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.
Review of The Man in the Brown Suit
The Man in the Brown Suit
(1989 TV Movie)
Throwback 70s Mystery- yes, Agatha Christie - no
9 December 2006