Cover On a picture-perfect honeymoon in Egypt with husband Simon Doyle (played by Armie Hammer), Linnet Ridgeway-Dole (played by Gal Gadot) wears Tiffany Victoria earrings in platinum with diamonds, Tiffany Victoria cluster tennis bracelet in platinum with diamonds and Tiffany Victoria alternating ring in platinum with diamonds, all by Tiffany & Co

An avid Agatha Christie fan, Bobby Cuenca anticipates the latest interpretation of Death on the Nile, coming to cinema screens soon

Word was that a new film version of Death on the Nile was coming out in December. But Disney has delayed its release due to a resurgence of the pandemic. I’ve always enjoyed Agatha Christie’s detective novels and her two beloved characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. I look forward to every filmed version of the books and I’m not the only one. One hundred years after the publication of her first novel, Christie’s books are bestsellers to this day and their film versions have a bad habit of being hits.

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And why not? The films are always set in exotic locations (which hark back to Christie accompanying her archaeologist husband on all his digs) with elegantly dressed beautiful people doing elegant beautiful things, including murder. 1972’s Murder On The Orient Express starred Albert Finney as Poirot, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, Lauren Bacall, Richard Widmark, Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave and Michael York. The setting is on a legendary Orient Express train snow bound and stranded somewhere in Croatia. Christie based this novel on the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping and improves on reality by conjuring up a theatrical but satisfying punishment that the real perpetrators should have suffered.

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Above Majestic sailboats on the Nile River
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Above The Tiffany Diamond Necklace in platinum featuring the iconic 128.54-carat fancy yellow diamond with cushion-cut and round brilliant white diamonds of over 100 total carats. She also wears the Tiffany Soleste earrings in platinum and 18k gold with yellow diamonds with the Tiffany Victoria line bracelet in platinum with diamonds; Dazzling sunset over the Nile River with the Giza Pyramids in the distance

1978’s Death on the Nile had another stellar cast consisting of Peter Ustinov as my favourite Belgian, David Niven, Bette Davis, Maggie Davis, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, Jane Birkin and Olivia Hussey. As usual, romance, jilted lovers, dipsomaniacs, avaricious louts and murder are afoot, with everyone on board harbouring a motive for disposing of the victim.

In both movies, it was like watching galaxies collide. Such was the star power swaying on that glamorous snowbound train and nestled on board that luxurious steamboat on the Nile.

In my estimation though, the best Poirot of all was David Suchet, whose portrayal of the fictional Belgian detective can only be described as meticulous, brilliant and uncanny. The series ran from January 8, 1989 to November 13, 2013. That’s a run of almost 25 years with 70 episodes in total. The actors and their characters aged among the resplendent sets, costumes and the gorgeous recreation of 1930s art deco England.

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Photo 1 of 2 The impressive Giza Pyramids
Photo 2 of 2 A scene from the much anticipated Kenneth Branagh remake of Death on the Nile

The last cinematic iteration of a Christie mystery was Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 production of Murder On The Orient Express starring himself, Penelope Cruz and Leslie Odom Jr. While it was a global hit, the whole production was, most unfortunately for me, undermined by Branagh’s outrageous moustache. It was so florid and so distracting that my recollection of the movie is hazy, outside of that hideous moustache.

Now comes Branagh’s version of Death on the Nile. This time Annette Bening, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer and Russell Brand are along for the ride. Set against an epic landscape of desert vistas and the majestic Pyramids of Giza, the all-star cast play a group of impeccably dressed travellers aboard a glamourous river steamer on an Egyptian holiday.

However, they may be outshone by the other big star of the film—the Tiffany Diamond—a rare 128.54-carat yellow cushion-shaped brilliant with an unprecedented 82 facets. The Tiffany Diamond is rarely seen and its most notable appearances have been on Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961) and on Lady Gaga (Academy Awards, 2019). I’ve seen the trailer and the diamond makes an appropriately smashing appearance. But horror of horrors, Branagh is back with that horrible moustache.

Fortunately, the Tiffany Diamond is there to save the day. And the film’s tale of unbridled passion will surely have enough twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the very end.

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Disney and 20th Century Fox Studios