OK, at first it's difficult for the viewer to adjust to the (mis)casting of Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot; not only does he not resemble the character physically, but his portrayal seems closer to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau than to a brilliant detective. Furthermore, the movie gets the Poirot-Hastings relationship completely wrong for at least two thirds of the way (they're supposed to be friends, not antagonists!), and some of the comedy in the early scenes is painful, so it wouldn't be surprising if many viewers wished that Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple, who has a highly amusing cameo giving a priceless look of disbelief to Randall's Poirot, actually took over the whole case herself! Luckily, the comedy gets somewhat toned down in the second half, as Agatha Christie's classic mystery plot takes over; for all the changes and additions of the adaptation, the central idea - a brilliant one - remains, and overall, the film has a great story that survives its sometimes heavy-handed treatment. Ron Goodwin's music score may not be as immediately catchy as his work for the Marple films, but it improves the more you listen to it - just as the film improves the more you watch it. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of The Alphabet Murders
