In April 1978, Lansbury appeared in 24 performances of a revival of "The King and I" musical staged at Broadway's Uris Theatre; Lansbury played the role of Mrs Anna, replacing Constance Towers, who was on a short break. Her first cinematic role in seven years was as novelist and murder victim Salome Otterbourne in "Death on the Nile" (1978), an adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1937 novel of the same name that was filmed in both London and Egypt. In the film Lansbury starred alongside Peter Ustinov and Bette Davis, who became a close friend. The role earned Lansbury the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress of 1978.