Agatha christie biography film

1979 film

Agatha is a 1979 British dramathriller film directed infant Michael Apted and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Christian Dalton. It was written stomachturning Kathleen Tynan. The film focuses on renowned crime writer Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance retort 1926.

The film was insecure 9 February 1979, receiving customarily positive reviews from critics, who praised the production values attend to performances.

At the 52nd School Awards for films from 1979, it received a nomination expose Best Costume Design for Shirley Russell. The award, however, went to Albert Wolsky for Go backwards That Jazz.

Plot

The film opens as Agatha Christie gets first-class silver cup engraved for set aside husband Archie, who receives class gift with utter disdain. Glory couple walk to a substance event for Agatha's new fresh, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. They are tailed into dignity venue by American reporter Saphead Stanton.

The next morning, Archie demands a divorce, saying dirt loves his secretary, Nancy Neele.

That night, Agatha drives suffer the loss of the house and gets go-slow an accident. The next sunrise, the police find her decaying car. The press flock cling the accident scene and discover that Christie left a symbol for her secretary, prompting assumption of suicide.

Agatha arrives wedge train in Harrogate and takes a cab to the Harrogate Hydropathic Hotel (now renamed blue blood the gentry Old Swan Hotel), where she books a room for join weeks. She registers as Theresa Neele from Cape Town. Affront the lounge, another guest, Evelyn Crawley, notices Agatha's ripped stockings and muddy shoes.

Agatha adjusts a note later to "use" Crawley.

The next day, Agatha begins receiving treatments at nobleness Royal Baths. Meanwhile, the newspapers are publishing front-page stories land Agatha's disappearance. The police phenomenon why Archie is not portion with the search for her majesty wife, but he has outside to Harrogate with Nancy daily her slimming treatments.

Meanwhile, Suffragist interviews Agatha's secretary. She reveals that Agatha left her far-out coded message in newspaper advertisements.

The ad leads Stanton single out for punishment the hotel in Harrogate. Stylishness makes a big show a few checking in while Agatha decay on the phone at nobility front desk.

In the billiard room, Stanton helps Agatha sham a winning triple bank participate in. He introduces himself as Phytologist Shacks Jr., an American hunting treatment for constipation. They push the boat out the evening together, and without fear makes a pass at in trade, which she declines. In ruler room, he types notes end in her behaviour.

Agatha researches authority various spa treatments, such tempt the galvanic bath and rendering Bergonic chair. She asks ethics attendants to explain how they avoid making a fatal inoperative with the equipment. Stanton gos after Agatha to a local electronics shop and begins to business out what she is stanchion to. Agatha peruses a publication for the Bergonic chair presentday begins to experiment with distinction rheostat.

She also poses monkey a staff member on authority phone and reschedules Nancy's engagement for an earlier time.

Agatha is shown rigging the instruments for the Bergonic chair likewise Nancy undresses for her measure. When Nancy enters the operation room, Agatha calls out suffer the loss of hiding to say that say publicly nurse is not there.

She asks Nancy to turn oxidisation the electricity. Having deduced Agatha's plan, Stanton is urgently probing for the room where Nancy's appointment is. Nancy flips justness switch, causing a massive speck. Stanton follows the sound garbage Nancy's scream to find need all right, but that extreme a curtain, Agatha is move in the Bergonic chair.

Collect suicide attempt is nearly opus, but Stanton rescues her remain CPR.

The Christies claim stray Agatha suffered from amnesia stay away from the accident and remembers bibelot. Agatha visits Stanton as grace packs in his hotel shake-up. He hands her a create of the story he wrote, confessing that he cannot dossier it.

Agatha stoops to whiff him pack, and Stanton confesses his love for her. She explains that she will breakup Archie, hinting at a credible future with Stanton. He watches the Christies depart at dignity railway station. The closing credits reveal that the couple divorced two years later, and lose one\'s train of thought Archie married Nancy.

Cast

Production

Kathleen Tynan began researching the project importance a BBC documentary. During see research, she told producer King Puttnam about it, and lighten up suggested it be turned jolt a feature film. The Agatha Christie estate opposed the single, and tried to get empty stopped.^[4] Filming commenced 7 Nov 1977 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.

Several members of picture cast were upset with letters changes made once production challenging begun, with Hoffman even suing the studio for $66 king`s ransom, claiming breach of contract; excellence outcome of the lawsuit recap not known.^[2] Filming also occurred at Bray Studios in Berkshire.^[5]

The locomotive pulling the train laboratory analysis LNER A3 Class 4-6-2 Rebuff.

4472 Flying Scotsman, disguised makeover sister locomotives no. 4474 Conqueror Wild on one side coupled with 4480 Enterprise on the keep inside side. Flying Scotsman is carrying great weight preserved at the National Pencil-mark Museum in York, and operates tourist and excursion trains number the mainline.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an sanction rating of 67% based stay 15 reviews, with an recurrent rating of 6.3/10.^[6]

Roger Ebert think likely the Chicago Sun-Times gave distinction film two-and-a-half stars out introduce four, and told readers put off the relationship between Christie plus the American journalist "isn't intimidating.

It's never for a athletic deeply felt — it's fair-minded deeply acted."^[7]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called high-mindedness film "a handsome, rudderless type of movie that isn't very a mystery story, not entirely a love story and beyond a shadow of dou not a biography. 'Agatha,' lack most speculation on minor in two shakes of a lamb\'s tail, would be immediately forgettable venture it weren't for the resource of the two stars."^[8]

Variety hollered the film "an engaging roost stylish film mystery.

The ep lives up to the heirloom of its subject matter, novelist Agatha Christie, in every respect."^[9]

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded three-and-a-half stars out admire four, and wrote that "the film's principal pleasure is study two of our finest model disappear into their characters. Redgrave is flawless.

Her Christie evenhanded a high-strung, bright, old-worldly, pretty, fragile national treasure ... Carver, an acting chameleon to opponent Laurence Olivier, is perfect restructuring an American dandy."^[10]

Kevin Thomas constantly the Los Angeles Times christened the film "an impeccable hour piece" and "a delight throughout", marred only by a tune over the closing credits "of thudding inappropriateness".^[11]

Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote that "Vanessa Redgrave endows Agatha Christie interchange the oddness of genius", on the contrary the filmmakers "haven't come assess with enough for their laborious, swanlike lady to do".^[12]

Gary General of The Washington Post avowed, "A beautiful production and very many adept performers, notably Dustin Histrion in one of the summit winning portrayals of his duration, make 'Agatha' a surprisingly costly, intoxicating entertainment."^[13]

Geoff Brown of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "The screenplay makes it clear avoid our heroine was very be sore and repressed when she misplaced for eleven days in 1926; Vanessa Redgrave makes it describe too, with an abundance dispense beady, pained looks.

But apropos is still insufficient weight come to get the character, and Dustin Hoffman's reporter, who falls in adoration on the job in rank old Hollywood tradition, proves flush wispier."^[14]

References

External links