Agatha Christie television two-parter with Francesca ANNIS and James WARWICK
Agatha CHRISTIE (1890-1976) was not particularly enthusiastic about the television adaptations of her crime novels. So it happened that most of her books were shown in the cinema during her lifetime. After the death of the "Queen Of Crime" that changed. That's why the production company London Weekend Television was able to broadcast this very faithful film adaptation of the author's 15th crime novel, which was published in the UK in 1934, on March 30, 1980. The film was directed by John DAVIES and Tony WHARMBY and the excellent screenplay was written by Pat SANDYS.
He's certainly not a passable golfer, this really likeable Bobby Jones (James WARWICK), who is once again practicing his shots with a friend on the cliffs. The two find a man who has fallen off the cliff, and as he is dying he can only ask: "Why didn't they ask Evans?" This is a question that can no longer be left in the mind of Bobby, the lovable good-for-nothing, and soon afterwards also of his childhood friend, the lovely Lady Frances Derwent (Francesca ANNIS). Especially since other strange things happen. Bobby, who is now really difficult to place, is offered a dream job in Argentina. Shortly afterwards, a poison attack was carried out on him, which luckily failed. Is there perhaps more to the whole matter? The two young people take heart and investigate on their own. They come across the strange Bassington-French family...
What a pleasure! This brilliant film adaptation of a lesser-known crime novel by the world-famous author marked the starting signal for a true Agatha Christie revival on television. Further film adaptations such as THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY (1981, again with James WARWICK) and a whole series such as PARTNERS IN CRIME (1983-1984, with Francesca ANNIS and James WARWICK as the detective couple Tommy and Tuppence) were to follow. Not to forget the long-running series about CHRISTIE's star detective "Miss Marple" (1984-1992) and "Hercule Poirot" (1989-2013)!
But back to "Evans"! Great locations in Buckinghamshire, a narrative very close to CHRISTIE's original and fantastic actors bring the right atmosphere across. This is certainly rather slow and leisurely for today's viewing habits, but that's what Agatha CHRISTIE's novels are like. Watching the two slightly overwhelmed amateur detectives looking for murderers is just great fun. Naivety suddenly meets unrestrained malevolence. And evil has an attractive and fascinating effect on both investigators. A rogue who doesn't draw political parallels to the British appeasement policy of the 1930s. Agatha CHRISTIE may not have thought quite like that, but the work is always smarter than the author.
Francesca ANNIS (*1944), who had already appeared in VIER FRAUEN UND EIN MORD (1963), was the better-known TV actress at the time and was certainly cast as the star of this production. The real discovery of this film, however, is James WARWICK, born in 1947. With a dachshund look and naive charm, he not only plays his way into the heart of the sophisticated Lady Frances, but also wins the audience's sympathy. The chemistry between the two is so good that a few years later they were able to become the dream cast for Tommy and Tuppence.
Other roles include: John GIELGUD (Reverend Jones, Bobby's father), Bernard MILES, Eric PORTER, Leigh LAWSON (alongside the German GOLDEN GLOBE winner Nastassja KINSKI in TESS), Madeline SMITH, Connie BOOTH, Robert LONGDEN. Joan HICKSON (1906-1998), the later Miss Marple (1984-1992), delivers a small masterpiece in the role of a gossip-addicted socialite.
Oh yes, in German the novel on which it is based is also known as "Ein Schritt ins Leere / A Step into the Empty".
Highly recommended, both book and film adaptation!
