Totally. Some probably object because Ustinov always seemed to play everything with a bit too much mischief, but he's one of my favorite character actors of the age. I'd say that he'd fall short if you compared him against David Suchet who simply was Poirot, but Finney was much too squared-off and brutish for the role, in my opinion.

Poirot always struck me, from the Agatha Christie novels, as somewhat effete and fastidious, which isn't something that Finney can physically portray very well. Kind of a blend of Sherlock Holmes, Columbo, and Felix Unger. (The latter two, of course, would count as descendants instead of influences.) On the other hand, Ustinov doesn't even attempt to portray him properly. Instead of the hyper-intelligent dandy, Ustinov portrays him as a sharp-witted uncle with abiding good humor. I'm not going to argue that he's a better Poirot--he's not--but that I enjoy him more. Ustinov was a movie star more than he was an actor, to use the old litmus test: "An actor pretends that he is the character while a movie star pretends that the character is him."

I much prefer his films, with their light-handed touch, to the Finney film simply because of the actors. Now, put both actors in a dramatic, realistic role and Finney would run circles around Ustinov, who tended to fall back on tics and facial contortions instead of more subtle work.

Brutish - exactly! Finney was a great actor, but I just didn't see him in this role. :)