AllMovie

The Seven Dials Mystery may not be the very best adaptation of an Agatha Christie piece, but it's certainly one of the liveliest and overall quite entertaining. Director Tony Wharmby and scenarist Pat Sandys have done an excellent job of keeping Dials on its toes; there are a few bumps along the way, but for the most part this is one of the friskiest Christie filmings one is likely to encounter. That tone captures the period setting remarkably well, and at times makes one feel one is watching Christie as Noel Coward might have done her -- though perhaps without the same degree of wit Coward would have brought to the project. The mystery itself is a tad on the mundane side, but there's enough "meat" there to keep aficionados satisfied. While the technical aspects are rather primitive, with the camerawork cheap and flat and the sound sketchy due to Dials' videotaped origins, the film does feature a very fine cast. Sir John Gielgud, of course, imbues his brief supporting part with both life and class, making crusty aristocracy seem much more fun than it should. Cheryl Campbell carries the film ably as the heroine, and James Warwick makes quite an impression as her partner.