Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.
Acting
Piper Laurie's matriarch from hell steals every frame.
Production
Petra locations so gorgeous they distract from the body count.
Director
Michael Winner
Peter Ustinov
Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall
Lady Westholme
Carrie Fisher
Nadine Boynton
John Gielgud
Colonel Carbury
Piper Laurie
Emily Boynton
Hayley Mills
Miss Quinton
Jenny Seagrove
Dr. Sarah King
David Soul
Jefferson Cope
Nicholas Guest
Lennox Boynton
John Terlesky
Raymond Boynton
Michael Sarne
Healey
Michael Craig
Lord Peel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Michael Winner later admitted he cast Lauren Bacall purely because he wanted to meet her, then rewrote the role to expand her screen time.
This was Ustinov's fourth and final theatrical Poirot—a role he inherited from Albert Finney, making him the longest-running film incarnation until Branagh.
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