Shubhabrata Dutta
For decades, detective stories have reigned in our minds as thrilling experiences, complex in understanding yet attractive. Films have used this fact and adapted novels to help us quench our thirst. Needless to say, English author Agatha Christie’s detective novels are the go-to spots for such adaptations. Here, we bring you the best Agatha Christie movies available for streaming on Hulu, Prime, and Max.
6. Ten Little Indians (1959)
Directed by Paul Bogart, ‘Ten Little Indians’ is based on the author’s 1939 novel. It was made as a TV movie of around an hour. If you want to be transported to that particular era of filmmaking via an Agatha Christie story, this one serves the purpose just fine. However, you have to be content with the visual quality. However, it does a good job of condensing the novel.
The film follows ten strangers who arrive by invitation to a remote island only to find themselves getting killed one at a time by a mysterious killer. It is up to Detective William Henry Blore to track down the person. Can he? The cast of ‘Ten Little Indians’ includes Nina Foch, Romney Brent, Kenneth Haigh, Peter Bathurst, Barry Jones, Chandler Cowles and Valerie French. You can watch the film on Prime. You can also watch the 1989 version, directed by Alan Birkinshaw and starring Warren Berlinger, Donald Pleasence, and Brenda Vaccaro, on Prime.
5. Innocent Lies (1995)
Loosely adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1944 novel ‘Towards Zero,’ this one follows British Detective Alan Cross, who arrives at the French coast for the funeral of his close friend Joe Green, who killed himself near a cliff-top mansion, or at least that’s what everyone is saying. Bent on finding out the truth behind Joe’s suicide, he decides to follow the people living in the mansion. This includes Lady Helena Graves, the matriarch connected to the Nazis, her sensuous daughter Celia and her guilt-struck son Jeremy who is coping with the accidental death of his brother for which he is responsible. There is also an American guy whom Celia is soon to marry and a Jewish woman whom Jeremy is married to.
As Cross keeps digging, he realizes that there’s more to Jeremy and Celia than their sibling relationship, and it is connected to a dark family secret that might have led to Green’s death/murder. The cast includes Adrian Dunbar, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Dorff, Gabrielle Anwar, Alexis Denisof, Marianne Denicourt, and Keira Knightley (film debut). You can watch the film on Prime.
4. Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Directed by Guy Hamilton, the film’s events are set at the summer palace turned hotel of the King of Tyrania, currently owned by Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith). When the corpse of a woman named Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg) is discovered on the moor, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), who has been hired by an insurance company to look into a case of a fake diamond belonging to millionaire Sir Horace Blatt (Colin Blakely), thinks that the two cases are connected. Horace had gifted the diamond to Arlena, who supposedly returned it after their breakup. Arlena was disliked by many people at the hotel, including Christine (Jane Birkin), the wife of Patrick (Nicholas Clay) with whom Arlena was flirting, Arlena’s stepdaughter Linda (Emily Hone), Arlena’s husband Kenneth (Denis Quilley), a writer named Brewster (Roddy McDowall) who has written Arlena’s biography which she refused to sign, and theatrical producers Odell (James Mason) and Myra Gardener (Sylvia Miles). It is up to Poirot to figure out who killed Arlena and why. Another classic Agatha Christie adaptation, ‘Evil Under the Sun’ is based on her 1941 novel of the same name. You can watch it on Prime.
3. The Mirror Crack’d (1980)
Directed by Guy Hamilton, this film is based on Agatha Christie’s 1962 Miss Marple novel ‘The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side.’ It follows consulting detective Miss Jane Marple (Dame Angela Lansbury), who investigates the death of Heather Babcock (Maureen Bennett), the townswoman of the village of St Mary Mead, at a reception. A film production was about to take place in the village, starring rival actresses Marina Rudd (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) and Lola Brewster (Kim Novak). Babcock died of poisoning after having a cocktail that was made for Marina, of whom Babcock was a big fan. Naturally, people believe that the poison was intended for Marina. But Marple is not one to guess and look for clues that ascertain her guess. Instead, she analyzes the clues and makes a conclusion. The suspects are many, including Brewster and even Marina’s husband, Jason Rudd (Rock Hudson), who is having an affair with Ella Zielinsky (Geraldine Chaplin), a production assistant. To find out who the culprit is, you can watch this classic on Prime.
2. A Haunting in Venice (2023)
The third installment of Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha-Christie adaptation after ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (2017) and ‘‘Death on the Nile’ (2022), ‘A Haunting in Venice’ is based on the author’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party’ and offers a supernatural take on the detective’s investigation. After being an audience to a séance in a palazzo in Venice, Italy, Poirot (Branagh) finds himself in the company of a killer who seems to be beyond the natural. The deaths that occur seem to be connected to the palazzo’s dark past, and Poirot has to hurry if he wants to find the killer before the killer gets to him. To find out if the Belgian mastermind can associate reason and logic with the inexplicable events, you can watch the film on Hulu.
1. Death on the Nile (2022)
Based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, ‘Death on the Nile’ is the first installment of the Agatha Christie film adaptations helmed by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars Branagh as the famed detective Hercule Poirot, who finds himself onboard the S.S. Karnak cruising through the Nile. He is there as a guest of heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and her newly wedded husband, Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). There are other guests, too, including Simon’s ex-fiancée Jackie de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), who has been stalking the couple and has managed to board the vessel. Eventually, when Linnet is found dead, the suspicion falls on Jackie. However, Poirot knows better than making judgments based on perceptions and pre-stated facts. Linnet was an heiress, and there is no telling who among the guests (played by a talented cast, including Annette Bening, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, and Rose Leslie) would gain what from her death. To join Poirot in his investigation, you can watch ‘Death on the Nile’ on Hulu.
The following movie is available on Tubi:
7 (Bonus)- Appointment with Death (1988)
Another Hercule Poirot adaptation, this film is based on Agatha Christie’s 1938 novel of the same name. Directed by Michael Winner, ‘Appointment with Death’ follows the Belgian detective (Peter Ustinov) as he investigates the murder of widowed dominating stepmother Emily Boynton (Piper Laurie) in Jerusalem. She was disliked by her three children, Raymond (John Terlesky), Lennox (Nicholas Guest), and Carol (Valerie Richards,) as she wanted to destroy their father’ will, wherein he left a hefty amount of money for each of the siblings. This naturally makes them the suspects.
Also within the circle of Poirot’s suspicion, we have MP Lady Westholme (Lauren Bacall), family lawyer Jefferson Cope (David Soul), who was being blackmailed by Emily to destroy the will, and Lennox’s wife Nadine (Carrie Fisher). To find out who the killer is, you can watch the film on Tubi.
Read More: Best Agatha Christie Style Movies and Shows on Netflix
