I'm not sure it's possible to make a truly great movie out of any of Agatha Christie's books. Christie relied too much on atmosphere and character to do justice to either in a two-hour movie. This version has atmosphere aplenty, but the characterizations are weak (partially due to time limitations), and the performances are weaker, particularly Elke Sommer and Oliver Reed. Since they're the stars, you're in for a long 90 minutes.
The main problem with this version, as with others, is that the writers took the bare facts who dies when, for example without examining the reasons behind those facts. Christie makes it clear that the murderer considered some of the criminals in the story less cold-blooded than others. For example, the General, in the original story, kills his wife's lover in other words, though he commits a murder, his victim is hardly blameless, and his "slot" in the order of murders reflects this. However, here, he commits a crime much akin to Lombard's original one, causing multiple deaths of men who trusted him with their lives; following the plot closely, he should die much later. However, his death makes far more sense in this version than in the original all of the characters have separated when the General meets his end, unlike the original, where the General is in easy view of another character when he is killed.
Blore's murder is also more believable here than in the original version. The original version was risky, and relied too much on deux ex machina Blore would pick exactly the right spot to stand to get brained. Here, he's simply pushed off a balcony much simpler, and much more effective.
There are a few other improvements over the original film, namely Orson Welles' voice-over. It is absolutely chilling, far more so than the dry, uninteresting voice-over in the original. Likewise, the presence of the guests is more thoroughly explained here than in the original; Armstrong, Blore, Vera, Raven, and the Martinos are there in a professional capacity, while Lombard, Ilona, Cannon, and Salvé are there to meet old friends.
However, there are many, many other things that are worse. The size of the hotel puts an massive hole in the plot. The hotel has at least fifty rooms, plus an extensive cellar system below and even more extensive ruins surrounding it. After the second murder, the remaining eight characters try to search the hotel to find their "host", but there is simply no way that eight people could cover completely an area that large and say with any certainty that there wasn't a ninth person lurking about. At best, they could determine that there were no signs of such a person (unaccounted-for clothes, toiletries, rooms that might have been used but had not been by any of them, etc.), but even this possibility is not addressed.
Likewise, the judge and the doctor manage to fake the former's death when Vera's scream sends all four men rushing to her rescue. However, unlike the original version, there's no way that Cannon and Armstrong can know in advance that Vera is going to scream; they haven't created the conditions to make her do so. (As an aside, however, the "murder" at this point makes far more sense here than in the original, because the doctor is the only one to examine the judge's body).
Raven's murder is simply a continuity mess. After Raven is poisoned with cyanide, Armstrong, Blore, and Cannon examine the bottle and determine that the cyanide is in there. However, cyanide acts incredibly quickly, and is incredibly toxic you don't have to ingest very much to be affected. Yet Raven takes two sips from his glass before gulping the whole thing down, without refilling his glass at all and at any rate, the murderer is never near either bottle or glass.
Mrs. Martino's murder is almost as implausible. The Judge is in the lobby with Blore and Armstrong when Martino, Lombard, and Vera go after her, but somehow he gets past them to kill her without them seeing him and without Armstrong and Blore wondering where he's gone.
Martino's and Ilona's murders leave far too much to chanceCannon doesn't even kill Martino himself, but trusts to the desert to finish him, and all Ilona has to do is keep the rest of the room between her and the snake while she makes her way to the exit and then shuts the door behind her, and she's safe. We don't even know HOW the doctor dies - his body is simply discovered after the fact.
The second and third verses of the rhyme are changed so that they make no more sense. The fourth and eighth verses remain pretty much the same, but the actual murders don't match them at allthere's no chopper for Martino, and no bear for Blore.
Worst of all, this version lifts entire sections of dialogue from the original movie almost verbatim, which is problem enough in itself - but it's particularly thorny when the original dialogue had two parts, and only one is copied. Blore, in the original movie, orders Vera to go to her room and lock the door behind her, then later berates her for not doing so. The second part is copied into this movie, but the first isn't - so Blore mentions a conversation that didn't take place.
The main problem with this version, as with others, is that the writers took the bare facts who dies when, for example without examining the reasons behind those facts. Christie makes it clear that the murderer considered some of the criminals in the story less cold-blooded than others. For example, the General, in the original story, kills his wife's lover in other words, though he commits a murder, his victim is hardly blameless, and his "slot" in the order of murders reflects this. However, here, he commits a crime much akin to Lombard's original one, causing multiple deaths of men who trusted him with their lives; following the plot closely, he should die much later. However, his death makes far more sense in this version than in the original all of the characters have separated when the General meets his end, unlike the original, where the General is in easy view of another character when he is killed.
Blore's murder is also more believable here than in the original version. The original version was risky, and relied too much on deux ex machina Blore would pick exactly the right spot to stand to get brained. Here, he's simply pushed off a balcony much simpler, and much more effective.
There are a few other improvements over the original film, namely Orson Welles' voice-over. It is absolutely chilling, far more so than the dry, uninteresting voice-over in the original. Likewise, the presence of the guests is more thoroughly explained here than in the original; Armstrong, Blore, Vera, Raven, and the Martinos are there in a professional capacity, while Lombard, Ilona, Cannon, and Salvé are there to meet old friends.
However, there are many, many other things that are worse. The size of the hotel puts an massive hole in the plot. The hotel has at least fifty rooms, plus an extensive cellar system below and even more extensive ruins surrounding it. After the second murder, the remaining eight characters try to search the hotel to find their "host", but there is simply no way that eight people could cover completely an area that large and say with any certainty that there wasn't a ninth person lurking about. At best, they could determine that there were no signs of such a person (unaccounted-for clothes, toiletries, rooms that might have been used but had not been by any of them, etc.), but even this possibility is not addressed.
Likewise, the judge and the doctor manage to fake the former's death when Vera's scream sends all four men rushing to her rescue. However, unlike the original version, there's no way that Cannon and Armstrong can know in advance that Vera is going to scream; they haven't created the conditions to make her do so. (As an aside, however, the "murder" at this point makes far more sense here than in the original, because the doctor is the only one to examine the judge's body).
Raven's murder is simply a continuity mess. After Raven is poisoned with cyanide, Armstrong, Blore, and Cannon examine the bottle and determine that the cyanide is in there. However, cyanide acts incredibly quickly, and is incredibly toxic you don't have to ingest very much to be affected. Yet Raven takes two sips from his glass before gulping the whole thing down, without refilling his glass at all and at any rate, the murderer is never near either bottle or glass.
Mrs. Martino's murder is almost as implausible. The Judge is in the lobby with Blore and Armstrong when Martino, Lombard, and Vera go after her, but somehow he gets past them to kill her without them seeing him and without Armstrong and Blore wondering where he's gone.
Martino's and Ilona's murders leave far too much to chanceCannon doesn't even kill Martino himself, but trusts to the desert to finish him, and all Ilona has to do is keep the rest of the room between her and the snake while she makes her way to the exit and then shuts the door behind her, and she's safe. We don't even know HOW the doctor dies - his body is simply discovered after the fact.
The second and third verses of the rhyme are changed so that they make no more sense. The fourth and eighth verses remain pretty much the same, but the actual murders don't match them at allthere's no chopper for Martino, and no bear for Blore.
Worst of all, this version lifts entire sections of dialogue from the original movie almost verbatim, which is problem enough in itself - but it's particularly thorny when the original dialogue had two parts, and only one is copied. Blore, in the original movie, orders Vera to go to her room and lock the door behind her, then later berates her for not doing so. The second part is copied into this movie, but the first isn't - so Blore mentions a conversation that didn't take place.