Murder Is Easy [VHS] [1982]

Bill Bixby stars as an American computer expert in England who meets Helen Hayes on a train on her way to Scotland Yard. It seems she's one of those murder obsessed old ladies living in one of those small, scandalous English villages who believes a murderer is on the loose and she knows who it is. She tells Bixby, "When no one suspects you, murder is easy." Bixby is incredulous, but when Hayes is killed in a hit-and-run accident immediately afterwards, he begins to wonder if the old girl wasn't really on to something. A trip to the village reveals she knew what she was talking about, and he sets out to find the murderer. Updating the Christie novel into the age of computers wasn't a great idea, and it jars with the basic story. Bixby and Lesley-Anne Down are O.K, but they are way out of their league in the presence of Olivia de Havilland as one of the villagers and Hayes in her gem of a cameo. The murder plot is interesting, and the climax is fun, but this TV movie is only moderately successful, and were it not for the work of its veteran actresses, it would hardly be memorable. They elevate it into something worth watching.

I bought this just because the wonderful Bill Bixby stars and I've always liked a good mystery. Watching, I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was David Banner in England, without the Hulk. I didn't expect much more from a 1982 TV movie. The set up was intriguing. An old woman befriends Bixby's character, Luke Williams, on a train. She outright tells him she suspects foul play going on in her peaceful town. After that, she is killed in a hit and run. This sends up major red flags and Luke forgoes his vacation and throws himself into the case, despite the fact that he is NOT a detective, but a probability/Computer analyst. Once he's settled People die mysteriously each day, but you don't get any emotion from the cold and callous Brits that are involved. Only the American Luke seems to care that something is amiss and that innocent people are dead, but even that is half-hearted.
The romance that blossoms between Luke and one of the suspects seems forced and unbelievable, even if it is the beautiful Leslie-Ann Down.
All in all, I rate it 4, because..I love Bill and there is a very good turn from the always lovely Olivia De-Havilland. Toward the end you are left with 2 prime suspects and it leaves you in suspense, but it's not too hard to deduce. The cheerful resolution and explanations don't ring true, but maybe that's just me. I would be hightailing it out of there and very strung up for a while after all that!

MURDER IS EASY would have been a lot more effective if screenwriter Carmen Culver actually used Agatha Christie's original novel instead of modernizing the detective work with computers and changing the hero from a policeman to a computer nerd and putting the focus on BILL BIXBY and LESLEY-ANNE DOWNE. The murderer and the motives are given scant attention in favor of giving Bixby and Downe most of the footage.

The only flavorful performances are given by HELEN HAYES in a brief role as Lavinia Fullerton and OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND in an underwritten role as the local librarian.

It gets off to a promising start with Helen Hayes as a little old lady on her way to Scotland Yard to report a series of murders in her village. She describes the look that made her realize who the murderer is and tells Bill Bixby, "If no one suspects you, murder is easy." Shortly after she leaves the train station, she is killed in an auto accident. Thus, Bixby, a computer expert, decides to investigate for himself.

Carmen Culver's teleplay would have been better if it hadn't updated the Christie material and tried to modernize the story with foolish computer nonsense. Furthermore, by devoting entirely too much time to the red herrings and focusing almost all of the remaining time on Lesley-Anne Down and Bill Bixby's growing relationship, it turns the surprise ending into little more than a sham for which there is no preparation.

Bill Bixby's character in the novel was a young policeman--here he is an American computer wizard who delves into use of the computer (to no avail) to solve the crime. He's charming and earnest enough but too many scenes are throwaways involving him and Lesley-Anne Down in a plot filled with many red herrings.

Suffice it to say that this is not one of the best adaptations of Christie's work. The technical aspects are excellent--the color photography of the English settings is impressive and some of the performances are first-rate.

Nice to see Olivia de Havilland and Helen Hayes as "special guest stars". Helen Hayes contributes so much to the opening scenes that she makes up for the fact that there is no Miss Marple in this one. Olivia de Havilland's role is seriously underwritten, especially during the final scenes.

The tight suspense of the final confrontation with a killer was handled more effectively in the novel. The explanations for the murders are too swift to carry much weight as motives.

Summing up: Would have been a more absorbing who-dun-it for Christie's mystery fans if it were faithful to the book. Modernizing the story with computer detection work is no help at all nor is the flat direction.