
The film was directed by Guy Hamilton, who had previously directed The Mirror Crack'd in 1980 for the same producers. Hamilton said, "I think one of the reasons the books and films are so popular is that people know what to expect, though now we try to add a few surprises."
Costumes were designed by Anthony Powell who had won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1979 for his work on Death on the Nile.[11] [12]
While promoting the film, Peter Ustinov said he was going to do another Poirot film set in Jordan but they could not make it yet because the country did not yet have the facilities. Richard Goodwin did not want to make another one for a few years, saying, "We don't want to overdo them". It was likely this was Appointment with Death, which was later produced by Cannon Films and released in 1988. Ustinov returned as Poirot and Anthony Shaffer co-wrote the script; his fourth adaptation of a Christie novel.[13]
Peter Ustinov made his second film appearance as Poirot, having previously played the Belgian detective in Death on the Nile (1978). He said, "I think it's a better script than the first one I did. And much more fun."[14] He also declared, "I find Poirot a very engaging character, although he's quite awful, really. I should hate to know him. He's very vain, self-contained and finicky. People have asked me why he never married – because he couldn't solve it, of course. An ancillary reason is that he's very much in love with himself. He has probably been quite true to himself. I don't think he's ever cheated on himself."[15]
Maggie Smith and Jane Birkin also appeared in both films. Denis Quilley and Colin Blakely appeared in the earlier Brabourne-produced Murder on the Orient Express (1974).[16]
Diana Rigg was cast as what she called "the archetypal actress bitch."
Nicholas Clay was cast in a key role. Guy Hamilton said, "I was looking for someone like Stewart Granger or Michael Rennie – handsome, dashing, physical, romantic. Nick has it all. A fine sense of timing, the right looks and a good physique."
Sylvia Miles based her role on Broadway producer Terry Allen Kramer. "I never met her, but I figured that's what a producer should be like."[17]
The film was shot at Lee International Studios in Wembley, London, and on location in Majorca, Spain in May 1981.[10] [18] The Majorca location was suggested by director Guy Hamilton, who had lived there for several years.[19]
The actual island used for aerial shots is Sa Dragonera, an uninhabited islet with "natural park" status, located just off the west coast of Majorca near Sant Elm.[20] [21] Other locations used were Cala Blanca as Ladder Bay, and offshore at Sant Elm for the south of France (Sir Horace's boat scenes). Cala d'en Monjo was used for the exteriors of Daphne's Cove and Hotel; the hotel itself was a private estate later bought by the (along with the Calvià municipality) to create a natural park, which was demolished to its foundations. 'Gull Cove' is the remote Cala en Feliu on the Formentor Peninsula.[22] The other hotel exterior shots were filmed at the Estate in Bunyola, a large Italianate villa surrounded by gardens.[23] Once owned by the German designer Jil Sander, it was subsequently purchased by the Island Council of Majorca.[24] Finally, Poirot boards a launch to the island from Cala de Deià, the cove below the village of Deià.[25]
The early scenes on the moors were shot in the Yorkshire Dales, England, with the exterior of the police station being the former Literary Institute in Muker, Swaledale.[23]
The film was followed by several made-for-television films (Thirteen at Dinner, Murder in Three Acts, Dead Man's Folly) starring Ustinov, as well as the feature film Appointment With Death in 1988, which marked his final portrayal of Hercule Poirot.