In EVIL UNDER THE SUN, finicky detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) has yet another vacation interrupted by a murder. He is visiting the obscure island resort of Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith) when Arlena Stuart Marshall (Diana Rigg) is found one morning, dead, on one of the resort's many beaches.

As is usual in an Agatha Christie mystery, darn near everyone - with the exception, of course, of Poirot himself - has a motive for her murder, the opportunity, or both. Arlena's husband Kenneth Marshall (Denis Quilley) and Christine Redfern (Jane Birkin) are both affected by Arlena's affair with Christine's husband, Patrick (Nicholas Clay), and might want Arlena out of the way in order to maintain their respective marriages. Linda Marshall (Emily Hone, in her screen debut) is tired of sharing her father with someone so obviously selfish as is Arlena, and starved for his attention since Arlena married her father. Sir Horace Blatt (Colin Blakely) was dumped by Arlena in favor of Kenneth Marshall; she even had the nerve to give Sir Horace a paste copy of a very valuable jewel he had hoped to use in the process of proposing marriage to Arlena. Daphne and Arlena were professional rivals in the entertainment industry at one time, and Daphne still holds some ill will toward Arlena. Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall) had written a tell-all biography of Arlena, and she pulled the rug out from underneath Brewster by denying him the right to publish his tell-all potboiler and refusing to sign the relevant releases. Odell Gardner (James Mason) had the opportunity to kill Arlena by virtue of having been alone at the time Poirot figured she was murdered, and both Odell and his wife Myra (Sylvia Miles) had signed a contract with Arlena, for her to play the lead role in their stage production, only to have Arlena commit a breach of contract at the last minute. Only Patrick Redfern has no discernible motive for wanting to eliminate Arlena from the picture, as he was the one having an affair with her in the first place.

Because this is, at heart, a murder mystery, I cannot reveal any more of the plot than I have already set to virtual print. However, I can tell you what I think of the performances. Peter Ustinov is grandly funny as the snobbish Hercule Poirot, and Barbara Hicks as the insurance adjuster's secretary is perfectly unctuous and absolutely hilarious herself. (She is the one who utters the title of this review as a line in EVIL UNDER THE SUN, refusing to learn how to pronounce "Hercule Poirot" even if her life depended on it.) Diana Rigg also shines as Arlena Stuart Marshall, making it clear where her true priorities are even as she claims to have resigned, at least temporarily, so that she might reorder her priorities and tend to her marriage and stepdaughter.

The Cole Porter score is used to perfection as the musical backdrop of a fancy resort. The script is written to take full advantage of the dry wit and sarcasm prevalent in certan social circles of the day, and is just enough over the top to be hilarious without entirely losing the audience.

EVIL UNDER THE SUN stands up well to repeat viewing, despite the fact that it's a murder mystery, because it is a period piece with many layers of meaning in each line. (You don't often get every layer of meaning unless you see it several times.) Because the characters are so well-drawn and mostly so humorous, it is a pleasure to watch, once or ten thousand times. It is a real treat for the dime-novel murder-mystery buff as well. However, because of the nature of murder mysteries - and the fact that viewers will see Arlena Stuart Marshall sprawled out dead on the beach while sunbathing - I'd advise keeping very young children away from EVIL UNDER THE SUN. It's not something I'd feel comfortable exposing very young children to.

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12