Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar
Poster
Written by	Tom Dalton
Directed by	Sam Yates
Starring	Lyndsey Marshal Jonah Hauer-King Stanley Townsend Jack Deam Katherine Kingsley
Music by	Oliver Coates
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Tom Dalton Carol Harding
Cinematography	Catherine Goldschmidt
Editor	Anna Dick
Running time	95 mins.
Production companies	Darlow Smithson Productions Factual Fiction
Original release
Network	Channel 5
Release	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)

Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar is a 2019 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie becoming embroiled in a real-life murder case during a trip to an archaeological dig in Iraq following her divorce. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2019.^[1] Filming took place in Malta and was directed by Sam Yates. Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar premiered in the United States on PBS on 18 May 2021.^[2]

Plot

In 1928, following her divorce and struggling with fame and success, Agatha Christie travels to Iraq and is caught in a web of murder, intrigue and love. Two years after the public drama caused by her 11-day disappearance, Agatha arrives in Baghdad seeking culture and peace. Instead she finds an attractive young archaeologist with a bullet wound; and the famous crime writer must unravel a series of mysterious murders.

Cast

• Lyndsey Marshal as Agatha Christie
• Jonah Hauer-King as Max Mallowan
• Stanley Townsend as Sir Constance Bernard
• Jack Deam as Leonard Woolley
• Katherine Kingsley as Katharine Woolley
• Waj Ali as Ezekiel
• Rory Fleck Byrne as Marmaduke
• Bronagh Waugh as Lucy Bernard^[3]
• Crystal Clarke as Pearl Theroux
• Liran Nathan as Faisal
• Walles Hamonde as Ahkam
• Waleed Elgadi as Doctor El-Memar
• Daniel Gosling as Hugo

Production

The film was created by husband and wife team Tom and Emily Dalton who also created Agatha and the Truth of Murder which was Channel 5's most watched festive programme of 2018.^[4] This was shot in Malta, back-to-back with Agatha and the Midnight Murders.

Reception

Described as "quite a treat" by Michael Hogan in The Daily Telegraph,^[5] The Times wrote that "what it lacked in unexpected twists and depth it made up for in nostalgic comfort-blanketry and good, clean murder".^[6]