Lois Chiles(linnette) - Death on the Nile (1978) Discussion

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I don't know why she never became a huge star. She was a supporting character in The Great Gadsby (also starring Mia Farrow), and a Bond girl in the delighfully campy Moonraker. To me, three roles in major films in the late 70's should have ensured her status as a major up-and-coming star, but it never happened.

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[–] srljb 19 years ago

She did appear in Dallas in about 1982 and most recently was in an episode of CSI.

I've also read that she lectures quite a lot now in acting masterclasses.

I've a feeling that she was the type of actress that did'nt want to be a HUGE STAR.

She obviously loves her skill and profession and was quite happy to remain in the background a bit.

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead
Which Old Witch, The Wicked Witch
Ding Dong The Wicked Witch is Dead

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[–] Harold_Robbins 19 years ago

Lois Chiles was easy on the eye, but everything ended when she opened her mouth - she had one of the most boring, unexpressive voices ever heard in the sound era.

"...don't let's ask for the moon - we have the stars!"

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[–] mit800 19 years ago

I agree with mrpswan. She was as wooden as you can get. I can see why whe never went very far. I saw her in The Way we Were also and she had the same problem.

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[–] AZGrooveGuy 19 years ago

I agree, she is a beautiful woman but she tends to sound incredibly monotone and wooden. The exception being 'Creepshow 2'...."Thanks for the ride, LADY!"

She was great in that!

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[–] d-udo 18 years ago

regarding her Voice and the phrase "it all ends when she opens her mouth"

I think thats the point, why her charcter name in the Role in the James Bond movie "Moonraker" was "DR. GOODHEAD"
LOL

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[–] DavidParis 18 years ago

I enjoyed Lois Chiles' performance. She was obviously physically perfect for the role of Linnet but in my opinion gave a capable, certainly not brilliant (that went to Angela Lansbury for this one!) but a convincing portrayal of the character. As to her voice, it never bothered me and to be honest I hadn't even considered it as a drawback until I read other comments here. She gets top marks from me.

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[–] markedjuan 18 years ago

Her acting style was just right for the kinds of roles she played in the seventies -- vapid heiresses who have nothing better to do but party away their trust funds. She was effective in that department and she did do justice to her roles in Death on the Nile, The Great Gatsby and The Way We Were.

But no doubt, she was the dullest Bond girl in history.

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[–] vickic531 15 years ago

Marked,

I disagree with your last comment. If you ask me, the dullest and DUMBEST Bond girl in history was Britt Eklund in "The Man with the Golden Gun". Lois Chiles came in 3rd lowest on my list of pre-Craig Bond behind Eklund and Madonna (even though she didn't sleep with Bond.) LOL

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"A transplanted Rebel" Vicki

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[–] vpilutis 10 years ago

In this film DOTN the victim (LOIS) was a Bond girl the next yr in Moonraker.

In the next film Evil Under the Sun the victim was also a Bond girl
Diana Rigg from OHMSS.

AND of course Bond himself Sean Connery was in MOTOE

on location with SUPERMAN I,& OTHER STARS
http://www.vbphoto.biz/

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[–] Tuppence123 18 years ago

To be honest, I found her incredibly wooden - beautiful and appealing, but unnatural. I agree with the previous comment about her voice (Agatha Christie even comments on this phenomenon in the Miss Marple novel 'The Moving Finger' when she talks about how the allure of a beautiful woman is destroyed when she opens her mouth to reveal a monotonous drawl, whereas some visually plain women can captivate simply because of the attractiveness of their voices).

Also, apparently Lois Chiles retired from acting in the early 80s to look after her seriously ill brother (I'm not sure what it was he had apparently but she gave up her career for him, isn't that nice?) - whether that's the truth or not I'm not sure...

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[–] maxpem 18 years ago

I think in Death on the Nile she was quite a very cold, very poised character but personally I think that Lois was one of the most amazingly beautiful women there has ever been, and I don't say that lightly. I've seen her in quite a few films and most recently in CSI and she's still got that amazing patrician beauty.

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[–] OrchestraOnTheHalfShell 18 years ago

She never really did an awful lot of films. She did play the mother of the deaf girl in the not very good Speed 2 as well. Seems she just picks and chooses certain films. I also heard that she was the first choice to play the Bond Girl in The Spy Who Loved Me instead of Brabara Bach.

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[–] Harold_Robbins 18 years ago

I just watched this again and my opinion of her hasn't changed.

"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"---W. Lydecker

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[–] BooRadleyVanCullen 12 years ago

She didn't retire per se, she had quite a few acting credits after the 80's.

I want blood, guts, and angel cake, I'm gonna puke it anyway.

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[–] profh-1 12 years ago

The most recent thing I've seen her in was WISH UPON A STAR (1996), where she plays the authoritatian high school principal that everyone hates. (She didn't age well.)

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] cad8080 16 years ago

I love how Pauline Kael said Chiles was completely unconvincing as a stylish heiress, she was more like the wife of a Texas used car salesman

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[–] denbeez 15 years ago

I don't think much of Chiles' acting in "DOTN." Her line delivery was just plain "wrong" about half of the time, emphasizing the wrong word. She also had a glaring tendency to OVERACT facially. (Too much "eyebrow" acting, perhaps.)

To be fair, maybe when you're playing opposite a number of the acknowledged ALL-TIME GREATS, it's hard NOT to look like somewhat of an amateur.

Anyway, apparently Chiles got the part after Cybill Shepherd turned it down, so she wasn't even the PRODUCER'S first choice.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] TheLittleSongbird 15 years ago

She was certainly very captivating, but in terms of attitude and voice, I didn't think she was quite right compared to the book.

"Life after death is as improbable as sex after marriage"- Madeleine Kahn(CLUE, 1985)

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] Percivalx 11 years ago

Lois Chiles was indeed very beautiful. But her performance didn't impress me.

Compare it to Diana Rigg's performance from Evil Under the Sun who pretty much played the same type of character. Rigg was vivacious and played the part of "the bitch" with pizazz. Chiles, on the other hand, was sorta one note.

"Let us be crooked, but never common."

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[–] Jimmy-128 11 years ago

I don't agree that Arlena Marshall and Linnet Doyle are the same type of character. Linnet, at least as written in the novel, at least shows some regret over how she got Simon. Arlena is not the type of woman who would ever show regret over getting a man, however she did it.

Also, don't forget that Arlena is a much bigger BS artist than Linnet is--or needs to be.

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[–] Percivalx 11 years ago

First of all, I have not read the books. My comments are based on the movies alone!

They DO play the same type of character. Of "the bitch" whom everybody wants or has reason to kill. And guess what? Someone does kill her promting Poirot to investigate. How can you say they are not the same character just in two different movies? In fact, both Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun are pretty much the SAME story set in two different locations.

But my point is that Rigg does a way better job than Chiles. End of story.

"Let us be crooked, but never common."

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[–] Jimmy-128 11 years ago

First of all, I have not read the books.

Then it's really not worth my time to discuss this with you. Read the books, and you'll understand why Diana Rigg's performance seemed so different than Lois Chiles'.

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[–] hickengruendler 11 years ago

While I agree with you, that the book Linette is a totally different character than Arlena Marshall is, the movie characters ARE pretty similar. I think the script didn't do the Linette character much service.

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[–] Jimmy-128 11 years ago

It's been years since I saw the movie, so I'll take your word for it.

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[–] J_J_Gittes 11 years ago

Just saw the film and thought Lois Chiles did a wonderful job on screen and was very subtle in getting the different aspects of her character across. In fact I didn't think she was "a bitch" at all, and she was quite troubled with the whole situation (certainly more so than her husband). So I'm quite surprised that the general concensus here seems to be that she was a rather bland actress. I also thought her voice and line delivry were fine. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

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[–] rigelmaccrikey 11 years ago

One of the worst actresses in history. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the great character actors and actresses, as well as big stars, in this film. Someone said she sounds like the wife of a Texan used car salesman- bang on. She needed to get rid of Texas for this role, and for whatever reason didn't do it. It's appropriate she was in Moonraker, the worst Bond film, and one of the worst films period, of all time.

"If that was a nod, nod."

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