Appointment with Death

Emily Boynton controls the fortune left by her late husband, keeping his children dependent on her and pressuring the family lawyer to suppress a second will that would have set them free. She takes the family abroad, through Europe and on to Palestine and Jerusalem, where the group visits an archaeological excavation. Emily is found dead there, and Hercule Poirot, who happens to be travelling in the region, investigates a household in which nearly everyone had reason to resent her.

Michael Winner directed and produced Appointment with Death, the eleventh of the thirteen films he directed in chronological order, following Death Wish 3 and preceding Bullseye! He wrote the screenplay with Anthony Shaffer and Peter Buckman. Peter Ustinov plays Poirot, a role he had taken on in earlier films, and the cast includes Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, John Gielgud, Piper Laurie and Hayley Mills, with twenty-five credited performers in all. The production was a British, Israeli and American co-production made by Cannon Group, Golan-Globus Productions and GG Studio on a budget of six million dollars.

The film was released in April 1988. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 195 votes, which suggests a modest response rather than a strong one. Running 102 minutes, it belongs to the crime, drama, mystery and thriller genres, and its Middle Eastern setting and large ensemble place it among the more international productions of Winner's later career.