***SPOILERS*** Much too confusing and complicated in watching the first time around movie that has to do with diamond smugglers globe hopping operation from Africa to Europe to South America with this man in a brown suit Harry Lucas, Simon Dutton,having something to do with all this mysterious goings on. It's Lucas who was spotted by American tourist Anne Beddingfeld, Stephanie Zimbalist,in Cairo Egypt at the airport where she witnessed a fatal car accident. It' turns out that the person who tried to come to the accident victim's aid was non other then Harry Lucas who after going through his jacket suddenly checked out of sight. Playing detective Anne soon runs into all kinds of troubles where she ends up on a ocean cruise to Africa and then is kidnapped and threatened with death by the Colonel, the mystery man in the movie, as well as ends up exposing a major diamond smuggling ring run out of South America with white South African hoods.It's Anne together with her dizzy friend Suzy Blair, Rue McClanahan, as well as Lucas who track down who's behind this smuggle ring-The Colonel-but only after a number of member of the cast end up getting murdered by him and one of his henchman Rev. Edward Chichester played by Tony Randall in a Doctor Strangelove-paying three different people-type role. As for Anne herself she escapes to murder attempts herself one on the cruise boat and another on land when the killer, The Rev- rolled a one ton bolder in her direction that had her fall almost to her death down a waterfall. ****SPOILERS****We also have the CIA involved in all this in that one of the characters in the film and the person who everyone thinks is the Colonel is working for the agency and uses both Anne and Lucas to expose the smuggler as well as killer. The not so unpredictable ending has to killer blow his cover in feeling he'll never get caught only to have the wool or rug pulled from under him and leave him, by losing his firearm, in a helpless situation. As for Anne and Lucas, who's really an English Barron, they decide to get married with Suzy, who been married six times before, taking off with the CIA agent who developed the hots for Suzy the moment he first saw her!

Some aspects don't work too well (there is a man appearing in two different female disguises but neither looks real; the 7-11-22 message turns out to be 71-1-22, but when we see it for the first time, it is CLEARLY 7-11-22), but on the whole "The Man in The Brown Suit" is a pleasant little diversion, and worth a look for any Agatha Christie / mystery fan. The story is intriguing enough and holds your attention, the locations are pleasing, the stunts are well-executed, and the finale has just the right fairy-tale quality. Stephanie Zimbalist is a rather attractive and likable heroine (the nicest touch to her character is her jumping onto a departing train and then teasing the men who were chasing her; I could have done without the ridiculous scene of her jumping onto a bed when she sees a dead rat, though) and she is surrounded by a capable cast - Rue McClanahan and Edward Woodward are the standouts. Keep in mind that this is a TV movie and you'll probably enjoy it. (**1/2)

This is definitely nostalgic and reminiscent of those great unreal late 70s mystery-dramas, but this is IN NO WAY related to the Christie's book. The book is set in the early 1920s and deals with an orphan who spends her last few dollars to travel by ship to South Africa after witnessing an accident in the tube station and finding a scrap of paper (referencing the ship) on his body. This '89 version could have held its own as a made for TV piece and need not try to take credit as any sort of adaptation of the novel - because it definitely isn't. There are some great moments in this one though - the crossdresser is great but Zimbalist is FAR too precocious and the plot is ridiculous (it's filled with unreal 70s style nonsense - getting on the wrong plane by accident and ending up in Egypt for one, among others.) But all in all, it's cute if you like that early 80s made-for-TV mystery. And, incidentally, UK TV plays it periodically so even if you didn't tape it off American TV in 1989, you could still catch it from time to time in England.

This movie definitely reinforces my policy of watching a movie before reading the book that it is based on. This movie is fine if you watch it and then read the book, almost like a warm up for the actual story. Rue McClanahan and Edward Woodward save this movie! Without their believable quirkiness so much of this movie would have been both over the top and silly. They keep it moving in the right direction when at times it can feel like it's trying to veer off course a little. The book itself is Wonderful! One of my favorites of Agatha Christie's. But I don't know if my review of the movie would have been as favorable if I'd gotten my hands on the book first.