AN adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death in the Clouds." When a ruthless blackmailer is is killed on board a plane full of likely suspects, Hercule Poirot must solve the case.
Poirot is returning from Paris to London on a flight with a mixed bunch of passengers, some of whom he met and/or saw during his stay in France. Due to his travel sickness he falls asleep during the flight whilst a murder is committed, which initially seems to be death by a wasp sting. The murder "victim" is Madame Giselle, a ruthless money lender/blackmailer, and Poirot needs to work out who amongst the passengers, or even crew, on board had a motive to kill her, as well as clear his own name as there seems to be evidence against himself too! He enlists the help of Jane Grey, an amicable air stewardess, but is she all she seems to be? Does Poirot get to the bottom of this crime before more people are killed? Who committed the "Death in the Clouds"?
I had read the book Death in the Clouds some time ago and vaguely remembered who had committed the murder and how (or maybe there are murders, I'm not telling you) but couldn't remember exactly why. Knowing who the killer was did not deter me at all from thoroughly enjoying this made for TV film. The book was written in 1935 and the film is set in the same era making everyone very quaint in their behaviour as you would expect from a Christie book turned into film.
Suchet is as delightful as always as the little Belgian detective who is quite indignant that he could be deemed a suspect in the murder investigation but he puts his "little grey cells" to work enlisting the help of the charming Jane Grey with whom he attended a tennis match in Paris prior to the flight on which Madame Giselle is killed. As usual he plays the part of Poirot to perfection down to the twirling of his "moustaches".
It is discovered that Giselle had a daughter who stands to inherit her money (even though it seems to have all been gained through blackmailing rich people). When the daughter comes forward to claim the inheritance it must be determined if she is really Giselle's sole heir or even actually her daughter and if she had anything to do with the murder even though she wasn't on the flight or is the murderer one of Giselle's blackmail victims such as Lady Horbury who is seen by Poirot prior to getting on the flight having sharp words with the Giselle. Poirot is seen to develop a close relationship with Jane Grey and ends up having rather a soft spot for her even when the case is closed.
Sarah Woodward is charming and elegant as the young air stewardess Jane Grey who befriends Poirot and becomes romantically close to the friendly dentist Norman Gale. Poirot encourages her character to make suggestions as to what might have happened and she plays the part in a very ladylike manner and is very softly spoken and it's easy to see why both Gale and Poirot both develop such a soft spot for her. But is she all sweetness and light as she makes out to be?
Shaun Scott plays the somewhat bumbling dentist who falls for the sweet and innocent Jane Grey and suits the role to a tee. It's evident from the start by his behaviour that he really does adore Miss Grey but deep down does he have an ulterior motive for his feelings towards her?
Cathryn Harrison is superb as the snooty Lady Horbury who behaves rather erratically in trying to keep her secrets from getting out but all the time she manages to portray an air of a really snobby aristocrat. She has a penchant for gambling and has huge debts to Madame Giselle which she can ill afford to pay and her wealthy husband has refused to continue paying off her gambling bills. Is Lady Horbury's behaviour due to her wanting to maintain her standing in society or is she hiding a more sinister secret?
Roger Heathcott who plays the detective writer Daniel Clancy is quite amusing in that he thinks his detective character from his books is a real person and he takes instruction from him. He really suits the part of the eccentric writer obsessed with his main character Is this really what he believes or is he pretending he's a bit insane to cover up the fact that he's a murderer?
Death In The Clouds stars David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Philip Jackson as CI James Japp, Sarah Woodward as Jane Grey, Shaun Scott and Norman Gale, Cathryn Harrison as Lady Cicely Horbury, Guy Manning as the French archaeologist Jean Dupont, Roger Heathcott as Daniel Clancy as well as David Firth, Roger Heathcott, Eve Pearce, Gabrille Lloyd, Amanda Royle & Richard Ireson in supporting roles. The film was adapted from the Agatha Christie book (of the same name) by William Humble and directed by Stephen Whittaker. The film runs for 1 hour 40 minutes, is rated PG and was first released in 1992.
In closing I would have to say that as with many of the Christie books made into film, I was a bit confused about some missing characters; most specifically a missing archaeologist who is linked with a major character in the story. The film did not deter much from the book apart from that but it did somewhat confuse me. Of course, making a full length book into a film of less than 2 hours always means corners have to be cut; i.e. every character cannot be included or the film would get too complicated and focus would be taken away from some of the key characters. In this particular making of the film from the book though, I did think it was a major part of the story that was missed out and for that the film in general lost a few points for me.
Overall I'd give Death in the Clouds a strong 7 out of 10 and would have no trouble watching it again. If you're a fan of detective fiction, you'll probably enjoy this. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie, you'll definitely enjoy this!
More details
Story
Good
Characters/Performances
Excellent
Special Effects
Average
Soundtrack
Average
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