It was to be expected after the success of Murder on the Orient Express that the same production team would launch a whole series of sleuthing films based on Agatha Christie stories. And the setting could not be grander than the temples and pyramids of the Nile, where love, lust, revenge and murder sit well with centuries-old curses and mysticism. Peter Ustinov takes over from Albert Finney as the rotund Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, but the case of murder aboard a Nile cruise ship doesn't tax his 'little grey cells' too much. This overlong film will, however, tax your patience, as the final scenes are taken up with endless re-runs of the crime from the viewpoint of everyone on board. Even so, there a number of individual performances to enjoy, notably those of Mia Farrow, Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury and (especially) Maggie Smith. Antony Powell's gorgeous costumes rightly won an Oscar, and the main music theme by Nino Rota is excellent.

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