The Man in the Brown Suit (1989)

Simply A Masterpiece

Purely Joyful Movie!

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

For major fans of the book (such as I), you will be extremely disappointed in the movie. I watched it for 15 minutes and was done. I was hoping to see an adventure film set in the early 1920's with Anne being portrayed as a young, charming, and clever girl on her first adventure who encounters romance and thrills. The movie is nothing like this. It is set in late eighties/early nineties and every detail from the book has been thoroughly twisted and overdone. I am truly disappointed. It is true that my opinion stems largely from the fact that The Man In The Brown Suit is my favorite book of all time, and I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie. When I saw this DVD in the library, I was absolutely shocked that it existed and could not wait to go home and find the time to watch it. For those of you who have not read the book...I'm at a loss for words due to my own biased opinion except to say the acting is cheesy and there is nothing quaint or cute about this film at all.

The Man in the Brown Suit is the last of some 1980s TV movies made as US/UK co-productions for CBS TV. Changing the location to Cairo (the film was actually shot in Madrid and Cadiz) does the story no harm. Ken Westbury's beautiful photography of cascading waterfalls and other lush scenery is certainly an asset, and Alan Shayne's high production values make the film worth watching. The script is fairly well-written by Carla Jean Wagner.Once again, second-tier American TV actors associated with current or recently past CBS productions, are included (as well as Tony Randall). Stephanie Zimbalist is a little too cutesy at times, while Rue McClanahan thinks this film is another episode of The Golden Girls. Ken Howard is bland and mediocre at the best of times.On the other hand the aforementioned actors' British counterparts show them what acting is all about. Best in the cast is Edward Woodward, a great talent who gives a splendid performance. Woodward had just finished a five-year run on CBS as Robert McCall in "The Equalizer," and that may have had something to do with him being in this film (lucky for us!!!). Simon Dutton, who was starring as Simon Templar in TV films of "The Saint" at this time (1988-89) is quite good as "the man in the brown suit." And Nickolas Grace is also quite effective as secretary Guy Underhill.Warner Brothers' TV policy was to cast actors who were identifiable to TV audiences in the U.S, which does not mean they chose people of great talent or suitability to the roles. They should have taken a lesson from the BBC, Thames TV, London Weekend TV and ITV, all of whom flawlessly cast their productions with actors reflecting the character of their parts, capturing the wonderful flavour of Agatha Christie's writing.

MOST PROBABLY CONTAINS *SPOILERS*STARRING Stephanie Zimbalist, Edward Woodward, Tony Randall, Rue McClanahan, Ken Howard, Simon Dutton, Nickolas Grace, María CasalI must start by saying that I have loved Agatha Christie's works for as long as I can remember. As a teenager I spent ages (and a berluddy fortune) tracking down her books at book exchanges and book fairs, and was always there with a tape in the VCR to record any Agatha Christie movie that came on TV.Every Christie-phile worth their weight in doughnuts absolutely loves the Christie film classics: You know, Murder on the Orient Express; Death on the Nile; The Mirror Crack'd; Evil Under the Sun. David Suchet's Poirot series (though plodding at times) has proven very popular, as has Joan Hickson's wrinkly Miss Marple series. And there is of course an audience for the lesser Christies: The TV-movie adaptations, for example, Dead Man's Folly; Sparkling Cyanide; Murder in Three Acts; and, The Man in the Brown Suit - the subject of this review.While not the best Christie film, and by no means the most colourful, The Man in the Brown Suit makes for pretty good TV-movie fodder, with a fairly engaging plot, decent enough production values, and interesting African locales. What really makes this TV-movie watchable is the fantastic cast of actors. And, I mean, who really gives two hoots that most of them are TV Land Staples. Witness ... if you dare: Stephanie "Remington Steele" Zimbalist; Edward "The Equalizer" Woodward; Tony "The Odd Couple" Randall; Rue "The Golden Girls" McClanahan; Ken "Dynasty" Howard; Simon "The Saint" Dutton; Nickolas "Robin of Sherwood" Grace. Phew!American actress Zimbalist plays lead character Anne Beddingfield (an Englishwoman in the book, by the way) as a kind of tough, adventurous and resourceful heroine in a nod to the Indiana Jones series, and is ably supported by Suzy Blair, played by McClanahan (who doesn't seem to mind playing her Golden Girls character, Blanche - Or maybe she was forced at gunpoint to do just that??). Dutton plays man-on-the-run Harry Lucas, a handsome Brit who possesses not only some important information, but a secret hankering for some down-and-dirty time with foxy Anne. Woodward has a ball (and I do mean a ball) playing crook Sir Eustace Pedler, and Tony Randall amuses as the fumbling, bumbling, and mumbling Pedler henchman/chameleon.What's hilarious is that throughout the movie the characters keep running into each other, like, Africa's the equivalent of some small town, you know, where bumping into one's neighbors is a sure bet.And finally, no review of The Man in the Brown Suit would be complete unless it included comment on that zingy little Spanish starlet María Casal, who plays bad girl with matching bad haircut, Anita. Casal's Anita spends most of her screen time writhing around in the back of a beatup taxi staring at a scrap of paper with some ridiculous code scribbled on it, all the while beaming from ear to ear like some grinning idiot! Now that's what I call acting! Pity she gets blown away by bad guy Pedler moments later. That'll teach her not to wear her seatbelt!SEE IT OR ELSE!

Knowing perfectly this is not and extraordinary movie, I have liked it anyway.I find it especially light even sweet...I have been loving the book very much which is far better than the movie but I think every woman will like the romantic female (zimbalist) leading the film, though seeing the movie imagination has to work a little bit further.