Christie classic hits big screen

AGATHA Christie famously disapproved of film adaptations of her books and left strict instructions regarding The Mousetrap, the longest running play in theatre history.

When producer Damian Jones found this out while trying to make a Mousetrap movie, it led him to come up instead with See How They Run, which opens at the Henley Regal Picturehouse this week.

Billed as a comic whodunnit, it is set in London’s West End theatreland in the Fifties where plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt when a member of the crew is murdered.

Enter world weary Inspector Stoppard and his eager sidekick Constable Stalker whose investigations take them deep into the glamorous yet sordid world lurking behind the scenes.

The film stars Oscar-
winner Sam Rockwell as Stoppard with Oscar-
nominee Saoirse Ronan as his rookie assistant and features a strong ensemble cast including Reece Shearsmith, Ruth Wilson and Adrien Brody.

Some of the character names carry comedic references to other actors or to Christie herself. There’s a Dickie Attenborough and a Sheila Sim, for instance, and a Max Mallowan, which was the name of Christie’s second husband.

The film was shot last year on location at several London theatres — the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road, St Martin’s in the West End and the Old Vic.

The running time is one hour and 38 minutes.

Also showing this week is a re-release of Jaws 3-D, which was the 1983 second sequel to Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster and the third instalment of the successful franchise.

The film follows the Brody children from the previous films to a Florida marine park which has underwater tunnels and lagoons leading direct to the sea.

As the park prepares for opening, a young great white shark infiltrates the premises, apparently attacking and killing members of staff.

Once the shark is captured, however, it is discovered that a second, much larger great white has got in and turns out to be the real culprit.

Shown on TV as Jaws III because of the lack of the
3-D effect, this movie was followed in 1987 by Jaws: The Revenge and stars Dennis Quaid and Simon MacCorkindale.

It has a running time of an hour and 39 minutes.