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Though she became known to the world for playing the feisty rebel champion Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” franchise, Carrie Fisher tended to take roles in comedies. Many of her best roles are in comedies, ranging from starring in a sex scene opposite Warren Beatty in “Shampoo” as a teen to playing a middle-aged nun who picks up some stoner hitchhikers in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” but in 1988, she starred in a deadly serious Agatha Christie mystery. “Appointment with Death” follows Christie’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), as he tries to solve the murder of the wealthy Emily Boynton (Piper Laurie) while on holiday in Europe with her family following the death of her husband and some concerns about his will.
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It might seem kind of unusual based on the rest of her amazing filmography, but Fisher starred as Nadine Boynton, the wife of Lennox Boynton (Nicholas Guest) and daughter-in-law of Emily Boynton. Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall plays the villainous Lady Westholme, which makes the mystery a fairly star-studded affair, but unfortunately, “Appointment with Death” is far from one of the best Christie adaptations, and it seems to have mostly been forgotten.
Fisher plays a flirtatious wife in Appointment with Death
In “Appointment with Death,” Fisher’s character Nadine causes quite a bit of drama when the family lawyer, Jefferson Cope (David Soul) flirts with her in front of her husband Lennox, and she flirts right back. This leads to all kinds of shenanigans (including a poisoning!), and when Emily Boynton ends up dead, there are plenty of possible suspects, including Nadine. Eventually, Poirot gets his woman, the murder is solved, and everyone is left to pick up the pieces. It seems like a pretty decent Poirot mystery, but unfortunately, “Appointment with Death” was panned by critics and isn’t especially beloved by audiences, either.
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Variety’s review reads, “Director Michael Winner has some fine Israeli locations to play with, but his helming is only lackluster, the script and characterizations bland, and there simply are not enough murders to sustain the interest of even the most avid Agatha Christie fan.” Yikes.
While “Appointment with Death” ranges from bad to so-bad-it’s-good, it’s not impossible to watch, like the television adaptation of “Wasp’s Nest.” It’s available to rent online (and is currently streaming on Tubi), so both Agatha Christie and Carrie Fisher completionists can check this one off their list. For folks who want to enjoy some other Poirot mysteries, there are always Kenneth Branagh’s films about the famous detective with their own bevy of big-name stars.
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