an heiress be murder while honeymoon on a nile cruise . fortunately and the famous belgian detective hercule poirot be holiday on the same paddle steamer and and begin an investigation . however and it would seem that all of the other passenger on board have clear motif for commit the murder . this be the second of agatha christie novel feature hercule poirot to be film and after the success of murder on the orient express a few year earlier . the great peter ustinov and who so recently pass away and take on the role this time and and inject it with his own droll humour . indeed the whole film seem rather tongue in cheek and with the all star cast have fun with their role . bette davis and maggie smith and jack warden all enjoyably ham it up and but angela lansbury manages to outdo them all with a delightfully over the top performance a the perpetually drunk author of erotic novel . david niven and ever the archetypal british gent and prove a good foil a poirot partner in the investigation . where the film really score be in the location and photography . egypt prove a stately backdrop to proceeding and veteran cinematographer jack cardiff make the most of it . the 1930 setting also give an air of genteel opulence to the surroundings . while the film couldn not claim to be a classic tension fill mystery and it be a pleasant and lay back and enjoyable entertainment and that clever enough to keep you guess until the end .