Main Cast: Constance Cummings, Jean Stapleton, Peter Ustinov
Release Year: 1986
Country: UK/US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
Peter Ustinov stars once more as Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's insufferably brilliant Belgian detective. Unlike many of Ustinov's earlier Poirot vehicles, which were set in the 1930s, the made-for-TV Dead Man's Folly takes place in contemporary England. Jean Stapleton costars as an American mystery novelist who organizes a "murder hunt" at a sprawling English manor. It isn't long before several of the guests are also sprawling--on the ground, stone cold dead. American-born British stage star Constance Cummings makes a rare TV appearance as a mysterious noblewoman. Dead Man's Folly was lensed on location at West Wycombe Park in Buckinhamshire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
With its inexplicable 1980s setting and its cast of delightful biddies such as Constance Cummings and Jean Stapleton, this Agatha Christie outing seems more like a glorified episode of Murder, She Wrote than a Hercule Poirot mystery. The shift in time to a more contemporary setting was probably a budgetary constraint rather than an aesthetic choice; the plot is pure Christie and could have been tweaked to take place in almost any time period. With the exception of the aforementioned grand dames, the cast is mostly culled from the B list. The opulent staging and international stars of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile are but a memory. Still, this workmanlike effort features an involving plot and all of the hallmarks of a Poirot potboiler: colorful supporting characters, trans-European friction, and the kind of rousing denouement that seems endemic to both the author's oeuvre and Scooby-Doo cartoons. Peter Ustinov's familiarity and ease with the character of Poirot make even the tacky shoulder pads and big hair go down easy. Dead Man's Folly may be chintzy, but it's still well-crafted. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Ralph Arliss - Michael Wayman; Jonathan Cecil - Hastings; Kenneth Cranham - Inspector Bland; Constance Cummings - Ammy Folliot; Joanna Dickens - 3rd Woman; Sandra Dickinson - Marilyn Gale; Jimmy Gardner - Old Merdell; Christopher Guard - Alec Legge; Pippa Hinchley - Marlene Tucker; Caroline Langrishe - Sally Legge; Tim Pigott-Smith - Sir George Stubbs; Leslie Schofield - Mr. Tucker; Nicollette Sheridan - Hattie Stubbs; Jean Stapleton - Ariadne Oliver; Susan Wooldridge - Amanda Brewis; Jeff Yagher - Eddie South; Marjorie Yates - Mrs. Tucker; Dorothea Phillips - 1st Woman
Credit
Phyllis Huffman - Casting, Priscilla John - Casting, Vangie Harrison - Costume Designer, Clive Donner - Director, Donald R. Rode - Editor, John Addison - Composer (Music Score), Alan Boyle - Makeup, Freddie Williamson - Makeup, Brian Ackland-Snow - Production Designer, Curtis Clark - Cinematographer, Neil Hartley - Producer, Rod Browning - Screenwriter
