# 10: The Honey Pot (1967)

Maggie Smith

as Sarah Watkins

in

The Honey Pot (1967)

 Screentime: 47 minutes and 26 seconds (37.7% of the film)

The Honey Pot is a rather strange murder/mystery/comedy where a wealthy and theatrical man Cecil Fox (Rex Harrison) with the assistance of a former actor (Cliff Robertson) inadvertedly decides to pull a rather cruel joke on his three former flames and announces he is dying and asks each to come to his Venice home to say their final goodbyes. The three women arrive: Capucine as Princess Dominiqe, Edie Adams as the actress Merle and Susan Haywood as Mrs. Lone Star Crockett Sheridan (what a name!) who also brings her nurse Ms. Watkins (Maggie Smith). One night Mrs. Sheridan announces she is actually Fox’s common in law wife, however she is found dead in her home. The mystery begins as to who did it and why.

FILM:

I originally thought Maggie Smith had a smallish supporting role, and it turns out she actually ends up with the largest female part, while the biggest star from the cast ends up dead less than hour into the film. Confusing stuff. However she is fun and genuine here as she plays a love interest to Cliff Robertson’s character as well as the problem-solver for the fishy activity that is going on (the other gals really only sleep walk their parts). Her final few scenes are particularly memorable as she takes control of the situation and puts her foot down. A good performance!

MAGGIE-METER:

"... Love? You can't even say it, you poor man, you make it sound like hate."

# 9: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

Maggie Smith

as Muriel Donnelly

in

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

 Screentime: 18 minutes and 31 seconds (15.8% of the film)

 

John Madden's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a story of a group of older British citizens deciding to move and reside in a supposed luxury retirement village in India for a variety of reasons, either looking for a change of scenery, confronting past relationships, finding a wealthy husband, and for one, no pleasure or enjoyment whatsoever but for a speedy hip replacement procedure. The latter is of course Maggie Smith.

Once they have arrived, the group struggle to learn to adjust to such a severe culture change as they go about exploring the sights as well as looking for love, happiness and some contentment in their lives. It’s a wonderful ensemble piece with some of Britain’s best delivering a nice mix of drama and comedy. 

FILM:

 

Maggie Smith is the elderly Muriel Donnelly, a racist and bigot who initially gives everyone a hard time and is only going to India for her operation and planning to go straight back home when it is over. But as the film progresses we learn of her loneliness and her heartbreak over losing her long-time job as a maid for a family she considered her own. She then discovers that coming to India may have been the best thing for her as she starts snooping into the hotel’s financial accounts. 

Here Maggie is doing her trademark British bitch role, but instead of the typical snooty upper society lady, her character is a lot more Cockney/working class. She has a few wonderful scenes and as usual she delivers some of the film’s best lines. It's wonderful to see such a nice supporting role at Maggie's age, her presence promises a few laughs.

MAGGIE METER:

 

(referring to a nearby black doctor washing his hands)
"He can wash all he likes, that colour's not coming out..."

# 8: Death on the Nile (1978)

Maggie Smith

as Miss Bowers

in

Death on the Nile (1978)

Screentime: 15 minutes and 55 seconds (12.0% of the film)*
* Includes the short flaskback sequences which is repeated footage.

Death on the Nile is the 1930s Agatha Christie mystery focusing on a group of mainly English tourists visiting Egypt. The story mainly focuses on the young English couple Simon and Linnet and the ex-girlfriend Jacqueline. While travelling down the Nile one night, Simon is shot and injured by Jacqueline and Linnet is shot and killed in her bedroom within a matter of minutes. The only problem is Jacqueline has an alibi and couldn’t have killed her and the detective Hercule Poirot starts looking at the other passengers on the steam boat as the possible suspects. As it turns out they all have a significant motive for murdering Linnet.

The film is a lot of fun despite lacking the classiness of Murder on the Orient Express and some of the acting performed by in particular Mia Farrow  and Lois Chiles is a little cringe-worthy and melodramatic. The outcome is incredibly over the top but still entertaining and it is fun to see the all star cast ensemble act their respective parts: Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury (who is hilarious in her part), David Niven, Jack Warden and others.

FILM:

Maggie Smith plays Miss Bowers, the nurse and “servant” of the American socialite Mrs. Van Schuyler (Bette Davis). Davis and Smith have wonderful chemistry together and the two quarrel and bicker and deliver some hilarious dialogue such as:

Mrs. Van Schuyler: Come, Bowers, it's time to go, this place is beginning to resemble a mortuary.
Miss Bowers: Thank God you'll be in one yourself before too long you bloody old fossil!

You pick up early on that there is such limited character development for about 80% of the characters in Agatha Christie stories, and unfortunately Miss Bowers is no exception. Alot of her screentime accounts for her just sitting on the side of the screen or in the background as well as the extended revelation sequence which she is silently featured. She really only has a handful of short scenes featuring dialogue and one interrogation scene, but as I have said, the is pure Agatha Christie (remember Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for basically one scene and a bunch of reaction shots in Murder on the Orient Express). It was incredibly chic for an actor in the ‘70s to appear in a rather small part in the huge ensemble mysteries or disaster flick. It usually meant an easy good salary and high box office returns. Here Maggie is funny and excels in her part, even if she and many others in the cast were underused.

MAGGIE-METER:

 

"It has been my experience that men are least attracted to women who treat them well."