Spoilers herein.
I make a habit out of examining film adaptations of classic mystery novels for clues. I'm looking for clues about why the narrative works. There is a reason Christie is the best selling writer in history, even now as print runs are huge.
I think I understand the primary mechanisms, how she engages the reader in a contest of wills. Usually, these don't translate well to film and we are given instead some puzzles with a surprise answer at the end.
One approach is what was attempted here, just work through the book more or less as it is written. But that doesn't work either because the infrastructure of the imagination differs so between reading and viewing.
Here the stretch of the mystery is too long for the reward. We'll know who the villain is soon enough just because of the theatrical mannerisms of the actors, and the rest comes across as `Hardy Boys' stuff. Add in some unbelievable coincidences (even for Christie), a Miss Moriarty Morphia and a little too pert Frankie and you'll see why this series wasn't continued.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
I make a habit out of examining film adaptations of classic mystery novels for clues. I'm looking for clues about why the narrative works. There is a reason Christie is the best selling writer in history, even now as print runs are huge.
I think I understand the primary mechanisms, how she engages the reader in a contest of wills. Usually, these don't translate well to film and we are given instead some puzzles with a surprise answer at the end.
One approach is what was attempted here, just work through the book more or less as it is written. But that doesn't work either because the infrastructure of the imagination differs so between reading and viewing.
Here the stretch of the mystery is too long for the reward. We'll know who the villain is soon enough just because of the theatrical mannerisms of the actors, and the rest comes across as `Hardy Boys' stuff. Add in some unbelievable coincidences (even for Christie), a Miss Moriarty Morphia and a little too pert Frankie and you'll see why this series wasn't continued.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.