Murder by Decree (1979)

There's only one way the Jack the Ripper mystery can be resolved in a movie without history being completely upended, so don't expect too many surprises here, but expect a gripping mystery drama that has Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer, who bewilders with his simpering, "feely" portrayal of the great detective) investigating the notorious Jack the Ripper murders and, once he's talked to, among others, Donald Sutherland's psychic and John Gielgud's parliamentarian, Holmes arrives at a solution that any audience member even half interested in the grisly episode will have come across before.

★★★★☆

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The Elephant Man (1980)

David Lynch's second film is about Joseph 'The Elephant Man' Merrick and although the 1980 movie has a black-and-white schlock horror look, Merrick, not a ghoul, really did exist, really did suffer a congenital disorder that left him deformed from an early age, and really was exploited and abused by a freakshow exhibitor before a kind doctor introduced him to (Victorian-era) London high society.

★★★★☆

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Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

Given it is essentially a string of twelve or thirteen dialogues between Hercule Poirot and one suspect after another aboard the snowed-in Orient Express, scene of a ghastly murder, it is surprising how engaging Sidney Lumet's 1974 film version of Agatha Christie's book is, helped of course by its all-star cast and the fact the story is inspired by the real-life Lindbergh kidnapping, a crime that captivated and so outraged the world one suspects it would have even turned Agatha Christie's world famous eggheaded Belgian detective into a revenge-murder conspirator.

★★★★☆

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Agatha Christie's Appointment with Death (1988)

Peter Ustinov's last appearance as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot was in this 1988 film version of Appointment with Death, a mystery set in the Holy Land with more characters than it knows what to do with, a threadbare plot full of inconsistent characterisation, and clues so artlessly dished out they couldn't be more obvious if they were announced by dinner gong.

★★☆☆☆

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Secret Agent (1936)

Somerset Maugham's short story character, Ashenden, is brought to life in Alfred Hitchcock's spectacular-for-the-time 1936 spy thriller featuring John Gielgud as the war hero in Switzerland charged with the task of finding and killing an enemy agent, a mission he, his spy 'wife', and his deranged, racially stereotyped accomplice known as The General accomplish by way of a stupendous bungle that helpfully narrows down the list of suspects from two to one.

★★★★☆

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