Agatha's death in the movie caused some consternation for Sir Alec Guinness. The scene in question, a hot air ballooning accident filmed in a field next door to Pinewood Studios, prompted him to ask the producers if he was well insured. They told him that he was, to the tune of ten thousand pounds sterling, but Guinness didn't think that was enough. He then declared that the balloon could not be raised any more than fifteen feet unless they raised the insurance to fifty thousand pounds sterling. Ealing Studios was renowned for being very penny-pinching, and it naturally refused Guinness' demand, pointing out that he would be accompanied in the balloon by a well-qualified Belgian balloonist hidden in the basket with him. Guinness was undeterred in his refusal to perform the stunt, so the scene in the finished movie is not him, but the Belgian balloonist wearing Agatha's dress and wig. Guinness had the last laugh, however, when a high wind pulled the balloon off course. The Belgian balloonist was found fifty miles away, having had to jump into a river.

Film

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